http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/in-banning-a-un-probe-israel-is-joining-the-worst-of-clubs-1.421162

• Published 03:36 28.03.12
• Latest update 03:36 28.03.12

In banning a UN probe, Israel is joining the worst of clubs

It is doubtful there is any country that sees the UN as a fair arena, but it is the only arena in which there are reasonable and more or less agreed upon criteria for the conduct of countries.

By Zvi Bar'el
The decision by the United Nations Human Rights Council to establish an investigative committee on the matter of the settlements is not the problem. This committee will, after all, not discover anything the American administration, the Quartet countries, the European Union and all of Israel's friends haven't known for years. No secret room will be unearthed all of a sudden. The damage caused by the settlements is obvious, documented and detailed in thousands of documents that have already turned yellow.