The UN General Assembly approved on Thursday an Arab-backed resolution endorsing the Goldstone Report, paving the way for the matter to be sent to the Security Council.
A total of 114 nations voted in favor of the resolution and 18 voted against it, with 44 members abstaining.
Israel and the US voted against the decision, as did Germany, Holland, Canada, Australia and several eastern European nations. Most EU states abstained.
Israel on Thursday night rejected the decision. "The results of the vote, and the large number of countries who voted against or abstained, clearly show that the assembly's resolution does not enjoy the support of the moral majority," a statement by the Foreign Ministry read.
The statement stressed that the resolution had no connection to "the reality Israel faces."
"During Operation Cast Lead the IDF exhibited higher standards of combat and morals than those held by the all the initiators of the resolution," the Israeli statement added. "Israel will continue to act to defend itself from international terrorism, as any Democratic country would."
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, called the resolution "an important night in the history of the General Assembly and the history of fighting against impunity and seeking accountability."
The nonbinding resolution on the Goldstone document, which alleges war crimes by Israel and Hamas during the IDF's offensive in Gaza last winter, aims to open doors toward prosecution in the international courts. But as the debate dragged into its second day on Thursday, European nations threatened to abstain from a vote just as others feverishly tried to negotiate softer terms. Of particular concern was language fully endorsing the report and requiring Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to take up the issue within three months or send the matter to the Security Council.
Absent from the debate was US Ambassador Susan Rice, whose deputies were present but were not among some 50 scheduled speakers.
"Our position on the Goldstone Report is well-known," a US official said. "The US is prepared to speak when and if there is an occasion to advance the debate."
The official said representatives of the US mission attended Wednesday and Thursday's debate. "It's not unusual for ambassadors to attend portions of a debate that lasts several hours or in this case, two days."
But officials privately said the blustery debate was a distraction from another goal: urging Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace talks. US officials were expected to release a statement following the vote, explaining their position.
On Thursday, European countries were still trying to soften the text of the draft resolution. Most European nations expressed discontent with parts of the resolution, including language endorsing the report and referring the matter to the Security Council. "There's been progress, but there's also been backpedaling," a European diplomat said.
European countries, concerned with "grave accusations," want accountability and have demanded that accusations be addressed by both sides.
The European Union took a similarly moderate approach in the debate.
"The EU takes note of the recommendations of the mission and emphasizes the obligations of all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law," said Swedish Ambassador to the UN Anders Liden, speaking on behalf of the 27 EU countries on Wednesday. "In this regard the EU believes that appropriate follow-up will be necessary."
The EU comments were welcomed by Israeli officials, who delivered a blistering assault on the Goldstone mandate and report in their speech on Wednesday.
"Rather than confronting terrorism, the General Assembly chose again to detach itself from reality," said Israel's top UN official, Gabriela Shalev. "Today's debate is anything but genuine and candid.
"Rather than discuss how to better stop terrorist groups who deliberately target civilians, this body launches yet another campaign against the victims of terrorism, the people of Israel," she said.
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