UN TO LAUNCH PROBE INTO ISRAEL’S ‘WAR CRIMES’
Geneva, 26 Ramadan 1435/24 July 2014 (MINA) – The United Nations will launch an investigation into the Israeli regime’s war crimes against the Palestinians of the besieged Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, a resolution presented by Palestinians at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) was adopted by a vote of 29-1 with 17 abstentions. The United States voted against the resolution while all nine European Union members abstained from voting.
The 47-member forum condemned Israel’s onslaught against the coastal enclave, saying the offensive involved “disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks,” Press TV quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting Thursday.
“We came here to try to achieve together with you at least minimum justice for children who are being dismembered, for women whose bodies are lying in the streets, to find some justice for those who are being exterminated,” said Ibrahim Khraishi, the ambassador of the Palestinian observer mission to the UN in Geneva.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who opened Wednesday’s emergency debate, also said measures by Israel could be considered as “war crimes.”
She referred to Tel Aviv’s airstrikes against Gaza’s houses and hospitals, noting, “There seems to be a strong possibility that international humanitarian law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes.”
“Every one of these incidents must be properly and independently investigated,” she added.
Israeli warplanes have been carrying out incessant airstrikes against the blockaded Gaza Strip since July 8. On July 17, thousands of Israeli soldiers launched a ground invasion into the densely-populated strip.
So far, more than 700 people have been killed and thousands of others injured by the Israeli regime’s offensive against the coastal sliver despite pressure from the international community.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, has been launching retaliatory attacks against Israel. (T/E01/IR)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
