Abbas orders probe as outrage grows over Goldstone report

The report by respected justice Richard Goldstone will now lie dormant for at least six months rather than be sent to the UN General Assembly with possible recommendations for action.

"Abbas, after consultations with PLO members and Prime Minister (Salam Fayyad), issued a decree to form a committee to investigate the circumstances behind postponing the vote on Goldstone report on Israeli war crimes during its aggression on Gaza Strip," Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary-general of PLO's executive committee, said in a press statement.

The Palestinian decision to suspend the campaign for war crimes prosecutions was first reported late Thursday as the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva was considering a vote on the Goldstone report.

Other Abbas aides have defended the decision, saying the Palestinians needed more time to win international support for the Goldstone report.

Palestinian Economics Minister Bassem Khouri resigned on Saturday apparently to protest Abbas' decision.

In the Gaza Strip, demonstrators and human rights groups expressed their condemnation Saturday.

In Gaza City, hundreds of high school and university students skipped classes to march through town, while Gazans injured during the war organized their own news conference.

A dozen Palestinian human rights organizations, many of whom provided reports to Goldstone and considered the report a vindication of their efforts, expressed their disappointment; Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.