Murder, torture ...

UN accuses Israel and Hamas of war crimes

A commission of the UN Human Rights Council has accused Israel and six other Palestinian organizations of war crimes. 

Israel has committed "the crimes against humanity of extermination, murder, gender-based persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys, forced displacement, torture and inhuman and cruel treatment", the panel said.

"Anti-Israeli bias"
Israel's ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Meirav Shadar, accused the commission of anti-Israeli bias. It had "proven once again that all its actions serve a political agenda that is directed against Israel", Shadar explained.

"Bringing criminals to justice"
 The Chair of the Commission, Navi Pillay, declared that it was "imperative that all those who have committed crimes are brought to justice". The "only way to end the recurring cycles of violence, including aggression and retaliation by both sides" is to "ensure strict compliance with international law".

The UN Commission of Inquiry was mandated by the Human Rights Council in May 2021 to investigate violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Israel and the Palestinian territories.