Impunity for war crimes in Gaza and southern Israel a recipe for further civilian suffering

2 July 2009

Israeli forces killed hundreds of unarmed Palestinian civilians and destroyed thousands of homes in Gaza in attacks which breached the laws of war, Amnesty International concluded in a new report published on Thursday. Operation 'Cast Lead': 22 days of death and destruction, is the first comprehensive report to be published on the conflict, which took place earlier this year.

"Israel's failure to properly investigate its forces' conduct in Gaza, including war crimes, and its continuing refusal to cooperate with the UN international independent fact-finding mission headed by Richard Goldstone, is evidence of its intention to avoid public scrutiny and accountability," said Donatella Rovera, who headed a field research mission to Gaza and southern Israel during and after the conflict.

"The international community, led by the UN Security Council, must use all its leverage to ensure that Israel cooperates fully with the Goldstone inquiry, which now offers the best means to establish the truth."

The Amnesty International report documents Israel's use of battlefield weapons against a civilian population trapped in Gaza, with no means of escape and is based on evidence gathered by Amnesty International delegates, including a military expert, during field research in January and February.

The report shows that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups fired hundreds of rockets into southern Israel, killing three Israeli civilians, injuring scores and driving thousands from their homes. "Such unlawful attacks constitute war crimes and are unacceptable," added Donatella Rovera.

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Fantasizing Israel‏

By: Yonatan Mendel

At this very moment, long queues are probably forming outside Tel Aviv’s latest
culinary thing: the yoghurterias. Even in the middle of the night you have to wait in
line to get a cold and refreshing ice-cream yoghurt from the busy shop on Rothschild
Boulevard. Springing up like mushrooms after the rain, the ice-cream parlours have
allowed the ‘white city’ of Tel Aviv to experience the white revolution of the yoghurt.
It is sweet and sour, made of natural ingredients, both healthy and tasty, with only
1.6 per cent fat, and topped with pieces of fresh fruit freshly cut up. Mangoes and
pineapples, kiwis, strawberries, pomegranates, dates, melons and watermelons, red,
yellow and green, are generously placed on top of the thick white yoghurt. A small
cup of the local delicacy costs 18 shekels (about £3), a medium-size cup is 21 shekels,
and a huge cup is 27 shekels. This is the best gastronomic response to the humidity
that prevails in Israel’s ‘first Hebrew city’.

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