US 'pressured Abbas on UN report'

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, urged the Palestinian Authority (PA) not to accept the findings of a UN report into Israel's war on Gaza because of fears it might scupper attempts to restart peace talks, Palestinian sources have told Al Jazeera. Clinton reportedly called Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, on Thursday to encourage him to withdraw PA support for the report, which heavily criticized the conduct of Israeli forces during the December-January conflict. The UN Human Rights Council had been due to vote on Friday on the report by Richard Goldstone, an investigator appointed by the world body. Though the PA did not reject the Goldstone report, it backed moves to postpone a vote on the findings until March, triggering widespread condemnation from Palestinian groups and human rights organizations.