UNITED NATIONS - Defying the pressure from the United States and Israel, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved Thursday a resolution that calls on both the Jewish state and the Palestinians to investigate the accusations of war crimes during last winters deadly Israeli bombings of Gaza. The resolution - approved by 118 to 14 votes - with most of the developing world, including Pakistan, and Arab countries, in favour, and the US and Israel notably opposed - underscores the broad support for the UN investigative commissions report on the three-week-long Gaza conflict. Forty-four countries, including France and Britain, abstained. The Goldstone Report, named after the South African jurist and former UN human rights investigator Richard Goldstone who headed the investigation, accused both sides of war crimes in last winters fighting, but came down hardest on Israel. The fighting in December 2008 and January 2009 between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group controlling Gaza, resulted in 14 Israeli deaths but more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed, including many civilians. The resolution calls on Israel and the Palestinian side to undertake investigations into the Goldstone allegations within three months, and asks UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to transmit the report to the Security Council. Most of the more than 50 speakers said there must be accountability - especially from Israel - for the alleged violations of international law during the Gaza conflict. Israel angrily rejected the resolution as deeply flawed, one-sided and prejudiced while the United States called it unbalanced and biased and warned that it would hurt prospects for achieving Mideast peace. The four-member fact-finding team called for a number of measures, including the referral of the report to the Security Council, since neither the Israeli government nor the responsible Palestinian authorities have so far carried out any credible investigations into alleged violations. General Assembly President Ali Treki, speaking to reporters after the resolution was adopted, said, This vote is an important declaration against impunity. It is a call for justice and accountability. Treki called on all concerned to devote themselves for implementing the contents of the resolution, which asks both the Israelis and Palestinians to carry out independent inquiries. Without justice, there can be no progress towards peace. A human being should be treated as a human being, regardless of his or her religion, race or nationality. Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour welcomed the vote, saying the implementation of Goldstones report will now begin in stages. In three months we will come back to General Assembly to consider the Secretary Generals report for further action, including in all parts of the United Nations, including in the Security Council, said Riyad. The fact-finding mission was set up earlier this year at the request of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council. Speaking before the vote, Pakistans Acting Permanent Representative Amjad Hussain Sial his country viewed the Goldstone Report as an opportunity for the international community to address the suffering of the Palestinian people and for Israel to rectify its past actions and policies. He repeated the message Pakistan made at last months Security Council debate that the Council and the Middle East Quartet had to use their full potential to support the peace process through a transparent and objective engagement. Sial hoped that the report would strengthen the peace initiative in the region and the Assembly would use the important document for this purpose. VOTING FOR THE RESOLUTION: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Comoros, Congo, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. AGAINST: Israel, United States, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nuru, Netherlands, Palau, Panama, Poland, Slovakia, Macedonia and Ukraine. ABSTAIN: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Samoa, San Marino, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Tonga, Uganda, United Kingdom and Uruguay.