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Israel, Hamas failed to conduct credible Gaza war crimes probes: HRW

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) Sunday accused both Israel and Hamas of failing to conduct meaningful, credible investigations into accusations of war crimes during the January 2009 Gaza conflict. In a 62-page report HRW described the alleged law of war violations committed during the combat, along with the deficient responses from both sides:More than one year after the conflict, neither side has taken adequate measures to investigate serious violations or to punish the perpetrators of war crimes, leaving civilian victims without redress. Israel's investigations have fallen far short of international standards for investigations, while Hamas has conducted no credible investigations at all. States responsible for violations of the laws of war are required to make reparations, which includes providing fair and adequate compensation to victims and their relatives, and establishing the truth about what happened. ... States also have an obligation to investigate war crimes allegedly committed by their armed forces, and if appropriate, to prosecute those responsible. The report also called on the UN and members of the international community to pressure both Israel and Hamas to conduct "thorough and impartial investigations" into the war crimes allegations.In February, HRW criticized Israel for failing to demonstrate that it would conduct a thorough and impartial investigation of the alleged war crimes. Just prior to that, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said that it was unclear whether Israel and Palestine have fully met UN demands to set up a commission to investigate war crimes that may occurred during the conflict. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution last November giving Israel and Palestine three months to complete an investigation into war crimes allegations.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 11, 2010 (boomark / email).