Posted on 7
November 2014 by Josefina Salomon
By Salil
Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
Nearly three
months have passed since the latest conflict came to an end, but the piles of
rubble and empty shells of family homes in Gaza serve as painful reminders of
the death and destruction that resulted from Israel’s latest military operation
there in July and August this year.
Mohammad
Akram al-Hallaq’s three grandchildren were watching cartoons in the television
room when the three missiles struck on 20 July. The walls collapsed in an
avalanche of rubble, crumbling into piles of dust and rocks above and below
them. None of the children survived. Eight people, all civilians, including
four children from another family living in the building were also killed.
Across Gaza,
similar scenes were repeated. At least 18,000 homes were destroyed or damaged
beyond repair and more than 1,500 Palestinian civilians were killed during
Operation Protective Edge. In Israel, at least six civilians, including one
child, were killed as Palestinian armed groups fired indiscriminate rockets
across the border.In our report published today, Amnesty International
discloses the details of a series of Israeli attacks carried out in Gaza on
Palestinian family homes. Many of the homes attacked were crammed full of
people who had had sought safety with relatives after fleeing other war-ravaged
areas of Gaza.
With this
evidence we can now say with certainty that Israeli forces displayed an appalling
disregard for civilian life, levelling entire buildings housing dozens of
residents in several grossly disproportionate attacks carried out without
warning. The evidence clearly points to the fact that some of these unlawful
attacks are war crimes.
In total, at
least 104 civilians, including 62 children, were killed in unjustified attacks
on eight different homes. Such deaths could have and should have been
prevented. Civilians were given no warning and had no chance to flee. Under the
laws of war (international humanitarian law) deliberately attacking civilians
is strictly prohibited. And all feasible precautions, including warning
civilians, must be taken to minimize the risk to civilians.
Attacks which
are anticipated to cause large numbers of civilian casualties are likely to be
disproportionate and should be cancelled. Yet in several cases these
fundamental obligations were ignored.
Israeli
officials have failed to answer the difficult questions raised by these
attacks. In fact they have not even acknowledged that they were responsible.
Israel has the technical capability to carry out precise strikes on specific
targets causing far less devastation – why did its forces repeatedly choose to
level entire buildings full of civilians instead? What were the intended
targets? Why didn’t they issue effective warnings?
These were
not isolated incidents, but part of a pattern of attacks on inhabited homes
carried out throughout the operation, displaying an indifference to the
suffering of Palestinian civilians and disregard to its obligations under
international humanitarian law.
In this
decades-old conflict, both sides have shown scant regard for civilians.
Palestinian armed groups have fired indiscriminate rockets into Israel, stored
weapons in schools, and launched rockets near civilian homes. So far there is
no indication that violations by either side have brought their people safety
or security.
This year’s
war was the third major conflict in Gaza since 2008. The world has grown too
accustomed to images of bodies of Gazans being pulled from beneath the rubble
and of Israeli civilians running for bomb shelters.
It seems the
wounds barely have time to heal before a fresh round of fighting breaks out.
But neither
the Palestinian authorities nor Israel have conducted independent, impartial
investigations into allegations of war crimes during past hostilities.
To put an end
to this ever worsening devastation and destruction, the cycle of impunity must
be stopped. Serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian
law must be independently and impartially investigated and those responsible
for crimes must be brought to justice.
Israel must
lift the siege of Gaza and ensure that it never again relies on tactics that
violate the fundamentals of international humanitarian law. And Hamas and
Palestinian armed groups for their part must end indiscriminate attacks and
deliberate attacks on civilians.
At present,
the prospects for justice look slim. Israel has announced a series of inquiries
that do not meet international standards and have no prospect of ensuring
justice and reparation for victims. Neither Hamas or the Palestinian
authorities are likely to do any better. Israel has pointedly refused to
cooperate with the UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate alleged human rights
abuses in the latest conflict and it has continued to deny access to Gaza for
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
The
International Criminal Court (ICC) is crucial to bringing those responsible for
crimes under international law in current and previous Israeli-Palestinian
conflicts to justice. The Israeli and Palestinian authorities and the
international community alike must take all measures to give the ICC Prosecutor
authority to do what national authorities have failed to do: independently and
impartially investigate crimes by all parties.
The
international community must not be allowed to fail the victims of violations
once more. Those who order or commit war crimes must be brought to justice or
civilians are likely to pay an even higher price in the next round of fighting.
Follow Salil
Shetty in Twitter @salilshetty
This oped was
originally published in Al-Jazeera.com
For more
information:
Israeli
forces displayed ‘callous indifference’ in deadly attacks on family homes in
Gaza (News Story/Report, 5 November 2014)
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