UN says Israel, Palestinians committed war crimes

Navi Pillay's endorsement of the report by an expert group led by Judge Richard Goldstone came as Israel warned the U.N. Human Rights Council that approving the document risked undermining Middle East peace.

Pillay told the 47-member council that she supported the report's recommendations, "including its call for urgent action to counter impunity" — meaning that Israel and Hamas must investigate and prosecute those who committed war crimes.

The 575-page report concluded that Israel used disproportionate force, deliberately targeted civilians, used Palestinians as human shields, and destroyed civilian infrastructure during its Dec. 27-Jan. 18 war incursion into the Gaza Strip to root out Palestinian rocket squads.

It accused Palestinian armed groups including Hamas of deliberately targeting civilians and trying to spread terror through rocket attacks on southern Israel.

Almost 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the three-week conflict.