Rights group accuses Israel of war crimes
JERUSALEM—Israeli authorities have caused a forced displacement of Palestinian people in Gaza to an extent that constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report on Thursday.
The report is the latest in a series from aid groups and international bodies warning about the dire humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.
“Human Rights Watch found that forced displacement has been widespread, and the evidence shows it has been systematic and part of a state policy. Such acts also constitute crimes against humanity,” the report said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or foreign ministry but Israeli authorities have previously rejected such accusations, and say their forces operate in compliance with international law.
The law of armed conflict forbids the forcible displacement of civilian populations from occupied territory, unless necessary for the security of civilians or imperative military reasons.
‘Ethnic cleansing’
Israel invaded the Gaza Strip last year after Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities, and abducting more than 250 as hostages.
Since then, the Israeli campaign has killed more than 43,500 people, according to Gaza health authorities, and destroyed much of the enclave’s infrastructure, forcing most of the 2.3 million population to move several times.
For the past month, Israeli troops have moved tens of thousands of people from areas in the north of the enclave as they have sought to destroy Hamas forces the military says have been reforming around the towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun.
Human Rights Watch said the displacement of Palestinians “is likely planned to be permanent in the buffer zones and security corridors,” an action it said would amount to “ethnic cleansing.”
The Israeli military has denied seeking to create permanent buffer zones and foreign minister Gideon Saar said on Monday that Palestinians displaced from their homes in northern Gaza would be allowed to return at the end of the war.
Imminent famine
At the United Nations, the United States stressed on Tuesday that “there must be no forcible displacement, nor policy of starvation in Gaza” by Israel, warning such policies would have grave implications under US and international law.
The remarks by US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield came just hours after Washington said its ally Israel was doing enough to address the humanitarian crisis in Israel to avoid facing potential restrictions on US military aid.
“Still, Israel must ensure its actions are fully implemented—and its improvements sustained over time,” Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council.
It was also urgently important that Israel pause implementation of a law banning the operation of the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, she added.
The council met over a report by global hunger experts that said there was a “strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas” of northern Gaza as Israel pursues a military offensive against Palestinian militant group Hamas in the area.
“Most of Gaza is now a wasteland of rubble,” acting UN aid chief Joyce Msuya told the council. “As I brief you, Israeli authorities are blocking humanitarian assistance from entering North Gaza, where fighting continues, and around 75,000 people remain with dwindling water and food supplies,” she said.
Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon rejected the famine warning as “simply false” and outlined efforts by Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
