Both sides in Gaza conflict accused of war crimes
Both Israeli and Palestinian forces guilty of committing war crimes during 22-day conflict in Gaza strip
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Thursday, 02, Jul 2009 09:56
Both Israeli and Palestinian forces were guilty of committing war crimes during the 22-day conflict in the Gaza Strip at the beginning of the year.
A report published by Amnesty International has accused Israeli forces of killing hundreds of unarmed Palestinian civilians and destroying thousands of homes in Gaza, breaching the laws of war.
Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, on the other hand, fired hundreds of rockets into southern Israel, killing three Israeli civilians, injuring scores and driving thousands from their homes, which Amnesty claims also equates to committing war crimes.
Donatella Rovera, from the humanitarian group said: "Israel's failure to properly investigate its forces' conduct in Gaza, including war crimes, and its continuing refusal to cooperate with the UN international independent fact-finding mission headed by Richard Goldstone, is evidence of its intention to avoid public scrutiny and accountability.
"The international community, led by the UN Security Council, must use all its leverage to ensure that Israel cooperates fully with the Goldstone inquiry, which now offers the best means to establish the truth."
In detailing the actions of Hamas and other Palestinian group, she added: "Such unlawful attacks constitute war crimes and are unacceptable."
Around 1,400 Palestinians are believed to have been killed in the three-week offensive launched by Israel in response to continuing rocket fire by militant groups in the final days of December last year.
Amnesty claims the majority of those killed by Israeli fire were the victims of high-precision weaponry, while others were killed by artillery fire carrying white phosphorus.
Despite reports some of the victims were caught up in the fighting, Amnesty claims its research shows the many of those killed were bombed while they slept in their homes.
And disturbingly, today's report claims paramedics and ambulances were repeatedly attacked while attempting to help those injured in the Gaza Strip or collect the dead.
Ms Rovera added: "The deaths of so many children and other civilians cannot be dismissed simply as 'collateral damage'. Many questions remain to be answered about these attacks and about the fact that the strikes continued unabated despite the rising civilian death toll."
She added that the firing of rockets over the Israeli border by Palestinian militants, while less lethal, still involved unguided rockets which could not be directed at specific targets and violated international humanitarian law.
Amnesty has called on Israel to commit to not carrying out "direct, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks" on civilians and to end its blockade on the Gaza Strip.
The humanitarian group has also urged Hamas to renounce its policy of unlawful rocket attacks against civilian population centres in Israel and to prevent other armed groups from carrying out such attacks.
Both sides in the conflict were continually condemned and urged to call a ceasefire during the three weeks of fighting in December and January as the civilian death toll continued to rise.
US president Barack Obama has made the reopening of negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians one of his top foreign policy priorities since taking office.