A fixed match

Exposing Professor William Schabas' private consultancy work for the Palestine Liberation Organization compelled him to resign as head of the United Nations Human Rights Council's inquiry into alleged war crimes during Operation Protective Edge. Schabas hid from the UNHRC -- an anti-Israel body -- that he had provided a paid legal service for the PLO. An official complaint made by Eviatar Manor, Israel's envoy to the U.N., to UNHRC President Joachim Ruecker led to Schabas' resignation. This was a satisfying moment.

Those who recall Schabas' sweet talk in his interview on an Israeli radio station the day he was appointed understand now that his central role in the inquiry was to "fix the match." No impartial report would have been written under his authority. Moreover, we need to learn a lesson from this.

U.N. institutions hostile to Israel are working to establish as many bodies as possible to compile reports against Israel. Following Israel's successful diplomatic action against Schabas, it needs to form a search committee, within the framework of the Foreign Ministry, to identify those people who are willing to play along in these inquiries. How many have gone under Israel's radar in the past? We need to prevent this from recurring.

Following Schabas' resignation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded the shelving of the report contrived against Israel. This was a justified demand, but the chances are slim that a hostile body such as the UNHRC will give up a chance to act against Israel. Moreover, any final report of this sort will find its way to International Court of Justice in The Hague, where the Palestinian Authority is incessantly seeking action against the Jewish state.

Therefore, the Israeli demand to nix the publication of the report is altogether unrealistic and will not be agreed to, but there is a slight chance that a new and untainted committee could be established that restarts a probe with the collection of testimony. It is improper for a report to be based on testimony gathered under dubious circumstances.

At the same time, Israel must demand that the UNHRC choose commission members with the help of a search committee with Israeli representatives, who will be permitted to publicly review the candidates.

The establishment of the commission in itself was an international scandal, but its actions cannot be thwarted. However, should its members be chosen with Israeli input, it would be wise to encourage residents of the Gaza border area communities to testify before it.

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