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Steven Emerson,
Executive Director
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March 26, 2015
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Amnesty
International Alleges Palestinians Committed War Crimes
by IPT News • Mar 26, 2015 at
1:06 pm
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Palestinian terrorist groups violated international law and blatantly
disregarded civilian lives by consistently firing missiles indiscriminately
into Israel during last summer's war with Israel, Amnesty International reports.
The Amnesty report outlines evidence of numerous specific attacks
launched from the Gaza strip that directly resulted in the deaths of
Israeli civilians, including a 4-year-old boy. The report also strongly
suggests that Palestinian attacks killed Palestinian civilians. For
example, a missile fired from within the Gaza Strip killed 13 Palestinians,
11 of them children, after it landed in the al-Shati refugee camp. Even
though Palestinians accused Israel for the attack, an independent munitions
expert examining the evidence confirmed that Palestinians launched the
missile.
"Palestinian armed groups, including the armed wing of Hamas,
repeatedly launched unlawful attacks during the conflict killing and
injuring civilians. In launching these attacks, they displayed a flagrant
disregard for international humanitarian law and for the consequences of
their violations on civilians in both Israel and the Gaza Strip," said
Philip Luther, Amnesty International's director of the Middle East and
North Africa Program.
Amnesty's report also acknowledges that all of the rockets used by
Palestinian terrorist organizations are unguided missiles which are
inherently indiscriminate and lack the capability to strike targets
accurately. Moreover, the findings outline extensive Palestinian use of
mortars, which should never be utilized against military targets located
near residential areas.
Palestinian groups also violated international humanitarian law by using
civilian buildings including United Nations (UN) schools and hospitals for weapons storage. The report outlines specific cases
where terrorist organizations launched attacks very close to areas where
hundreds of displaced civilians were seeking refuge.
Amnesty's report also suggests that some of Israel's counterterrorism
operations should be investigated as war crimes as well and that both
Israeli and Palestinian authorities should cooperate with United Nations
(UN) commissions and the International Criminal Court.
Over 4,800 rockets and 1,700 mortars were launched into Israel from the
Gaza Strip during the summer conflict, according to UN data. Roughly 224 of
these projectiles hit Israeli residential areas, while Israel's Iron Dome
intercepted numerous other rockets achieving a success rate of 90 percent.
Click here to read the full Amnesty International report.
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