Hamas is trying to take cynical advantage of a UN report accusing Israel of possible war crimes in Gaza to curry favor back home, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad Malki told reporters at UN headquarters Thursday.
The Palestinian Authority initially pushed for the Security Council to look into accusations Israel used disproportionate force and failed to protect civilians during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip last winter.
The report also accuses Palestinian armed groups of possible war crimes.
Last week, the Palestinian leadership backed off bringing the report before the Security Council under pressure from US, sparking harsh criticism, including angry protests at home and condemnation around the Arab world and causing them to reconsider their position.
"This clear crisis about the report proves that the Hamas position is really trying to exploit it, to its own favor, trying to take advantage of it, and really score points, rather than having a genuine principled position regarding the report," Malki said.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian leadership again switched gears. It reversed itself by strongly backing Security Council member Libya's push to hold the 15-nation council's monthly debate on the Middle East a week earlier than planned and provide a high-profile forum for the explosive report to be discussed.
Malki said the PA leadership supports "all the recommendations" contained in the UN report on Gaza and had dispatched him to New York to press the case on Thursday for having the Security Council or other arms of the United Nations take up the findings.
The 575-page Goldstone report accused Israel of using disproportionate force and failing to protect civilians while calling Hamas' firing of rockets at civilian areas in southern Israel a war crime.
