Human Rights Watch has issued a new report on brutality in the Gaza Strip. Not Israel’s, but Hamas’s. According to a new 26-page report, during and since Israel’s Gaza operation in January, Hamas has committed extra-judicial killings of at least 32 people. In addition, the Jerusalem Post tells us, the report “presents a pattern of arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, maiming by shooting and extrajudicial executions by alleged members of Hamas security forces.” Oh yes, and one more thing: “Of particular concern is the widespread practice of maiming people by shooting them in the legs, which Hamas first used in June 2007, when it seized control of the Gaza Strip,” the report tells us.

People living in the region will not be surprised by the contents of the report, as much as its existence at all: Israel is so frequently subjected to horrible double-standards in discussing the conflict with the Palestinians, any breath of truth from NGOs like HRW is a surprise. Coming in the midst of Durban II, it is particularly well timed.

And if we’re on the subject of double-standards against Israel, I have to recommend a piece by Bret Stephens in today’s Wall Street Journal. He draws a splendid comparison between how Israel is treated versus Russia in its fight against the Chechens. Give it a read.