Outgoing Palestinian ambassador to Egypt Nabil Amr accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of being behind the decision to prevent action on the UN-mandated Goldstone report on Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.

A move from the Palestine Liberation Organization representative to the UN Human Rights Council saw the resolution to adopt the recommendations of the Goldstone report postponed until March. The move, allegedly under pressure from the United States, resulted in a general outcry from all levels of Palestinian society.

In response to the outrage, Abbas announced he would form a committee to uncover the process behind the dropping of the resolution. The commission will be inaugurated by Abbas when he returns from a trip abroad, during which he has visited Yemin, Rome, and was denied entry into Syria over his reported role in the Goldstone report fiasco. "How, in the shadow of such an affair, can Abu Mazen (Abbas) chose to travel around the world and not be with the people and explain to them what happened?" Amr was quoted as saying about the issue in the Israeli news site Ynet Tuesday.

Amr’s remarks follow a resignation from Minister of the Economy in the caretaker government Bassam Khoury, condemnations from Minister of Social Affairs (DFLP) Majida Al-Masri, as well as calls for accountability from Palestinian human rights organizations. West Bank, and particularly Gazan civil society groups have taken to the streets in protest of the actions.

The PA ambassador and member of the PLO also criticized Abbas' decision to form an investigatory committee; he told Ynet it was an insincere attempt by to shirk responsibility.