Human rights body submits report of Israeli war crimes to ICC
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has submitted a detailed report to the International Criminal Court (ICC) slamming Israel for war crimes and crimes against humanity during its devastating military onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip last summer.
The report by the Paris-based rights body was presented just days before Palestine is to be officially ratified as an ICC member.
The ICC prosecutor opened a file on the Israeli atrocities in Gaza at the request of Palestinians in January.
In the report, entitled “Trapped and Punished: The Gaza Civilian Population under Operation Protective Edge” and published on Friday, the FIDH pointed to the examples of indiscriminate and direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects, the disproportionate use of force as well as deliberate attacks targeting medical services during the Israeli war on Gaza, which was codenamed by the Israeli regime as “Operation Protective Edge.”
The nongovernmental rights body, which was the first organization that gained access to the Gaza Strip following a ceasefire in August last year, also presents testimonies collected from victims of the 50-day Israeli war on the coastal enclave.
The rights body says its findings will take the case even further.
“It’s now time for ICC to move from a mere preliminary examination of the conflict to a full investigation. The Prosecutor must go to the field in order to appreciate the magnitude of the crimes committed,” said Shawan Jabbarin, the FIDH vice president, adding, “Palestinian[s] have been waiting for justice for far too long.”
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat also said Monday that ICC started investigating war crimes committed by Israel during the war on Gaza.
“To them we say: we are the victims,” Erekat said, adding that “those who fear to be brought to justice should stop committing their crimes.”
Israel started its latest war on the Gaza Strip in early July last year. The offensive ended on August 26, 2014, with a truce that took effect after indirect negotiations in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
Nearly 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children, were killed in Israel’s 50-day onslaught. Over 11,100 others - including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly people - were also injured.
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