The head of a UN inquiry into last summer's conflict between Israel and Gaza has said he will resign after Israeli allegations of bias due to consultancy work he did for the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
In a letter to the commission, a copy of which was seen by the Reuters news agency, Canadian academic William Schabas said on Monday he would step down immediately to prevent the issue from overshadowing the preparation of the report and its findings, which are due to be published in March.
Schabas was appointed last August by the head of the UN Human Rights Council to lead a three-member group looking into alleged war crimes during Israel's military offensive against Gaza.
Schabas' departure highlights the sensitivity of the UN investigation just weeks after prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague said they had started a preliminary inquiry into alleged atrocities in the Palestinian territories.
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