Israeli authorities in East Jerusalem should immediately stop demolishing Palestinian homes in violation of international law.

Yesterday the US Congress gravely insulted hundreds of civilians who were wounded or killed in the most recent war in the Middle East.

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly should endorse the report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict when it meets to discuss Middle East peace issues on November 4, 2009, more than a dozen groups working on human rights issues in the Middle East said today.

The United Nations Human Rights Council's resolution endorsing the report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict is a crucial step toward securing accountability for the civilian victims of the war on all sides.

A global coalition of civil society organizations from every corner of the world, ranging from Human Rights Now in Japan to the South African Council of Churches, have urged members of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to support the recommendations of the Goldstone Report and work to adopt a resolution which will ensure accountability for victims of the Gaza conflict earlier this year.

Members of the US House of Representatives should oppose a resolution that calls for the Obama administration to reject scrutiny of Israel and Hamas for laws-of-war violations in the recent Gaza conflict.

Critics of Human Rights Watch's work on Israel raise three main points. First, they say we disproportionately focus on Israel, and neglect other countries in the Middle East. Second, they claim our research methodology is flawed. Third, as recently expressed by our founding chairman Robert Bernstein, they argue that we should focus on "closed" countries such as China rather than "open" societies like Israel. I reject all three claims.

We are writing you after the United Nations Human Rights Council's resolution last week endorsing the report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict.  We view the report prepared by Justice Richard Goldstone as a crucial forward step towards securing accountability for the civilian victims of the war on all sides.  A key component of the report is its call on all parties to the conflict to conduct credible domestic investigations within six months.