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UN to criticise Israel over Gaza UN to criticise Israel over Gaza
(about 3 hours later)
The UN investigator into human rights in the Palestinian territories is set to present his latest report to the UN human rights council in Geneva. A UN human rights investigator, Richard Falk, is to question the legality of Israel's Gaza incursion in a new report to the UN Human Rights Council.
It is the first such report since Israel's incursion into Gaza. Many international organisations have raised concerns of war crimes during Israel's recent Gaza operation.
Richard Falk has been highly critical of Israel in the past, and his new report is no exception. Mr Falk has been highly critical of Israel in the past and Israel has repeated accusations that he is biased.
In it he questions the legality of Israel's actions in Gaza. Israel, however, has repeated accusations that Mr Falk is biased. It comes as an Israeli rights group criticised Israel for hitting medics and impeding medical evacuations.
Israeli authorities denied him entry last December, when he attempted to conduct his regular investigative mission to the Palestinian territories. The Israeli military says it is investigating specific claims of abuses and did its utmost to protect civilians during a conflict in which militants operated from populated civilian areas.
Because Mr Falk was unable to enter the Palestinian territories, his latest report focuses instead on the legality of Israel's incursion into Gaza. Israeli authorities denied entry to Mr Falk, a former Princeton University international law professor, last December, when he attempted to conduct his regular investigative mission to the Palestinian territories.
'War crime' Israel was angered by a series of comments he had made accusing it of war crimes and comparing its actions in Gaza to Nazi Germany in WWII.
He suggests that it is not a question of whether Israel used disproportionate force in Gaza, but rather whether Israel acted lawfully in entering Gaza at all. Legality question
He concludes that it did not, and that the incursion may constitute a war crime. Because Mr Falk was unable to enter the Palestinian territories, his latest report focuses on the legality of Israel's January operation in Gaza in general, rather than in specific cases or claims that disproportionate force was used.
He is calling for an independent inquiry to examine possible war crimes committed by both Israel and Hamas. Mr Falk said in order to determine if the war was legal, it was necessary to assess whether Israeli forces could differentiate between civilian and military targets in Gaza.
Further, Mr Falk suggests that the Israeli blockade of Gaza is in violation of the Geneva Conventions and must be lifted. Israel placed numerous obstacles in the course of the operation that impeded emergency medical evacuation of the sick and wounded and also caused families to be trapped for days without food, water and medications Physicians for Human Rights class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7952603.stm">Israel troops admit Gaza abuses class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7896372.stm">Who can probe Gaza war crimes claims? class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7811386.stm">Gaza conflict: Who is a civilian?
"If it is not possible to do so, then launching the attacks is inherently unlawful, and would seem to constitute a war crime of the greatest magnitude under international law," Mr Falk's report says.
He also points to the fact that Gaza's borders were closed, so civilians were unable to flee the fighting.
Mr Falk, who will present his findings at a news conference at 17:15 GMT, is calling for an independent inquiry to examine possible war crimes committed by both Israel and Hamas.
Further, he suggests that the Israeli blockade of Gaza is in violation of the Geneva Conventions and must be lifted.
The report is certain to anger Israel, which has long complained of bias by Mr Falk.The report is certain to anger Israel, which has long complained of bias by Mr Falk.
But Mr Falk is not the first to suggest that Israel may have committed war crimes in Gaza. The UN Human Rights Council was formed by the UN General Assembly, as a successor to the UN Commission on Human Rights, which was widely criticised for the inclusion of countries such as Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia and China with poor records on human rights.
In January, the UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillay expressed her concern at possible violations. 'Attacks on medics'
Mr Falk's report comes amid mounting concerns that Israel may have committed war crimes in Gaza.
On Monday, the Israeli organisation Physicians for Human Rights released a report saying Israel had violated international law and ethics codes during the Gaza operation.
It accused Israeli forces of "attacks on medical personnel; damage to medical facilities and indiscriminate attacks on civilians not involved in the fighting".
"Israel placed numerous obstacles in the course of the operation that impeded emergency medical evacuation of the sick and wounded and also caused families to be trapped for days without food, water and medications," the report said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has also said Israel failed to honour its obligation to treat civilians wounded in the conflict.The International Committee of the Red Cross has also said Israel failed to honour its obligation to treat civilians wounded in the conflict.
Last week Amnesty International, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and prominent investigators who had worked in Kosovo, Darfur, Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, called for a UN commission of inquiry into the actions of Israel and Hamas during the conflict.
They said they had been "shocked to the core" by events in Gaza.
Also last week, testimonies emerged from Israel soldiers describing cases where civilians were knowingly killed and questioning the rules of engagement during the conflict.
Defence Minister Ehud Barak told Israel Radio that the findings would be examined seriously, but said "I still say we have the most moral army in the world".