Juan Cole: U.N.: Israel’s Military Action in Gaza May Amount to War Crimes - Juan Cole - Truthdig
In international law, Israel’s pretext for indiscriminate bombing– that Hamas hides out among non-combatants– is unacceptable.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said on Wednesday
that Israel’s military actions are responsible for the death of a
child every hour in recent days and observed, “Respect for the right to
life of civilians, including children, should be a foremost
consideration. Not abiding by these principles may amount to war crimes
and crimes against humanity.” (see below). That is, in international
law, Israel’s pretext for indiscriminate bombing– that Hamas hides out
among non-combatants– is unacceptable. Israel is the occupying power in
Gaza and has a duty to minimize non-combatant death, which it clearly
is not doing (some 75% of Palestinians killed in this round of fighting
have been children, women and non-combatant men. About 147 children
have been killed by Israel; only a couple dozen Hamas fighters have
been. Thousands of non-combatants have been wounded by indiscriminate
shelling and air strikes, as well.)
Pillay noted that since July 7, Israel has launched 2,100 air strikes
on the densely-populated slum that the occupation has turned Gaza
into. Hundreds of civilian homes have been destroyed and 140,000 people
have been displaced and made homeless.
She also complained about Hamas’s indiscriminate rocket fire on civilian population centers, which is a war crime.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/un_israels_military_action_in_gaza_may_amount_to_war_crimes_20140724