UN chief unclear on Gaza war investigations
UN chief unclear on Gaza War investigations
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The UN secretary general has said he is unsure as to whether Israel and the Palestinians have complied with demands for investigations to be carried out into the Gaza war.
In a report released on Thursday, Ban Ki-moon said the submissions received by the United Nations remained incomplete.
Both Israel and Hamas were told to launch independent investigations into their conduct during the 22-day military conflict which began at the end of 2008.
Last year's United Nations-sponsored Goldstone report has alleged both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes during the clashes.
Commenting on the demands for two independent inquiries, Mr Ban said it was impossible to tell whether they had been met because Israel was still in the process of reviewing the military conflict while the Palestinians had only recently looked into the conflict.
"No determination can be made on the implementation of the (UN) resolution by the parties concerned," he said in yesterday's report.
Israel recently announced it had disciplined two officers for approving the use of white phosphorus shells during the Gaza offensive.
The pair were charged with exceeding their authority in ordering the use of the weapons on January 15th 2009 but have reportedly held on to their ranks.
The Jewish state has continually denied violating international laws of conflict but concede "tragic results" were witnessed following the decision to conduct military operations in heavily populated areas.
The military campaign was originally launched in December 2009 in response to continued rocket fire from the militant group Hamas.
Up to 1,400 Palestinians are believed to have been killed in the subsequent clashes, many of whom were innocent civilians.