This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7958452.stm

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 4 Version 5
UN criticises Israelis over Gaza UN criticises Israelis over Gaza
(about 3 hours later)
A UN human rights investigator, Richard Falk, has questioned the legality of Israel's Gaza incursion in a new report to the UN Human Rights Council. UN human rights investigators have questioned the legality of Israel's Gaza offensive in a wide-ranging report to the UN Human Rights Council.
Many international organisations have raised concerns of war crimes during Israel's recent Gaza operation. One investigator, Richard Falk, asked how a military assault with modern weapons could have been made "against an essentially defenceless society".
Mr Falk has been highly critical of Israel in the past and Israel has repeated accusations that he is biased. The report found civilians appeared to "have taken the brunt of the attacks" with schools and clinics also hit.
It comes as an Israeli rights group criticised Israel for hitting medics and impeding medical evacuations. Israel has accused Council members of seeking to "demonise" it.
The Israeli military says it is investigating specific claims of abuses and that it did its utmost to protect civilians during a conflict in which militants operated from populated civilian areas. Many international organisations have raised concerns about possible war crimes during the three-week offensive, which ended on 18 January.
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. An Israeli rights group has also criticised Israel for hitting medics and impeding medical evacuations.
The Israeli military says it is investigating specific claims of abuses and argues that it did its utmost to protect civilians during a conflict in which militants operated from populated civilian areas.
'One-sided' fight
Because Mr Falk, a UN human rights investigator, was unable to enter the Palestinian territories, his latest findings focus on the legality of Israel's January operation in Gaza in general, rather than on specific cases or claims that disproportionate force was used.
The overall ratio of deaths... is suggestive of the one-sidedness of the military encounter Peter Falk UN human rights investigator Israel troops admit Gaza abusesWho can probe Gaza war crimes claims?Gaza conflict: Who is a civilian?
Mr Falk argued that 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.
"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," he said in Geneva.
"The overall ratio of deaths, 1,434 on the Palestinian side, 13 on the Israeli side, is suggestive of the one-sidedness of the military encounter," he added.
Gaza's borders were closed, he stressed, so civilians were unable to flee the fighting.
Mr Falk called for an independent inquiry to examine possible war crimes committed by both Israel and Hamas.
He also suggested that the Israeli blockade of Gaza was in violation of the Geneva Conventions and must be lifted.
Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN secretary general's special representative for children and armed conflict, cited a long series of incidents to back her charges, in her report to the UN Human Rights Council.
In one, she said, Israeli soldiers shot a father after ordering him out of his house and then opened fire into the room where the rest of the family was sheltering, wounding the mother and three brothers and killing a fourth.
'Demonising Israel'
Israel's ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council, Aharon Leshno Yar, said the report "wilfully" ignored and downplayed terrorist and other threats faced by Israel
The 43-page document was, he added, part of a pattern of "demonising Israel" in the Council.
Israeli authorities denied entry to Mr Falk last December, when he attempted to conduct his regular investigative mission to the Palestinian territories.
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 World War II.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 World War II.
Legality question
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 on specific cases or claims that disproportionate force was used.
Mr Falk said that 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.
"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.
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 Israel troops admit Gaza abusesWho can probe Gaza war crimes claims?Gaza conflict: Who is a civilian?
He also points to the fact that Gaza's borders were closed, so civilians were unable to flee the fighting.
Mr Falk 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 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.
'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.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". 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.
Last week rights group 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."