Israel publicly stated on Thursday that it would not participate with a special commission established by the UN’s highest human rights agency to examine alleged atrocities against Palestinians, claiming that the probe and its chairperson were unduly biassed against Israel.
The judgement, delivered in a blistering letter to the commission’s director, Navi Pillay, worsened Israel’s already shaky relationship with the United Nations-backed Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“It is obvious to my country, as it should be to any fair-minded observer, that there is simply no reason to believe that Israel will receive reasonable, equitable, and non-discriminatory treatment from the Council, or from this Commission of Inquiry,” wrote Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations and international organisations in Geneva.
The three-person inquiry commission was constituted by the council last May, just days after Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza waged an 11-day conflict. Over 260 Palestinians were murdered in the conflict, including a large number of women and children. In Israel, fourteen individuals were killed.
Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the time, stated that Israeli activities, including airstrikes in residential areas, could have constituted war crimes.
Since then, a number of international rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch, have stated that Israeli attacks look to be war crimes. Both Bachelet and HRW have also stated that Hamas’ indiscriminate missile bombardment on Israeli cities violates international law.
Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties, claiming that the group exploits residential areas as cover while conducting military operations. Many rockets were launched from residential areas.
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