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U.N. Report on Gaza Finds Evidence of War Crimes by Israel and Palestinian Militants U.N. Report on Gaza Finds Evidence of War Crimes by Israel and by Palestinian Militants
(about 1 hour later)
JERUSALEM — A United Nations investigation found “serious violations of international humanitarian law” that “may amount to war crimes” by both Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip during their bloody battle last summer, according to a report released on Monday in Geneva.JERUSALEM — A United Nations investigation found “serious violations of international humanitarian law” that “may amount to war crimes” by both Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip during their bloody battle last summer, according to a report released on Monday in Geneva.
The report by a commission of the United Nations Human Rights Council said that “impunity prevails across the board” regarding the actions of Israeli forces in Gaza, and it called on Israel to “break with its recent lamentable track record in holding wrongdoers accountable.”The report by a commission of the United Nations Human Rights Council said that “impunity prevails across the board” regarding the actions of Israeli forces in Gaza, and it called on Israel to “break with its recent lamentable track record in holding wrongdoers accountable.”
As for Palestinian armed groups, the commission cited the “inherently indiscriminate nature” of rockets and mortars fired at Israeli civilians, condemned the killing of people suspected of being collaborators, and said that the Palestinian authorities had “consistently failed” to bring violators of international law to justice.As for Palestinian armed groups, the commission cited the “inherently indiscriminate nature” of rockets and mortars fired at Israeli civilians, condemned the killing of people suspected of being collaborators, and said that the Palestinian authorities had “consistently failed” to bring violators of international law to justice.
“Comprehensive and effective accountability mechanisms for violations allegedly committed by Israel or Palestinian actors will be a key deciding factor of whether Palestinians or Israelis are to be spared yet another round of hostilities and spikes in violations of international law,” the report said.“Comprehensive and effective accountability mechanisms for violations allegedly committed by Israel or Palestinian actors will be a key deciding factor of whether Palestinians or Israelis are to be spared yet another round of hostilities and spikes in violations of international law,” the report said.
The highly anticipated report is expected to serve as a road map for the inquiry into possible war crimes already underway by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The report is expected to serve as a road map for the inquiry into possible war crimes already underway by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
Israel last week published an extensive report arguing that its soldiers and commanders adhered to all international laws, and placing the bulk of the blame for Palestinian civilian deaths on Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza and led the fight against Israel.Israel last week published an extensive report arguing that its soldiers and commanders adhered to all international laws, and placing the bulk of the blame for Palestinian civilian deaths on Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza and led the fight against Israel.
The United Nations report condemns Israel’s restrictions on Gaza residents’ travel and trade, saying “the blockade and the military operation have led to a protection crisis and chronic, widespread and systematic violations of human rights.”The United Nations report condemns Israel’s restrictions on Gaza residents’ travel and trade, saying “the blockade and the military operation have led to a protection crisis and chronic, widespread and systematic violations of human rights.”
The commission says that “the scale of the devastation was unprecedented” in Gaza, where it counts 2,251 Palestinian deaths and 18,000 homes destroyed, and also cites “immense distress and disruption” to Israeli civilians, along with $25 million in civilian property damage. The commission said that “the scale of the devastation was unprecedented” in Gaza, where it counted 2,251 Palestinian deaths and 18,000 homes destroyed, and also cited “immense distress and disruption” to Israeli civilians, along with $25 million in civilian property damage.
Palestinian and Israeli children were “savagely affected by the events,” the report said in a distinct effort at even-handedness, adding that children on both sides “suffered from bed-wetting, shaking at night, clinging to parents, nightmares and increased levels of aggressiveness.” Palestinian and Israeli children were “savagely affected by the events,” the report said in a distinct effort at evenhandedness, adding that children on both sides “suffered from bed-wetting, shaking at night, clinging to parents, nightmares and increased levels of aggressiveness.”
The Israeli government refused to cooperate with the Human Rights Council inquiry, saying it was inherently biased.The Israeli government refused to cooperate with the Human Rights Council inquiry, saying it was inherently biased.
The criticism was initially focused on the original chairman of the panel, William Schabas, a Canadian law professor who resigned in February after a formal complaint by Israel about, among other things, his having worked as a consultant for the Palestine Liberation Organization.The criticism was initially focused on the original chairman of the panel, William Schabas, a Canadian law professor who resigned in February after a formal complaint by Israel about, among other things, his having worked as a consultant for the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Israeli officials have since pointed to what they see as prejudgments in the commission’s founding resolution, which “condemns in the strongest terms the widespread, systematic and gross violations of international human rights and fundamental freedoms” involved in the “Israeli military assault” on Gaza, saying it “involved disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks.”Israeli officials have since pointed to what they see as prejudgments in the commission’s founding resolution, which “condemns in the strongest terms the widespread, systematic and gross violations of international human rights and fundamental freedoms” involved in the “Israeli military assault” on Gaza, saying it “involved disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks.”
Mary McGowan Davis, a former justice of the New York State Supreme Court, replaced Mr. Schabas as head of the inquiry. She postponed the report’s release from March, citing a “need to adjust our work” in light of his resignation, and to “weigh with the utmost objectivity” the large amount of materials submitted to the panel, which conducted interviews in Jordan but was not allowed by Israel to enter Gaza for research.Mary McGowan Davis, a former justice of the New York State Supreme Court, replaced Mr. Schabas as head of the inquiry. She postponed the report’s release from March, citing a “need to adjust our work” in light of his resignation, and to “weigh with the utmost objectivity” the large amount of materials submitted to the panel, which conducted interviews in Jordan but was not allowed by Israel to enter Gaza for research.
Ms. McGowan Davis has also faced scrutiny after being one of the writers of a 2011 report on how Israel handled allegations of operational misconduct during Operation Cast Lead against Gaza in 2008-9. That report found that Israel had investigated hundreds of allegations but that it had taken little disciplinary action and that it never looked into those responsible for planning and managing the operation. Ms. McGowan Davis has also faced scrutiny after being one of the writers of a 2011 report on how Israel handled allegations of operational misconduct during Operation Cast Lead against Gaza in 2008-9. That report found that Israel had investigated hundreds of allegations but that it had taken little disciplinary action and that it had never looked into those responsible for planning and managing the operation.
Many Israeli officials and news organizations continued to refer to “the Schabas commission” and “the Schabas report.” Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said on Monday that Israel had taken that approach because “we believe that by calling it the Schabas report it positions it the way we want it to be positioned,” and “this reflects the spirit of the whole commission and the mandate.”Many Israeli officials and news organizations continued to refer to “the Schabas commission” and “the Schabas report.” Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said on Monday that Israel had taken that approach because “we believe that by calling it the Schabas report it positions it the way we want it to be positioned,” and “this reflects the spirit of the whole commission and the mandate.”
Prof. Amichai Cohen, an international law expert at the Israel Democracy Institute, submitted an opinion to the commission, not about the substance of the military’s operations but about its ability to investigate itself, a critical issue that could prevent the international court from taking up cases. Israeli and Palestinian officials both released statements saying they were still reviewing the findings. But while Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said his government would do so “in line with its staunch commitment to ensuring respect for these esteemed bodies of international law,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the report was “morally flawed from the outset,” and commissioned “by a notoriously biased institution.”
Citing recent overhauls, Professor Cohen argued that the United Nations’ “intervention” is “not justified and undermines the basis of the international demand to establish investigative mechanisms and adopt international law in the Israeli legal system.” Naftali Bennett, Israel’s far-right education minister, went further, calling it “a report with blood on its hands,” and Avigdor Lieberman, the ultranationalist former foreign minister, said “the picture will always be one-sided” and “parts of the facts there are simply not true.”
An executive summary said the 217-page report was based on 280 interviews with victims and witnesses, many conducted by videoconference, and on 500 written submissions, along with publicly available information, including data from Israeli government websites.
Neither Israel nor Hamas responded to written questions about specific incidents, though the report said that the “commission received full cooperation of the state of Palestine.”
The inquiry focused on what the report called “new patterns,” referring to Israeli attacks on homes in Gaza “resulting in the death of entire families”; Israeli ground operations that “leveled urban neighborhoods,” including the use of the “Hannibal directive” when a soldier was believed to have been captured; and Palestinian militants’ “reliance on attack tunnels” into Israeli territory.
Regarding the airstrikes on homes, which several rights organizations also examined closely, the United Nations commission investigated 15 cases that killed 216 people, including 115 children and 50 women.
The report said “precision-guided weapons were used in all cases,” but added “there is little or no information available to explain why residential buildings, which are prima facie civilian objects immune from attack, were considered to be legitimate military objectives.”
“There are strong indications that these attacks could be disproportionate, and therefore amount to a war crime,” the commission wrote. The investigators questioned the effectiveness of Israeli warning mechanisms, including the “knock on the roof,” in which a lighter missile is fired before a heavier bomb.
“The weapons used, the timing of the attacks, and the fact that the targets were located in densely populated areas indicate that the Israel Defense Forces may not have done everything feasible to avoid or limit civilian casualties,” the panel said.
The report found that Israel had used artillery and other “explosive weapons” in residential neighborhoods including Shejaiya, Khuza’a and Rafah. Those attacks “may amount to a war crime” by violating rules of “distinction, precaution and proportionality,” the report said. Attacks on medical facilities and schools serving as shelters for thousands of displaced Gazans, it said, probably violated “the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks,” which would constitute another war crime.
When Israeli commanders believed soldiers might have been taken by Palestinian forces in Shejaiya on July 13 and in Rafah on Aug. 1, the commission “has the distinct impression” that they “disregarded basic principles on the conduct of hostilities;” in Rafah, the executive summary said, “every moving vehicle or person became a potential target.”
Along with more than 6,000 Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, the report counted 4,881 rockets and 1,753 shot by Palestinians toward Israel between July 7 and Aug. 26. The commission said it had been unable to verify Israeli allegations regarding the use of civilian buildings by Palestinian militants, in part because it was unable to visit Gaza, but said they “also put Gazans in danger” by firing “from densely populated areas.”
“In cases where their goal may have been to use the presence of civilians to protect military assets from attack, this would constitute a violation of the customary law prohibition against the use of human shields,” the report says. “The questionable conduct of these armed groups, however, does not modify Israel’s own obligations to abide by international law.”
Throughout, the commission referred mainly to “Palestinian armed groups” generally, rather than Hamas, by far the dominant organization. It did cite Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, as having claimed responsibility for the summary killing of 21 alleged collaborators with Israel, an act which the commission definitively called a war crime.