RAMALLAH: Amnesty International has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the laws of armed conflict during the three-week Israeli forces offensive in the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009. The London-based organization said in its annual report, formally released yesterday, that 1,400 Palestinians died in the offensive — including 300 children — and that 5000 people were wounded.
The Amnesty report accuses Israeli soldiers of violating the laws of armed conflict over and over again by directly attacking civilians and civilian structures and by causing an immeasurable number of civilian casualties when attacking Palestinian fighters.
It also mentions Israel’s justification for the offensive: that it attacked Gaza to prevent war and to stop armed Palestinians from shelling cities and towns in southern Israel with rockets. The report goes on to detail that three Israeli civilians were killed during the Gaza operation, adding to seven Israeli civilians killed by home-made rockets and other Palestinian attacks launched from Gaza in 2008.
According to the Amnesty report, the sudden conflict came following a period of a year-and-a-half in which the Israeli forces imposed an uncompromising blockade on the residents of Gaza, which almost completely prevented the movement of people and goods into the Gaza Strip and led to a humanitarian crisis.
The blockade almost completely strangled economic life, the report says, claiming that even those on their deathbed were not permitted to leave the Strip for medical attention.
