JERUSALEM - South African Judge Richard Goldstone's name may be infamous in Israel, but in the Gaza Strip it is sewn onto souvenir Palestinian headscarves in honour of his war inquiry.
Tariq Abu Dia, owner of the President Arafat souvenir shop in Gaza City, says Goldstone, who is Jewish, deserves the honour of appearing on the iconic Palestinian keffiyeh made famous by Yasser Arafat, for whom the shop is named.
"Today we put out 50 keffiyehs made of white fabric with the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the name 'Goldstone' embroidered on them, to honour his work," Abu Dia says, as he shows off one of the scarves.
The shop, which mostly caters to foreign aid workers and activists working in the besieged and impoverished territory, will be selling the scarves, which Abu Dia insists are handmade, for around 20 dollars (15 euros).
Goldstone, a former international war crimes prosecutor, has become a celebrity of sorts for Palestinians since he authored a UN Human Rights Council report on the Gaza war in which he accused Israel of war crimes.
The report also accused Palestinian resistance of war crimes for launching rockets on Israel before and during the three week conflict that Israel launched on December 27 and killed some 1,400 Palestinians (mainly civilians) and 13 Israelis (mainly soldiers).
Earlier this year Abu Dia's shop sold coffee mugs in honour of US President Barack Obama's election victory and last year another mug showed a picture of Obama meeting with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in 2008.
The UN General Assembly was expected on Wednesday to approve a non-binding resolution urging both sides to investigate Goldstone's findings despite Israel's fierce opposition to the report.
Meanwhile, the pro-Israel US House of Representatives condemned Tuesday the UN Goldstone report.
By a margin of 344-36, lawmakers approved a non-binding resolution that calls the report "irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy."
The symbolic measure also urges Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "to strongly and unequivocally oppose" any discussion of the report or action on its findings in any international setting.
Goldstone recommended that Israel and Hamas face possible prosecution in The Hague if they fail to conduct credible investigations within six months.
On Monday, Human Rights Watch urged lawmakers not to back the resolution, said the Goldstone report "presents an opportunity to pursue justice for the victims in Gaza and Israel."
Churches urge 'resistance' to Israeli settlements