The non-governmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Watch (HWR) on Thursday, August 12, accused Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip of having committed “War crimes” for firing rockets at residential areas in Israel in May.
From May 10 to 21, Israel and Gazan armed groups, including Hamas – the ruling movement in the Gaza Strip – clashed by air; the former carried out bombardments on the overcrowded and cut off Palestinian enclave, the latter fired rockets into Israeli territory. According to a report drawn up by the Palestinian and Israeli authorities, the fighting killed 260 Palestinians, including some Islamist militants, and 13 Israelis, including a soldier.
“Firing such rockets to attack civilian areas is a war crime”, summarizes HWR.
“The rockets and shells that the Palestinian armed groups have fired do not have guidance systems (…), which makes them very imprecise and therefore inherently discriminatory when they are fired in the direction of areas where there are civilians. “
The NGO, which had previously accused Hamas and Israel of “Alleged war crimes” in July, claims that these imprecise shots also made a “Undetermined number” casualties even inside the Gaza Strip. “Failure of Hamas Authorities and the Government of Israel to Hold Their Forces Accountable for Alleged War Crimes Emphasizes Important Role of International Criminal Court [CPI]. ”
Earlier this year, the ICC announced that it had opened an investigation into alleged crimes committed in the Palestinian territories since 2014, an initiative rejected by Israel but welcomed by the Palestinians.
