Palestinian official: We erred over Gaza report (Mohammed Daraghmeh)

By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH (AP) – 41 minutes ago

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian leadership made a mistake by suspending action on a U.N. report on Gaza war crimes, a member of President Mahmoud Abbas' inner circle said Wednesday — the first such acknowledgment after days of protests in the West Bank and Gaza.

In Gaza, a group of university professors hurled shoes at an Abbas poster in a particularly harsh show of contempt.

At issue is a 575-page U.N. report that alleged both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes during Israel's three-week offensive against the Islamic militants in Gaza last winter.

Last week, Abbas withdrew Palestinian support for a vote in the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council to have the report sent to the U.N. General Assembly for possible action. Such a vote would have been a first of many steps toward possible war crimes tribunals.

With the Palestinians out of the picture, the council set the report aside for six months.

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