UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on Thursday that Israel's deadly strikes on Gaza may constitute war crimes, and that the Hamas Islamist group had also violated international humanitarian law by firing rockets into Israel.
Bachelet said her office had verified the deaths of 270 Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including 68 children, during violence this month. Most were killed in Hamas-controlled Gaza, where Israel fought militants for 11 days, ending in a ceasefire.
Hamas rockets had killed 10 Israelis and residents. She was addressing a special session of the UN Human Rights Council, held at the request of Muslim states who have asked the forum to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate possible crimes and establish command responsibility.
The conflict erupted after Hamas demanded Israeli forces leave the Al Aqsa compound in East Jerusalem and later launched rockets towards Israel.
The "indiscriminate" rocket strikes constitute "a clear violation of international humanitarian law", Bachelet said, Reuters reported.
Israel responded with intense air strikes in Gaza, including shelling, missiles and attacks from the sea, causing widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and death, she said.
"Despite Israel’s claims that many of these buildings were hosting armed groups or being used for military purposes, we have not seen evidence in this regard," she added.
"If found to be indiscriminate and disproportionate, such attacks might constitute war crimes," Bachelet told the 47-member forum. She also urged Hamas to refrain from firing indiscriminate rockets on Israel.
She cautioned that unless the “root causes” of the violence are addressed, "it will certainly be a matter of time until the next round of violence commences with further pain and suffering for civilians on all sides.“
According to The Associated Press, the day-long debate involved personal accounts from Palestinians — such as that of a young woman journalist from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in east Jerusalem, an early flashpoint that triggered the violence — as well as statements from the council’s 47 member states and also observer states.
The Organization of Islamic Conference has presented a resolution that, if passed by the council, would mark an unprecedented level of scrutiny authorized by the council by setting up a permanent commission to report on human rights violations in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
A vote on the draft resolution was likely at the end of the session, which is largely virtual.
For his part, Riad al-Maliki, the Palestinian foreign minister, sought to highlight years of suffering by Palestinians in the lands controlled or occupied by Israel.
The Israeli war machinery and terrorism of its settlers continue to target our children who face murder, arrest and displacement, deprived of a future in which they can live in peace and security,” he said by video message.
.png?w=600)
