Amnesty accuses Hamas of war crimes

Amnesty International calls on the United Nations to impose an immediate and complete embargo of arms to hamas Israel and other Palestinian armed groups. The human rights organization issued a report previously regarding the foreign arms supplied to help Israel and Gaza, where she claims to have gathered evidence that Israel and Hamas both of the weapons used abroad, and specifically the United States between December 27 and January 18, the date of the cessation of fighting. We call upon the Security Council of the United Nations to impose an embargo [. .] Until they found a mechanism to ensure that ammunition and other military equipment are not used to commit serious violations of international law, said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty director for the Middle East.

At the site, we found many remains of weapons and ammunition used during the fighting. Through serial numbers, we could determine their origin, with the exception of an electrical component [missile engine] produced in France, while the rest came from the United States, said Donatella Rovera. The researcher for Amnesty International visited the site to investigate different types of violations of human rights in the Gaza Strip. Just arrived, was surprised by the number of remains found weapons including rockets and artillery. Hamas arrive without problem to the source from abroad, including through a system of smuggling is going on in part through tunnels into Egypt, he said. The Jewish State, for its part, has signed a ten-year agreement with Washington in 2007 that plans to provide military aid to 30 billion dollars.

Excessive use of white phosphorus artillery including fragments of phosphorous weapons - tanks or tanks of rocket darts or debris found in homes, hospitals or school playground .... All these weapons were used to commit serious violations of international law, including war crimes in Gaza and southern Israel, said Donatella Rovera. According to the defense of human rights, some or disproportionate attacks were directed against civilians or civilian buildings. Amnesty International, in particular, the fingertip of the repeated use of white phosphorus weapons against Palestinian civilians in the densely populated areas of Gaza. According to the hospital, patients, including children, now burning white phosphorus, which does not always heal.

For his part, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs said in a brief press release that all the weapons used were in accordance with international law and the use of Western armies, saying that Israel has deliberately attacked civilian targets. Israel is a sovereign nation which is forced to use force to protect its citizens, while Hamas is a terrorist organization, said the minister. The conflict, which lasted 22 days, killed, according to Amnesty International, more than 1,300 Palestinians, including 300 children and 13 Israelis, all of which Hamas is responsible for their death.