Written question asked by Martin Linton (Labour) on Thursday, 21 January 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 2 February 2010. It was answered by Ivan Lewis (Labour) on Tuesday, 2 February 2010 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Middle East: Peacekeeping Operations

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to vote in favour of the endorsement of the report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict at the forthcoming meetings of (a) the UN General Assembly and (b) the UN Security Council.

Answer: The UN General Assembly in New York considered the Goldstone report on 5 November 2009 where we made our position clear: some aspects of the report were flawed—particularly its failure to acknowledge fully Israel's right to protect its citizens, and the inadequate attention paid to Hamas' actions. We eventually decided to abstain on the resolution, with France and 42 others, because voting for the resolution would have meant endorsing the report and ignoring its flaws. However, the issues raised by the report were very serious, and they should be credibly and independently investigated.The UN Secretary General is expected to release a report on the progress of both Israeli and Palestinian investigations in February 2010. We will consider his report when we receive it.

Secondary information