Israel has released strong statements about the appointment of a Canadian lawyer with anti-Semitic views to head the inquiry into the conflict along the Gaza strip.

“This commission’s anti-Israeli conclusions have already been written, all it needs is a signature,” Israel foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said to AFP news agency.  “For this commission the important thing is not human rights but the rights of terrorist organizations like Hamas.”

William Schabas says the accusations are “absurd.”

“The suggestion that I’m anti-Israel is absurd,” Schabas said according to The Canadian Press.  “Like everybody inside and outside Israel, I disagree with people. Is everyone in Israel who has an opinion about (Benjamin) Netanyahu anti-Israel?”

However, critics of Schabas include even members of his own government.

“UN Human Rights Council continues to be a sham for advancing human rights; today’s (announcement) for members of its Gaza inquiry reveals its agenda,” Canadian Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird wrote on Twitter.  “It’s an utter shame and will do nothing to promote peace and dignity in Gaza for the Palestinian people.”

The head of a U.N. watchdog group says that Schabas must stand down because of his previous criticisms of the Israeli government.

“Under international law, William Schabas is obliged to recuse himself because his repeated calls to indict Israeli leaders obviously gives rise to actual bias or the appearance thereof,” Hillel Neuer of UN Watch said in a statement.