London, Jan 18, IRNA–There is mounting evidence that Israel is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, a senior Amnesty International director told IRNA.
Philip Luther, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program, told IRNA although Hamas is also launching missile attacks on civilians in Israel, Israel is “disproportionately” striking Gaza and this is “unlawful”.
“From the beginning of the Gaza crisis, we have been seeking to obtain as much information as possible and then to try to lobby and campaign for an end to those violations. Targeting civilians and civilian buildings in Gaza by the Israeli armed forces in a disproportionate manner are war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he said.
Luther added that Amnesty International offices throughout the world have been lobbying to raise this issue for the parties engaged and at the international level.
“As a human rights and not a humanitarian organization, the role of the Amnesty is to focus on abuses of human rights. With respect to Gaza, that means our role is to investigate and report on human rights abuses in that situation and the violation of international humanitarian laws as in the laws of war.”
Luther suggested that the Amnesty International has the “responsibility to report on and to indicate where we think there is mounting evidence of war crime.”
“War crime is a very specific term which refers to a specific incidence. There are incidents where there is mounting evidence that war crime was committed in Gaza,” he said.
The human rights expert explained that in order to be able to bring that case to a court for instance in another country or even within Israel potentially, “you need to have evidence that would meet the requirements of a court of law” to show that a “specific person” was responsible and carried out attacks on civilians with “criminal intent”.
“It is clear that Israel was targeting civilians, non-military buildings and using disproportionate attacks,” he said when asked if Israel’s atrocities in Gaza are regarded as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“There is mounting evidence that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza. However, if missiles are fired at Israeli civilian buildings from the Gaza Strip in a disproportionate manner, it is also a war crime,” he clarified, saying that one violation doesn’t justify another under international laws.
Luther said resisting occupation in the sense of attacks against Israeli military targets is not classified as “unlawful attacks” according to international laws.
“We have called on the UN Security Council twice that there should be an immediate arms embargo on both Israel and Hamas because they are committing violations of humanitarian law.”
Asked about the use of banned weapons in the Israel-Gaza conflict, Luther said at least there has been “no denial by the Israeli army regarding the use of white phosphorous weapons in Gaza.”
Luther explained that white phosphorous weapons are not banned per se under international law but the problem is with the way in which those weapons are used.
“When phosphorous bombs are used by the Israeli army in densely-populated areas such as Gaza, that is a serious concern because it is inevitable that civilians will be killed and injured as a result.”
“We want to investigate the violation of international humanitarian laws by both parties in the conflict,” he said, adding that the number of civilians killed in the Gaza Strip compared to the number of civilians killed in Israel “speaks for themselves.”
Luther said Israel’s use of force against civilians, targeting civilian buildings in Gaza and Israel’s disproportionate attacks as the result of which hundreds of civilians have died are “serious abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law.”
“To be able to identify Israeli atrocities in Gaza as a war crime, you have to have evidence that there was an individual who was responsible and who did target civilians with criminal intent.”
Asked about the reaction of the European Union concerning the human rights violations in Gaza, the senior Amnesty International official said European governments have not been doing enough to prevent human rights violation during Israeli strikes on Gaza.
He said Europeans and the United States “have to impose an immediate arms embargo on Israel” because human rights violations are being committed by the arms they provide for the regime.
As a cargo ship carrying huge amounts of weaponry, possibly including controversial white phosphorous, heads to Israel, Amnesty International announced on Friday it is campaigning for a “full arms embargo” on all parties involved to prevent any further flow of arms to the conflict.
“As a matter of urgency, they [Europeans and Americans] should do it and be accountable towards that. Every country has the responsibility as to where war crimes allegations are brought before their court, to take those seriously,” he said.
Luther added that human rights monitors should be allowed to report on violations either from Israel or Gaza.