Middle East - Gaza

Israel, Hamas slam Amnesty Gaza report

Article published on the 2009-07-02 Latest update 2009-07-02 12:54 TU

A Palestinian girl stands in front of a destroyed house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
(Photo: Reuters)

Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas have both rejected the findings of a report on this year's Gaza conflict. British-based Amnesty International accuses the Israeli army of "wanton" attacks on civilians and claims that soldiers enjoy "impunity" in relation to war crimes. It says that Hamas's cross-border rocket attacks, which sometimes hit civilians, were also war crimes.

"The slant of their report indicates that the organisation succumbed to the manipulations of the Hamas terror organisation," an Israeli military statement said, dubbing the report "unbalanced" and "distorted".

And Hamas's Sami Abu Zuhri declared that Amnesty "puts the executioner and the victim on the same footing" by "falsely accusing Hamas, while playing down the seriousness of the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation".

The report says there is no truth in Israel's claim that Hamas used human shields and accuses the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) of doing so.

It repeats claims that Israel used white phosphorous in an illegal fashion, destroyed thousands of homes and killed hundreds of civilians, including 300 children.

The head of Amnesty's field research mission in Gaza, Donatella Rovera, says Israel has covered up abuses by the IDF.

"Israel's failure to properly investigate its forces' conduct in Gaza, including war crimes, and its continuing refusal to co-operate with the UN international independent fact-finding mission headed by Richard Goldstone, is evidence of its intention to avoid public scrutiny and accountability," she says.

Amnesty also accuses Hamas of endangering Palestinian civilians by firing rockets from residential areas and storing weapons and ammunition in them.