Israel committed war crimes in 2014, says Amnesty International
Amnesty International says new evidence shows Israeli forces carried out war crimes in Gaza following the capture of a soldier by Hamas in last year's war.
The joint report by Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture published on Wednesday says at least 135 civilians were killed in a bombardment of Rafah after Israeli Lt. Hadar Goldin was abducted on Aug. 1.聽
"There is strong evidence that Israeli forces committed war crimes in their relentless and massive bombardment of residential areas of Rafah in order to foil the capture of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, displaying a shocking disregard for civilian lives," said Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International.
The 2014 Gaza-Israel conflict, initially sparked by the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers, began on July 8 and ended on Aug. 26 with a truce.
The fighting left , including , of whom聽551 were children, according to UN figures.聽On the Israeli side, 67 soldiers and six civilians were killed.
The Amnesty report specifically refers to the bombardment of Rafah on Aug. 1, known locally as ","聽which happened soon after the lieutenant was abducted in the outskirts of Rafah in southern Gaza. He was later declared dead.
After Goldin鈥檚 abduction, Israel employed "a 鈥榞loves off鈥� policy, with devastating consequences for civilians," reports Mr. Luther. "The combined analysis of hundreds of photos and videos, as well as satellite imagery and testimony from eyewitnesses, provides compelling evidence of serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israeli forces which must be investigated."
The Israeli embassy in London has dismissed the report as "fundamentally flawed in its methodologies, in its facts, in its legal analysis, and in its conclusions," . It said in a statement that Israel conducts all its operations "in accordance with international law" and added that the alleged Rafah incidents are already "under examination" by the Israeli Defense Forces.
On June 22 the United Nations 聽that both Israel and Palestinians may have committed war crimes during the 2014 conflict.
Three days later, the Palestinian Authority made of Israeli war crimes to the International Criminal Court,聽in a bid to speed up the court鈥檚 inquiry into the abuses committed during last year鈥檚 conflict.
It is not clear when ICC will announce its conclusion. The Hague-based ICC has no police force or enforcement powers of its own.
Israel, which is not a member of the ICC, has always denied allegations of war crimes by its forces during the 2014 Gaza war. It instead accuses Hamas of atrocities in firing rockets at Israel.
