UN: Palestinian death toll in 2014 highest since 1967

More than 550 children, 240 women were killed only in the 51-day Israeli war on Gaza in 2014 

In the Gaza Strip, 1.8 million Palestinians endured the worst escalation of aggressions since 1967: over 2,260 Palestinians were killed, more than 11,000 injured, some 100,000 remain displaced.

Days of Palestine, New York –The continuous Israeli aggression against Palestinians claimed lives of more Palestinians in 2014 than any year since 1967, United Nations’ report said on Thursday.

In 2014, the Israeli occupation waged a devastating war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that killed nearly 2,260 people, while intense violence in occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank killed dozens of Palestinians.

OCHA said: “Palestinian civilians continue to be subject to threats to their life, physical safety and liberty, with 2014 witnessing the highest civilian death toll since 1967.”

It continued: “In the Gaza Strip, 1.8 million Palestinians endured the worst escalation of aggression since 1967: over 1,500 Palestinian civilians were killed, more than 11,000 injured and some 100,000 remain displaced.”

More than 550 children were among the dead, it added.

In addition to the casualties among Palestinians, 73 died on the Israeli side, including only four non-combatants and a child.

Meanwhile, OCHA said: “A record number of 1,215 Palestinians were displaced due to home demolitions in the occupied Jerusalem and West Bank.”

It added: “Settlement and settler activities continued, in contravention of international law, and contributed to humanitarian vulnerability of affected Palestinian communities.”

- See more at: http://www.daysofpalestine.com/features/un-palestinian-death-toll-2014-highest-since-1967/#sthash.M9mM08i1.dpuf

Human rights group: Evidence points to Israeli war crimes in Gaza

Ben White

The Israeli military likely commissioned war crimes and crimes against humanity during 2014's 'Operation Protective Edge', a leading international human rights NGO has concluded.

The report by FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), a Paris-based body representing 178 global human rights organisations, comes shortly before Palestine's ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which goes into effect tomorrow.

"Trapped and Punished: The Gaza Civilian Population under Operation Protective Edge" is based on evidence collected by a FIDH fact-finding delegation to Gaza, composed of the Legal Advisor for the Belgian League for Human Rights and FIDH's Permanent Representative to the EU.

According to FIDH, "the report compiles examples of indiscriminate and direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects, disproportionate to any concrete military advantage, as well as deliberate attacks targeting medical services, among other potential crimes."

The delegation also investigated other violations of international law by Israel's armed force, including "the refusal of access to humanitarian relief", and "the targeting of...operational healthcare facilities and transport" as well as "life-sustaining civilian infrastructure."

FIDH notes that Israeli "attacks on densely populated residential areas killed an exceptional number of civilians." Around 60 percent of confirmed Palestinian fatalities "were a direct consequence of large-scale, deliberate and systematic military attacks against family homes", states the report.

The report also tackles head on a number of the justifications or explanations offered by the Israeli military for the Palestinian civilian death toll, and finds them wanting. In particular, the Israeli policy of issuing 'warnings', either to an entire neighbourhood, or to a specific building, is condemned as both inadequate and itself criminal.

This report submits that Israel's warning policy in Gaza during the summer of 2014 was not only ineffectively implemented, but was also conceived and applied so inconsistently that instead of protecting civilians, it was used to spread confusion and terror among the civilian population.

The FIDH delegation heard harrowing stories of relatives left behind "in the panic", while those "with mobility difficulties found themselves simply having to sit and await death as those around them fled." The 'warnings', therefore

failed to evidence a credible attempt to achieve the legitimate aim of civilian protection; rather, they suggest an intentional policy on the part of the Israeli State to forcibly displace and/or justify subsequent civilian death.

FIDH's report comes as Palestine formally ratifies the Rome Statute of the ICC on 1 April. With that in mind, the human rights group has submitted the report to the ICC, and intentionally interpreted the evidence "through the framework of the Rome Statute."

Thus "potential crimes" identified by FIDH are "qualified under ICC legal norms for individual criminal responsibility."

FIDH makes it clear that last year's assault is not even the whole story, noting how "attacks on goods and assets essential for the survival of the population and Gaza's economy exhibit a systematic character and were perpetrated by Israel in full knowledge, forming part of state policy before Operation Protective Edge and reinforced thereafter."

Commenting on the report, FIDH vice-president Shawan Jabbarin, urged the ICC to "move from a mere preliminary examination of the conflict to a full investigation." The group's president Karim Lahidji, meanwhile, said "impunity" would simply be "an invitation to commit further such crimes."

It's time for international justice to prevail over an unwilling national justice system.

Link to full report here.

Source : https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/blogs/politics/17809-human-rights-group-evidence-points-to-israeli-war-crimes-in-gaza

Palestinian Authority officially joins ICC today

Days of Palestine, The Hague –The Palestinian Authority (PA) officially joins ICC at the Hague on Wednesday, a step means starting probes into Israeli crimes.

By joining the ICC, the Palestinians seek to sue they Israeli occupaiton for “war crimes,” despite potential backlash from the Israeli occupation and the US.

On January 1, the PA signed the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC. The UN announced that it would accept the “State of Palestine” as a member of the high court and implement its membership three months later.

In 2009, the PA applied to join the ICC but was rejected since it did not have state status. However, in November 2012, the UN granted the PA non-member state status, paving the way for the Palestinians to renew their ICC bid and join other international organisations.

Senior PA official Saeb Erekat said on Monday that the ICC has already launched a preliminary investigation into Israeli war crimes during last summer’s war in Gaza.

“The legal and technical committees have been extensively working on finalising the two files,” Erekat said. “We will conduct all practical moves directly after Palestine is officially declared an ICC member on Wednesday.”

The PA has made clear it would attempt to prosecute the Israeli occupation for crimes against humanity directed at the Palestinians and “illegal settlements” in occupied Jerusalem and West Bank.

- See more at: http://www.daysofpalestine.com/news/palestinian-authority-officially-joins-icc-today/#sthash.yIaDWxHn.dpuf