The president of the UN Human Rights Council appointed on Tuesday US judge Mary McGowan Davis as the new head of the UN inquiry into the Gaza war, Al Arabiya reported.
The appointment came after Professor William Schabas quit on Monday, following Israeli allegations of bias. Israel allegedly provided information that revealed Schabas had served as a paid consultant for the Palestinian Authority in 2012.
Davis joined the UN committee after Amal Clooney (formerly Alamuddin) decided not to accept the position, and was already a member of three person committee that was headed by Schabas and included former UN racism investigator Doudou Diene of Senegal.
The UN Council on Human Rights announced it would continue forward with the inquiry, despite Schabas' resignation, and publish its findings on March 23 as determined by the committee's mandate.
David has served as a judge for the Supreme Court of the State of New York and had a 25-year-long career as a federal criminal prosecutor in the state of New York. She has extensive experience in international human rights law - Davis is a member of the board of the American Society of International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the International Law Academy, and an executive member of the International Association of Justices.
Davis also served a member, and later the chairwoman, on a UN committee of independent experts asked to follow development of the findings of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry into events of the conflict between Gaza and Israel between December 2008 and January 2009.