Buried among the ever more alarming information concerning abuses and international humanitarian law violations committed by Israeli forces in the course of their operations in Gaza is information that has emerged regarding the transfer of Palestinian detainees to a military facility inside Israel. There, dozens of detainees are being held for interrogation as "unlawful combatants", in violation of international humanitarian law, which prohibits such transfers.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has confirmed he will close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, ending one of the most controversial chapters in U.S. President George W. Bush's war on terror.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said he wanted to close the US military prison at Guantanamo but could not forge agreement inside the Bush administration.

The Bush administration says it has no immediate plans to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay Cuba despite demands by some members of Congress and human rights groups. As VOA correspondent Meredith Buel reports from Washington, the administration says it wants to close the facility but has issues to resolve before that can happen.