RAMALLAH Feb 20 (JMCC) - An Israeli funding agency responded Thursday to accusations that it had a disproportionate role in the drafting of a United Nations report on last year's war in Gaza.

The New Israel Fund said the Im Tirtzu organization had used misrepresentations, sleight-of-hand with numbers, and outright lies in a report it published in January. The fund was charged in the report with supporting most of the Palestinian and Israeli left organizations contributing to what has become known as the Goldstone report.

Im Tirtzu alleged that nearly one-hundred percent of the information provided in the Goldstone report originated with organizations funded by the New Israel Fund, and that the report could not have been written without the group's support.

The New Israel Fund supports Israel's most reputable and internationally-respected human rights groups, said the organization on its website.

It rebutted that unique contributions to the Goldstone report were made by its grantees in less than two percent of the references.

These groups fulfilled their mission by carefully monitoring and reporting on the Gaza operation – and provided reports that have been utilized by the IDF, the Goldstone Commission, and others. In turn, it is the task of an independent inquiry to assess these reports and put them in context.  Indeed, these human rights groups were also among the first to declare the need for an independent Israeli inquiry into the events of Gaza.

Since the Im Tirtzu report, the New Israel Fund has faced public recriminations, with its director, Naomi Chazan, being featured in advertisements with a horn strapped to her head.

The Goldstone report has provided the legal basis for possible international war crimes trials against Israeli officials for their role in the winter 2009 Gaza war.

Read more on Im Tirtzu from the Jerusalem Post and the New Israel Fund's rebuttal...