The Palestinian Authority criticized former South African justice Richard Goldstone Sunday for the Washington Post article in which he expressed regret for his condemnation of Israel's actions in the 2008-2009 Cast Lead counter-terror operation against Hamas in Gaza. The condemnation was part of a report for the United Nations Human Rights Council, in which he accused Israel and, to a lesser extent, Hamas of war crimes.
Spokesman Nabil Abu-Rudeinah of Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's office said the PA would continue its efforts against "the perpetrators of war crimes against the civilian population of Gaza," inflating the casualty figures beyond Hamas's inflated numbers.
Nabil Sha'ath, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, said Goldstone's retraction represented submission to what he called the Israeli terror waged against him since the publication of the Goldstone report. The committee also issued a statement against Goldstone's latest stance.