The Palestinian Authority's recent decision of slowing down its efforts to pursue the Goldstone report sparked a wide range of heated responses, reports Nadia Taha for The New York Times blog At War.

South African Justice Richard Goldstone's report on the current state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict condemns Israel and Gazan militants for committing war crimes. The Palestinian Authority (PA) initially pressed to advance the report to the United Nations Security Council, but withdrew its request without an official explanation. Palestinians in Gaza "took to the streets" in protest against PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, says the BBC.

Many Palestinians are confused, frustrated and even outraged with the decision.

"The Palestinian party that declared, in Geneva, that it would withdraw its support from the Goldstone report behaved not as though the Palestinians needed as much support as they could get, but as though this were part of the international order," writes Azmi Bishara for Al-Ahram. He accuses Abbas and the PA of being disastrously misguided and egotistical in their actions.

"These officials bade farewell to the liberation movement some time ago," Bishara continues. "Their behavior in Geneva came as the definitive and impossible-to-miss adieu to the spirit and logic of liberation and solidarity movements."

Many Arab news sources are speculating that the series of reversals in the Palestinian Authority's position are due to political corruption, which has "long plagued" the organization, continues Taha. There have been tabloid reports that former Israeli foreign minister Ehud Barak, Mahmoud Abbas, and two of his sons all have ties to a potentially massive cellphone company investment.

Other commentators remain skeptical that peace between Israel and Palestine is even feasible at present.

"This Israeli government can't move towards peace unless there is external pressure," Jordanian researcher and university professor Hassan Barari told Gulf News. He continued that taking substantive steps, such as suspending financial aid to Israel, might instigate domestic pressure against the Israeli government's "obstinacy."

Journalist and writer Patrick Seale comments for Dar Al-Hayat that Israel's disregard for its own soft power and international image is leading to self-destruction.

"The Goldstone report has now driven a giant nail into the coffin of Israel's reputation by finding that, in Gaza, there was evidence that Israel 'committed actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity,'" Seale writes.

Responding to allegations of a "biased" report, Seale also points out that Justice Goldstone himself is Jewish and a self-identified Zionist, and esteemed for his "integrity and fairness."

In an op-ed for the New York Times, Roger Cohen says that Israel's misguided and outdated sense of exceptionalism is undermining the nation's future prospects in the region. Cohen remarks that especially in light of the Goldstone report, Israel must "cut the posturing and deal with reality": accepting its non-exclusive status as a nation of the world.

"The Holocaust represented a quintessence of evil. But it happened 65 years ago. Its perpetrators are dead or dying. A Holocaust prism may be distorting. History illuminates -- and blinds," Cohen observes.

Continuing this view, Zion Evrony claims in an opinion piece for Ireland's Independent that many people anticipated the outcome of the Goldstone report. According to Evrony, Israel is ready to accept the consequences.

"The true test of democracy is how [a country] examines its own failings. Israel has opened more than 100 separate investigations into allegations of misconduct [in Gaza]," Evrony concludes.

Yet, Israeli President Shimon Peres rejected a United Nations report on his country's incursion into Gaza as "one-sided" and "unfair" in an interview with CNN. Insisting that Israel had a right to defend itself, and adding that the UN was in danger of "supporting the terrorists instead of supporting the fight against terrorists," Perez argued, "If you can't fight terrorists, then ... nobody is defending us."

Israel said its offensive in Gaza, which it called Operation Cast Lead, was designed to stop Palestinians from firing rockets and mortars into Israel from Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas. CNN points out that there is an ongoing dispute about the number of people killed in Operation Cast Lead.

Commenting on the potential threat of Iran's nuclear program, Peres remained "typically evasive about whether Israel has nuclear weapons." According to CNN, many experts believe Israel does have them.