Israel ignores demand to probe Gaza war

Israel on Friday submitted to the United Nations its first official response to the Goldstone Report, which accused the Jewish state of committing war crimes in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. The response did not address the international demand to appoint an independent commission of inquiry into the Gaza operation. Israel stressed that the document was not a direct response to the report, which Jerusalem refuses to acknowledge, but an answer to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's inquiry on Israel's conduct during the operation. In the document, which was submitted by the Israeli delegation in the UN, Israel elaborated on its internal investigations and procedures conducted during and after the military campaign.