UN War Crimes Mission Leaves Gaza

08/06/09

The United Nations fact-finding committee investigating the Israeli military assault on Gaza five months ago left the region last Friday (June 5) having completed its first five-day visit to the beleaguered city, despite Israeli opposition.

The mission, led by South African judge Richard Goldstone, had to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing when Israeli authorities refused them a visa, despite numerous requests by the UN.

The mission was set up in the aftermath of the barbaric three-week Israeli onslaught that began on December 28 last year, which killed 1,400 people and numerous more since due to injuries and lack of services caused by the deliberate destruction of the region’s infrastructure.

Last week, Muhammad Zamlat, an 11-year-old boy injured in his home by an Israeli attack on January 5, finally succumbed to his wounds despite the best efforts of Palestinian doctors, working in dire conditions to save his life.

The UN committee was mandated to “investigate all violations of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law that might have been committed at any time in the context of the military operations that were conducted in Gaza”.

The committee will also investigate Israeli allegations of “war crimes” being carried out by Palestinian resistance fighters. During the Israeli operation, Palestinian fighters killed 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.

Despite the position of the fact-finding team, Israel has, from the start, said it would refuse to cooperate in any way with the investigation. Richard Goldstone said that Israel’s lack of cooperation was “disappointing” but would not decrease the importance of the UN investigation. The committee’s report is due to be published in August.

While the UN fact-finding mission was doing its work in Gaza, Palestinians continued to have their basic human rights trampled on by Israeli military forces and zionist settlers in the occupied nation.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reported that, in the last week, two Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, and four others (including two children) were injured by Israeli military gunfire. Israeli forces conducted 24 incursions into the West Bank and abducted 19 Palestinian civilians.

In the same period, zionist settlers kept up their persecution of the resident Palestinian population. Six Palestinians were injured in attacks by settlers near Nablus in the northern West Bank, settlers also destroyed several hectares of agricultural land in Till village in the West Bank and established a new settlement outpost in Bethlehem. They name part of the outpost Obama for the US president, who recently visited the Middle East.

Habitual Israeli violence against peaceful protests in the West Bank continued, with five people being injured by gunfire at the weekly Bil’in protest against the apartheid wall.

In the nearby village of Nil’in, four people were injured and another, 36-year-old Yousef Akel Sadiq Srour, was killed after being shot in the chest by live ammunition. There were clashes when Israeli forces set up four check points to prevent mourners from bringing Srour’s remains to his final resting place.

What the last week in occupied Palestine tells us, indeed what every week in occupied Palestine tells us, is that, whatever the UN fact-finding mission has to say when its report is eventually published, it will be worthless unless the international community finally stands up for freedom and justice, and against the Israeli occupation.