Global Arab Network | UN listens to testimony about Israel's Gaza invasion

Translate this article to your language:

GANPublications

e-Publications

Add Site to Favorites

Add Page to Favorites

Make Homepage

Share This Page

RSS Feed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |

UN listens to testimony about Israel's Gaza invasion

A UN human rights mission listened to testimony about the suffering of children in the Gaza Strip before wrapping up two days of public hearings into alleged Israeli war crimes.

Around 20 percent of children in Gaza suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome brought on by witnessing violent acts, child psychologist Dr Iyad Sarraj told the panel.

"The amount of killing and blood that they have seen or that their relatives have suffered from... it's a huge amount, and this leads to negative psychological feelings, to radicalism and a cycle of violence," he said.

The hearing, which is being broadcast live for the public, will also include testimony from experts on the military operation on the Palestinian enclave.

The panel is to hold a second round of public hearings on July 6 and 7 in Geneva where it will hear from the victims of alleged violations in Israel and the West Bank.

The fact-finding mission is mandated by the UN to investigate all violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws that might have been committed at any time in the context of the military operations conducted in Gaza.

The public hearings were called for by Richard Goldstone, the head of the 15-member team and previously a member of the South African constitutional court.

Meanwhile the Red Cross said in a new report that six months after the devastating offensive Palestinians in the impoverished coastal territory are "unable to rebuild their lives and are sliding ever deeper into despair."

"The poorest residents in particular have exhausted their coping mechanisms and often have to sell off their belongings to be able to buy enough to eat," said Antoine Grand, head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Gaza.

"Worst affected are the children, who make up more than half of Gaza's population," he added.

On Sunday, the mission heard a wheelchair-bound man describe how an Israeli shell slammed into his home, killing 11 of his relatives and cutting off his legs. Another man described a strike on a mosque that killed 17 people.

The mission is due to complete a report with its findings in August.

The group plans to hold similar hearings in Geneva in which they will interview witnesses and experts on alleged violations in Israel and the occupied West Bank, and to issue a final report by September 12.

The UN chose the Swiss city as the venue of the second round of hearings because the fact-finding mission did not receive permission to enter Israel.

Israel launched its offensive against Gaza on December 27, citing rocket attacks from the enclave that caused injuries to residents and damage to property in Sderot and other towns.

The military operation killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, including more than 900 civilians, among them scores of children, according to Palestinian officials and human rights groups.

It also destroyed thousands of homes and heavily damaged Gaza's infrastructure.

Thirteen Israelis were also killed during the fighting.

Gaza's reconstruction is being hampered by Israel's blockade of Gaza, which dates back to June 2007 when Hamas took control of the territory.

Since then, Israel and Egypt, which control Gaza's only border crossing that bypasses Israel, have kept the territory of 1.5 million aid-dependent people sealed to all but essential humanitarian supplies.

The international community has pledged billions of dollars in aid to rebuild the territory, but reconstruction efforts remain paralysed by the closures, which prevent the import of virtually all building materials. (AP, AFP, Press TV, Aljazeera)

Global Arab Network

Add comment

The opinions of the authors in articles published are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Arab Network
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Published comments are the opinions of private individuals and do not reflect the views of Global Arab Network