The judiciary of both the Palestinian authority and Israel are preparing for a possible Tribunal for War Crimes into the massacre committed by Israeli forces against citizens participating in Marches of Return this week, which resulted in the killing of dozens of Palestinians and the injury of thousands of them.
Sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has begun collecting testimonies from citizens and ambulance crews, who have been subjected to the suppression of Israeli forces. The PA asked the citizens to hand over their tapes, photographs and traces of Israeli weapons and ammunition because they needed them as evidence in court.
Spokesman for the Palestinian government, Youssef Mahmoud said the purpose behind this move was to provide evidence of the truth.
“We want nothing but the truth. We have called on the United Nations and the Security Council to form a commission of inquiry, and we have informed them that we will agree with the conclusions and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry even before they are formed because we are concerned with nothing but the truth,” he asserted.
Israel's Attorney General is also collecting all the information, documents and photographs available for investigation in the court, especially since it recognizes that the battle will be more difficult than before, since all the victims are Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis said he’s “very concerned” over the tensions in the Holy Land and the Middle East.
“I am very concerned about the escalation of tensions in the Holy Land and in the Middle East, and for the spiral of violence that increasingly moves away from the path of peace, dialogue and negotiations,” Francis said at the end of his weekly Wednesday audience.
After expressing his sorrow for the dead and the wounded, the pope insisted that “it’s never the use of violence that leads to peace. War begets war, violence begets violence.”
“May God have mercy on us,” Francis said.
Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians near the Gaza border with Israel on Monday during protests against the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.
The Pope, who visited Israel and the Palestinian territories in 2014, asked the two sides and the international community to redouble their efforts "until dialogue, justice and peace prevail."
