Amnesty International Finds Evidence of War Crimes in attack on Gaza

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the UN Human Rights Council and allow access to relevant personnel and documents as well as provide access to Gaza to facilitate and investigation of international law “by all parties to the conflict.”

“The onus in[sic] on the Israeli government to explain what the intended target was in each of these attacks, in what way the target was a lawful military objective, what the means and methods of attack used were and why they were selected.”

The Israeli government has responded by saying it is conducting its own investigation of the instances in the report and accusing Amnesty of serving “as a propaganda tool for Hamas and other terror groups.” Israel has also questioned the credibility of Amnesty’s use of field workers to collect the data for the report, a strategy the organization was forced to use because Israel will not allow them to enter Gaza.

Amnesty says that ultimately the International Criminal Court should be given the authority to investigate. From Amnesty News:

Given the failure of Israeli and Palestinian authorities to independently and impartially investigate allegations of war crimes, it is imperative that the international community support the involvement of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Amnesty International is renewing its calls on Israel and the Palestinian authorities to accede to the Rome Statute and grant the ICC the authority to investigate crimes committed in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The organization is also calling for the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Israel and the OPT to the ICC so that the prosecutor can investigate allegations of crimes under international law by all parties.

Israel has continued to deny access to Gaza for international human rights organizations including Amnesty International and the organization has been forced to conduct its research for this report remotely, supported by two fieldworkers based in Gaza. Israel has also announced that it will not co-operate with the Commission of Inquiry established by the UN Human Rights Council.

“Failing to allow independent human rights monitors into Gaza smacks of a deliberately orchestrated attempt to cover up violations or hide from international scrutiny. Israel must cooperate fully with the UN Commission of Inquiry and grant international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International immediate access to Gaza to prove its commitment to human rights,” said Philip Luther.

- See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2014/11/amnesty-international-committing#sthash.Tg00rAKg.dpuf

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