Israel may have committed war crimes during its deadly 11-day offensive on the Gaza Strip in May, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.
In the report published on Tuesday, HRW said that it investigated three Israeli strikes that killed 62 Palestinian civilians “where there were no evident military targets in the vicinity,” in some cases, killing entire families in one airstrike.
The May offensive was Israel’s fourth devastating offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip since 2009. Over the course of 11 days, Israel killed at least 256 Palestinians, including 66 children.
“Israeli authorities’ consistent unwillingness to seriously investigate alleged war crimes, as well as Palestinian forces’ rocket attacks toward Israeli population centers, underscores the importance of the International Criminal Court’s inquiry,” Gerry Simpson, HRW’s associate crisis and conflict director said.
While the report focused on three airstrikes that resulted in the highest civilian death toll “with no evident military targets,” HRW added that other Israeli attacks during the May offensive “were also likely unlawful.”
One of the three attacks highlighted in the report was the attack on the crowded residential neighborhood of al-Wahda street, which Israel bombarded in the early morning hours of May 16th.
The four-minute attack caused three mulit-story buildings to collapse, killing 44 Palestinian civilians, at least half of whom were from the al-Qawlaq family, including eight children.
While the Israeli military claimed at the time, and maintains until today, that the strikes targeted tunnels and an underground command center used by armed Palestinian groups, HRW noted that the army has “presented no details to support that claim.”
While the Israeli military claimed at the time, and maintains until today, that the strikes targeted tunnels and an underground command center used by armed Palestinian groups, HRW noted that the army has “presented no details to support that claim.”
In a response to a request from HRW on the cases highlighted in the report, the Israeli army said that it “strikes military targets exclusively, following an assessment that the potential collateral damage resulting from the attack is not excessive in relation to the expected military advantage.”
The army statement added that it makes” concerted efforts to reduce harm to uninvolved individuals [and] in many of the [May] strikes … when possible … provided civilians located within military targets with prior warning.”
HRW called on Israel’s allies like the United States, which funds Israel’s military with billions of dollars every year, to “condition future security assistance to Israel on it taking concrete and verifiable actions to improve its compliance with the laws of war and international human rights law, and to investigate past abuses.”
The report added that in at least two of the attacks investigated by the group, the weapons used by Israel were US-made.
In the report, HRW also noted that rocket fire from armed Palestinian groups into Israel may have also violated the laws of war, and that the group is conducting a separate investigation into those incidents.
Of the “laws of war”, HRW said this:
“Under international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, warring parties may target only military objectives. They must take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians, including by providing effective advance warnings of attacks. Deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects are prohibited. The laws of war also prohibit indiscriminate attacks, which include attacks that do not distinguish between civilians and military targets or do not target a military objective. Attacks in which the expected harm to civilians and civilian property is disproportionate to the anticipated military gain are also prohibited. Individuals who commit serious violations of the laws of war with criminal intent – that is, deliberately or recklessly– are responsible for war crimes.”
The group urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) and judicial authorities in other countries to investigate and prosecute “those credibly implicated in serious crimes in the OPT and in Israel under the principle of universal jurisdiction.”
Nothing much has changed since the Jewish Terrorists threw bombs into crowded Arab Markets and onto buses and then ran off like the ungodly cowards they were.
The Brave pilots (modern day terrorists)of the iaf are just as cowardly , dropping bombs from 35000 ft and then hightailing it back to the so called Jewish state and historic homeland of the Jewish People , what or whoever that means.
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From Canada:
https://nifcan.org/joint-letter-sheikh-jarrah/
“YOUNG CANADIAN JEWS URGE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT TO STRONGLY OPPOSE FORCED EXPULSIONS IN SHEIKH JARRAH”
“On July 22, 2021, young Jewish leaders from three liberal Zionist organizations (New Israel Fund of Canada (NIFC), JSpaceCanada, and Canadian Friends of Peace Now (CFPN) sent a joint letter to the Canadian government and the heads of all the major political parties urging them to speak out strongly against the forced expulsions and demolition of homes of Palestinians in East Jerusalem:
“’We write to you urgently as young leaders in the Canadian Jewish community. Although the recent violence in Israel/Palestine may have ceased, forced expulsions of Palestinians in East Jerusalem by Israel continue—including the parents of a Canadian citizen,“ say the letter writers using official letterhead of the 3 organizations.
“Their letter comes in the wake of a slow and rather weak response by the Trudeau government to this violation of international law and official Canadian policy. (NOTE: Canadian policy officially opposes any change in the status of Jerusalem and does not ‘recognize’ Israeli annexation of the city.)
“Sheikh Jarrah is only the tip of the iceberg. The expulsions in Sheikh Jarrah are only a small part of Israel’s actions against Palestinians in both occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Silwan is another area of Jerusalem where Israel deploys administrative and legal tools, and its paramilitary forces, to enable Jewish settlers to take over a Palestinian neighbourhood, expelling Palestinian families.
“Israel’s destruction of Palestinian homes has averaged between 35 and 91 PER MONTH since 2016. Similar actions are taking place all over the West Bank.
“A recent report from the Jerusalem-based UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is blunt in its assessment. ‘In June, the Israeli authorities demolished, forced people to demolish, or seized 91 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank including Jerusalem’, reported OCHA. ‘This resulted in the displacement of 108 people, including 62 children, and otherwise affected the livelihoods or access to services of nearly 2,700 others.’
“’The number of structures demolished or seized in June is the highest this year (…) a 600 percent increase compared to May’. – OCHA JUNE REPORT. (cont’d)
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“Canadian liberal Zionists are growing increasingly uncomfortable with Israeli policy and actions.
“The letter to Trudeau and the other political leaders is signed by 13 young Jewish Canadians members of three Jewish organizations – the New Israel Fund of Canada (NIFC), Canadians Friends of Peace Now (CFPN), and J-Space Canada. It reflects a significant increase in the level of critique of Israel by liberal Zionist organizations in Canada and the USA.
CFPN has recently organized, in conjunction with its US counterpart (Americans for Peace Now), several excellent webinars examining the East Jerusalem issue. While CFPN avoids using the term ‘ethnic cleansing’ to describe Israel’s policy of Judaization of East Jerusalem (that is the official Israeli term for the policy) it has been very clear in its criticisms of the practice.
NOTE: “In conjunction with Americans for Peace Now, CFPN will be holding an urgent ‘high level’ public webinar on the East Jerusalem issue on July 30th.
“With both prime minister Netanyahu and his American enabler Trump gone – with no change on the ground – it is becoming clearer that Israel’s abuse is systemic and the occupation is permanent. Public letters and webinars by liberal Zionists reflect this. We encourage these young Jewish leaders to remain seized with the issue and go beyond calling on the Canadian government to simply ‘reiterate your position to Israel,’ as the current letter does, and actually demand that it impose meaningful consequences on Israel for its actions.”