The Congress of South African Trade Unions welcomes the adoption of the Goldstone report by the UN General Assembly following a two-day debate, which ended with 114 countries voting in favour of the resolution while 18 opposed it - including Germany, Israel and the United States - and 44 abstaining, including Britain, France and Russia. China voted in favor. The General Assembly resolution calls on Israel and "the Palestinian side" to undertake within three months credible investigations into the report's charges.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, called the resolution "an important night in the history of the General Assembly and the history of fighting against impunity and seeking accountability."
This confirms our long held view that the world cannot be bullied by the US and Israel into accepting the lies of self-defence as a pretext to continue occupying and brutalising the people of Palestine. The truth is slowly, but steadily coming out and we shall stand by it, whatever the odds.
COSATU reaffirms its view again that Israelis an apartheid state and apartheid is a crime against humanity.