UN Inquiry into 2018 Gaza Protests Concludes Israel's Violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Warrant Criminal Investigation and Prosecution
An independent UN report into last year's protests
along
Gaza's border fence involving Israeli security forces, that
resulted in the shooting deaths of more than 180 Palestinians,
concluded on [February 28] that there are "reasonable grounds" to
believe Israel violated international humanitarian law.
There was "no justification" for Israeli forces to use
live
rounds, according to a press release issued by the UN Commission
of Inquiry into the 2018 Gaza protests.
 "The Commission has found
reasonable grounds to believe
that
Israeli security forces committed serious violations of human
rights and international humanitarian law," Chairperson Santiago
Canton told journalists in Geneva.
He added: "These violations clearly warrant criminal
investigation and prosecution and we call on Israel to conduct
meaningful investigations into these serious violations and to
provide timely justice for those killed and injured."
Created by the 47-Member UN Human Rights Council in May
last
year, the Commission of Inquiry was tasked with investigating all
violence linked to anti-Israeli demonstrations on the Israel-Gaza
border from March 30 to December 31, 2018.
In total, the Commission conducted 325 interviews with
victims and witnesses and analyzed audio-visual material showing
demonstrators being shot.
Its findings indicate that Israeli Security Forces
injured
6,106 Palestinians with live ammunition at protest sites during
the period of its mandate, while another 3,098 Palestinians were
injured by bullet fragmentation, rubber-coated metal bullets or
by tear gas canisters.
Four Israeli soldiers were injured at the
demonstrations, the
report also found, noting that one Israeli soldier was killed on
a protest day "but outside the protest sites."
Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the beginning of
the
protests on March, 30, 2018, which Gazans refer to as the "Great March
of Return," the Commission of Inquiry underscored the need for
Israel and the Hamas-controlled Palestinian authorities to do
more to protect civilians, who continue to demonstrate near the
border fence every Friday.
"The Commission found reasonable grounds to believe
that
Israeli snipers shot at journalists, health workers, children and
persons with disabilities, knowing they were clearly recognizable
as such," it said in a statement.
Memorial April 13, 2018 for a young journalist killed by Israeli forces.
Commissioner Betty Murungi described how an 11-year-old
boy
was shot while playing football near the fence with Israel. He
subsequently had one of his legs amputated.
"Although the killings have lessened, we still see
protected
groups of individuals, including children, still being killed as
recently as three weeks ago," said Commissioner Sara Hossain.
She added that paramedics and journalists also continue
to be
injured at demonstration sites, while also dismissing the idea
that the protesters were intent on violent acts.
"We found that in all of the demonstrations, there was
violence in the form of the use of the throwing of stones and
burning of tires by a minority of demonstrators," she said,
adding that "the vast majority" were not involved in any form of
violence.
"There were women and children present, there were
people
having poetry readings, playing music, waving flags, things that
can't in any way be considered to be violent," she insisted: "I
think the characterization of all the demonstrators as violent is
something we wouldn't agree with."
 
Reading chain protest and childrens' cultural programs at Great Return
March camps.
De Facto
Authorities 'Must Encourage Peaceful Protests'
In addition to the appeal to Israel to cooperate with an
investigation into the killings, Commission chairperson Santiago
Canton called on the de facto
authorities in Gaza to ensure that
demonstrations were peaceful.
"The Commission finds that these protests were a call
for
help from a population in despair," Santiago Canton said. "Not
only Israel but also the de facto
authorities led by Hamas and
the Palestinian Authority have responsibilities towards them.
Mr Santiago also noted the Commission's call for
Israel to lift the blockade of Gaza, and in particular allow
those in need of urgent medical care to leave the territory,
after it found that hospitals there were "literally overwhelmed
by the sheer number of death and injuries" after demonstrations
on May 14.
The Commission of Inquiry's full report was
presented to
the Human Rights Council on March 18.
For the full text of the report click
here.
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 11 - March 30, 2019
Article Link:
UN Inquiry into 2018 Gaza Protests Concludes Israel's Violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Warrant Criminal Investigation and Prosecution
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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