LOC17:10
14:10 GMT
PARIS, March 27 (KUNA) - - The International Human Rights Federation (FIDH), which regroups 178 human rights groups worldwide, on Friday said that Israeli military forces committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during their attack against the Gaza Strip during July-August 2014 and the FIDH presented strong evidence to support its findings.
In a new report called "Trapped and Punished: The Gaza Civilian Population under Operation Protective Edge," the FIDH said that witness statements indicated that the Israeli bombardment, from the air, sea and land, "was the worst they had seen" out of the three similar attacks by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) over the past several years.
The important report was submitted Friday to the International Criminal Court (ICC) only three days before the Palestinian's ratification process at the ICC goes into effect.
The FIDH said that "bombs fell entirely indiscriminately on men, women and children" during the Israeli operation that killed around 2,200 people, most of them Palestinian civilians in just under two months of fierce bombardments of Gaza. Around 70 Israelis, almost all of them soldiers, were also killed during the operation.
The Paris-based Human Rights Federation also said that it was looking into the indiscriminate use of rockets by Palestinian groups to see if this constituted war crimes or crimes against humanity, but the huge bulk of abuses are attributed to the IDF.
The FIDH said Friday that it hopes the ICC will take the case further after it carried out a preliminary examination of the facts in January this year.
"It's now time for ICC to move from a mere preliminary examination of the conflict to a full investigation. The Prosecutor must go to the field in order to appreciate the magnitude of the crimes committed," a statement from the FIDH said here.
Speaking on behalf of the body, Shawan Jabbarin, FIDH Vice-President, said that: "We all hope that April 1st will be a milestone in the fight against impunity in Palestine and Israel. Palestinians have been waiting for justice for far too long."
The report produces clear examples of "indiscriminate and direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects" and disproportionate use of force that gave no concrete military advantage.
There is also clear evidence of "deliberate attacks targeting medical services, among other potential crimes."
FIDH also presents several testimonies collected during field visits undertaken by the FIDH delegation. The team visited Rafah, Khan Younis, Beit Hanoun, and Gaza City, including Shuja'iya, where they took stock of the situation and met with victims of the military offensive.
"In addition to possible war crimes and crimes against humanity, the situations documented, such as the refusal of access to humanitarian relief, the targeting of residential areas, operational healthcare facilities and transport, and life-sustaining civilian infrastructure are consistent with violations of international humanitarian and human rights law," the FIDH statement said, warning about the impact of not pursuing these abuses.
"Impunity is nothing but an invitation to commit further such crimes. It's time for international justice to prevail over an unwilling national justice system" commented FIDH President Karim Lahidj.
The Israeli judicial system regularly gives a white-wash to the IDF and other Israeli security forces in any investigation of abuses with regard to Palestinians, be it in Gaza, the Occupied West Bank or in Israel. (end)
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