Amnesty International Accuses Israeli Army of Committing 'War Crimes'

Amnesty International states that the Israeli army, during the latest round of conflict in Gaza last summer, intentionally and directly attacked residential buildings, which constitutes a 'war crime'; and has raised questions with officials in that country that have yet to receive an appropriate response. On Tuesday, December 9, the organization reported that the destruction of four multi-story buildings in the last four days of the 50-day Gaza war was contrary to international human rights law. Philip Luther, the organization's senior representative for the Middle East and North Africa, stated, 'All available evidence indicates that the widespread destruction (of buildings) was carried out deliberately and without any convincing military justification.' This international organization has called for an independent and thorough investigation into the matter and for a fair trial of those responsible. Mr. Luther referenced statements or announcements from the Israeli army that labeled the attacks as 'collective punishment of the people of Gaza.' One of the destroyed buildings was an administrative commercial center in Rafah. According to Amnesty International, residents were warned to evacuate the building, but they did not have the opportunity to take their important belongings. Meanwhile, a group of people in adjacent buildings were injured, and hundreds lost their homes. This human rights organization also questioned why, despite military commitments to use methods and equipment that cause the least harm to civilians, this did not happen. The organization cited other attacks carried out by the Israeli Air Force, where specific locations were targeted without the entire building being destroyed. Israel has yet to provide an 'appropriate response' to Amnesty International's inquiries, according to the organization. Previously, in September, Human Rights Watch also reported that Israel likely committed war crimes during the Gaza conflict. The Israeli army conducted investigations into its forces' actions in the Gaza war at the end of last summer, but sometimes the results of these investigations do not meet the approval of international organizations that call for independent investigations. The 50-day Gaza crisis - involving rocket fire from Palestinian militants and Israeli attacks on the strip - ended at the end of August, leaving over 2,100 Palestinian casualties, mostly civilians. On the Israeli side, 73 were killed, 67 of whom were military personnel. In this context, the UN Human Rights Committee condemned Israel's actions in violating the human rights of Palestinians. After a rocket attack from Gaza, Israel closed its border crossings. An attack by assailants on Israeli citizens in the West Bank resulted in one death. The Israeli army formed eight criminal cases during the investigation of the Gaza war.