Amnesty: Possible War Crimes in Recent Israel-Gaza Fighting

Facts

• A report by the human rights group Amnesty International claimed that Israeli forces used disproportionate force during last month's conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza. The report also said that rockets fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) killed both Israeli and Palestinian civilians.¹
• The London-based human rights group accused Israel of striking targets "without military necessity" which it said amounts to "a form of collective punishment against the civilian population."²
• It also accused Palestinian militant groups, namely PIJ, of "indiscriminate" rocket fire aimed at Israel that "should also be investigated as war crimes." Nonetheless, PIJ said that it "welcomes" the report, saying in a statement that "we are doing our part to defend ourselves against the crimes committed by Israel."³
• Israel responded to Amnesty by saying that its military actions were defensive and it "made numerous efforts" to minimize harm to civilians in Gaza. Israel also accused Palestinian militants of operating in residential areas.²
• The conflict erupted on May 9, with Israel and Gazan militants exchanging airstrikes and rocket fire for five days, with 34 Palestinians being killed, which included several PIJ commanders, and one Israeli being killed.¹
• The situation in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank has steadily deteriorated in the last year, with Israel launching regular raids in the West Bank following a spree of Palestinian attacks in Israel last spring. PIJ and Israel clashed last summer, with the group losing two top commanders and dozens of fighters.⁴

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²France 24, ³I24news, and ⁴Associated Press.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Amnesty International. Israel's actions during last month's war with Palestinian militants in Gaza again highlight the human toll of the country's apartheid policies. Several civilians were unnecessarily killed by Israeli airstrikes alongside an inordinate amount of destruction of property. Palestinian militants are, of course, not innocent either, as indiscriminate rocket fire must also be investigated for war crimes.
• Narrative B, as provided by Jerusalem Post. Yet again, Amnesty is showcasing its anti-Israel bias. Besides its repeated use of the slanderous "apartheid" label, it continues to push Palestinian propaganda that Israel disproportionately targets civilians which is an outright lie. Israel does everything it can to avoid civilian casualties while Palestinian militants indiscriminately attack Israeli civilians and use their civilians as human shields.