Both the PA and Israel are breaking international law during the current conflict, said United Nations human rights official John Dugard on Tuesday.
Dugard, the special rapporteur on human rights in the territories, censured the Palestinians for their continual "indiscriminate" rocket-fire at Israel, and similarly criticized Israel for its "disproportionate" response to the Qassams.
"The indiscriminate firing of rockets into Sderot violates international humanitarian law," said Dugard in a statement.
The UN official added that Israel's military response to the Qassams "fails to distinguish between civilians and combatants and is a disproportionate use of force."
Dugard called on the Quartet, which meets tomorrow in Berlin, to help along the peace process in a "fair and even-handed manner." He called on the group not to overlook Israel's human rights violations - citing West Bank IDF operations, the security fence on PA land, and roadblocks - but also stated that the both Israel and the PA must be treated fairly and equally by the Quartet.
According to Dugard, over 50 Gazans were killed and 180 wounded, many of which were civilians, in Israel's recent IAF operations in the area with the purpose of stemming Qassam fire.
Palestinians have fired more than 270 rockets at Israel's south, leaving two dead, many wounded, and many suffering from shock.
Dugard called Israel's "extrajudicial killings... illegal under international humanitarian law," and said that they did not even meet Israel's requirements.
He also criticized Israel's numerous arrests, saying that more than 40 of those arrested last year, mostly Hamas, "still remain in Israeli custody with no prospect of release or being brought to trial".
"Arrests of this kind are clear acts of collective punishment, in violation of the Geneva Conventions, and undermine the peace process," stated Dugard |
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