(IsraelNN.com) The United Nations' General Assembly began debating Wednesday whether the report by a committee chaired by former South African judge Richard Goldstone, regarding Israel's conduct of the Cast Lead counter-terror operation in Gaza, should be placed before the UN Security Council.

The current president of the General Assembly, Ali Treki of Libya, opened the debate by saying that the Goldstone report “presents serious breaches of human rights and of the law regarding civilians,” adding: “What is on the balance is almost two million civilians. Let us commit to put politics aside and act according to law.”

The representative of “Palestine” thanked the member states for agreeing to hold a debate on the Goldstone committee's report. He accused Israel of violating “Palestinian human rights” for over 40 years.     

Egypt's ambassador to the UN, Majid Abdul Aziz, said that the report “confirms serious breaches of international law in the course of Israel's operation in Gaza.”