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by AFP
A
French lawyer said Friday he had lodged a complaint at the
International Criminal Court (ICC) on behalf of the Palestinian justice
minister accusing the Israeli army of “war crimes”.
More than 800 Palestinians have been killed
in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, launched on July 8 in response to Hamas
militants firing rockets into the Jewish state.
The complaint targets “war crimes committed
by the Israeli army in June and July 2014 in Palestine” in the context
of the operation known as Protective Edge, Gilles Devers told reporters.
“Israel, the occupying power, is carrying out
a military operation which in principle and form violates the basis of
international law,” he said.
“Every day new crimes are committed and over
80 percent of the victims are civilians. Children, women, hospitals, UN
schools… the Israeli soldiers respect nothing.
“This is a military attack against the Palestinian population”
The Israeli offensive has left more than
5,200 Palestinians injured, according to emergency services in Gaza, and
33 Israeli soldiers and two civilians have died, too.
The Palestinian Authority, which has
non-member observer state status at the United Nations, has not yet
signed up to the Hague-based ICC, due to what Devers said were
“political” quarrels over the Palestinians’ status.
But according to Devers, the complaint is still valid.
The UN Human Rights Council is launching a
probe into Israel’s offensive in Gaza, with rights chief Navi Pillay
saying the Jewish state’s military actions could amount to war crimes.
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