According to a recent report from Amnesty International, Israel and Hamas’ actions may have amounted to war crimes. In the past few weeks, both parties have disregarded human rights violations that could be considered part of their military strategy. This has escalated violence between Israel and Hamas, with more than 1,000 lives lost so far on each side. It’s time for accountability!
If the United Nations finds that Israel’s recent attacks on Gaza were too much and killed more than 200 people, it could be a war crime.
The United Nations Human Rights Council met on Thursday (April 25) following a request from Pakistan at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The council meeting was called to offer perspectives on the ongoing conflict in Palestine and Israel.
Palestinian officials have charged that Israeli troops are committing war crimes; Israel has denied these charges.
The UN official said she had seen no evidence that Israel hit civilian buildings in Gaza.
The United Nations Human Rights Council passed unprecedented levels of scrutiny on alleged abuses at the request of Muslim states.
Opening the session in Geneva, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet declared that Israel’s attacks on Gaza this month could constitute war crimes if found disproportionate. She further accused Hamas of firing indiscriminate rockets against Israel.
Eleven days of the worst fighting in years claimed more than 250 lives in Gaza, including 66 children. This violence killed 12 Israelis and two children on their side.
The commission would investigate “all underlying causes of recurrent tensions, instability, and protraction of conflict, including systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic or religious background.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took issue with establishing a UN war crimes commission to look into possible violations by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and many western powers. The commission follows moves by some diplomats and international bodies to reframe the crisis amid an evolving global debate on racism.
Israel has been accused of using disproportionate and indiscriminate force after 270 Palestinians were killed during the recent 11 days of violence.
Hamas is accused of committing intentional war crimes, including intentionally firing rockets at civilian areas in Israel.
Critics accuse the Israeli government of war crimes of its repeated and disproportional bombing of Gaza and establish and expand Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The conflict in Gaza has killed more than 250 Palestinians, but those numbers don’t include dozens of civilian casualties caused by Hamas’ own faulty rocket launches.
Ireland’s Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney, said Israel has been unequal in its treatment of Palestinians. He added that Israel’s actions on settlement expansion are of a “strategic nature” and include intent on taking over Palestinian land, warranting being frank about it.
But Israel and its allies, including the US and UK, have accused the UN rights body of anti-Israel bias.
This year, the UN Security Council has put aside its agenda item about Ukraine and scheduled a special discussion of Israel and Palestine for September.
What is a war crime?
War crimes are not criminal offenses under international law but are violations of the laws of war. They typically include killing or injuring civilians and targeting protected objects such as hospitals and civilian homes. War crimes can also include causing a captive population to be subject to torture or other cruel treatment, using children under 15 in combat, destroying cultural property (such as museums), and using chemical weapons.
Many countries have special tribunals set up to investigate allegations and try cases of war crimes. These can be civil courts or tribunals operating under the authority of a national government, or they can be military tribunals. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an international organization whose mission is to prevent and prosecute the most serious international crimes by bringing to justice individuals who commit them.
In addition to more traditional war crimes such as murder and rape, there have also been dramatic advances in the last two decades, particularly in identifying new types of war crimes, such as torture and kidnapping.
-The Geneva Conventions (such as willful killing, torture, or inhuman treatment) -Hague Convention on Land Warfare (such as attacking medical personnel and buildings).
War crimes don’t necessarily have to be violations of the Hague and Geneva Conventions. In fact, the Geneva Conventions were actually written before WWII, and many of their provisions only apply today because they were violated in that war.
