The panel acknowledged “acts of significant violence” from the demonstrators, who threw stones, molotov cocktails and in several cases explosives at the fence and Israeli troops behind it, The Guardian reported. The UN investigators believe Israel’s killings at Gaza protests may amount to war crimes.
The United Nations report said that investigation had found reasonable grounds to believe snipers knowingly shot at ‘journalists, health workers, children and persons with disabilities.’ Such a delibarate using of arms against the civilians may amount o war crimes, confirms the statement of the UN panel.
The Israeli foreign minister Yizrael Katz defends in a statement after the probe alleged snipers may have committed crimes against humanity: ‘Israel rejects the report outright.’ the top Israeli diplomat added that there are no institution can negate Israel’s right to self-defence and its duty to defend its residents and borders ‘from violent attacks’. Mr Katz has labelled the UN panel’s statemnet as ‘the theatre of the absurd.’
According to Israel’s media, Palestinian Islamist Hamas were ‘pushing the residents of Gaza to the fences, including women and children,’ provoking the Israeli militaries to use their guns.
The demonstrations continue, but the inquiry only investigated possible violations from the start of the protests on 30 March to the end of 2018. The UN inquiry conducted 325 interviews with victims and witnesses, it said, and analysed social media and audio-visual material, including drone footage.
