Amnesty calls for probe into Israel’s ‘wanton destruction’ in Gaza
Amnesty International said the Israeli military’s campaign to expand a “buffer zone” in the occupied Gaza Strip should be investigated as the war crimes of wanton destruction and collective punishment.
The group said analysis of satellite imagery from the Gaza Strip showed Israeli forces have cleared a zone ranging from approximately 1km to 1.8km wide along the territory’s eastern boundary.
Soldiers have used bulldozers as well as manually laid explosives to unlawfully destroy agricultural land and entire neighbourhoods, including homes, schools and mosques, it said.
“The Israeli military’s relentless campaign of ruin in Gaza is one of wanton destruction. Our research has shown how Israeli forces have obliterated residential buildings, forced thousands of families from their homes and rendered their land uninhabitable,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns.
“Our analysis reveals a pattern along the eastern perimeter of Gaza that is consistent with the systematic destruction of an entire area. These homes were not destroyed as the result of intense fighting. Rather, the Israeli military deliberately razed the land after they had taken control of the area.”
A Palestinian woman holds her daughter as she walks past the rubble of houses destroyed in Israel’s war on Gaza in southern Khan Younis, July 10
ICC Prosecutor Khan says he received threats from Israeli supporters
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has told Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun he’s received threats from supporters of both Israel and Russia since pursuing charges against their leaders.
In the interview, Karim Khan also referred to pressure from US lawmakers who voted to impose penalties on ICC officials after he sought arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.
“You cannot allow an attack on the court,” Khan said. “Then you have no rules-based system.”
Khan also appealed to Japan to support the court’s work, noting it had been the court’s biggest financial supporter.
The Hague-based ICC was established in 2002 to prosecute individuals for international crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity.
