Hamas crimes committed in the time of war


This posting has these items; what’s not here is as interesting as what is:
1) BBC: Gaza: Hamas killed and tortured, says Amnesty, this report got mass coverage in the western media;
2) Amnesty: Palestinian armed groups killed civilians on both sides in attacks amounting to war crimes, one of the few English-language reports of Amnesty International’s report on war crimes was Amnesty’s own press release;
3) WJC: Amnesty International: Palestinians committed war crimes during 2014 Gaza conflict, World Jewish Congress;
4) AFP: Hamas executed Palestinians during Israel war: Amnesty, this is the only mention of the Amnesty reports carried by the English-language Arabic press;
5) Ha’aretz: Amnesty: Hamas tortured, killed Gaza civilians during war with Israel;


A picture taken from the southern Israeli city of Sderot shows rockets being fired from the Gaza strip into Israel, on July 13, 2014. The image chosen by Amnesty to illustrate the first of their two reports  on Hamas published this year, this one titled ‘Unlawful and deadly: Rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinian armed groups during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict’ See 2nd item. Photo by Jack Guez /AFP/Getty Images


Gaza: Hamas killed and tortured, says Amnesty

By BBC News
May 27, 2015

Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip committed serious human rights abuses including abductions, torture and extra-judicial killings of Palestinian civilians in 2014, a report says.

Most of the victims were accused of collaborating with Israel, Amnesty International investigators report.

The report says no-one had been brought to account for the abuses, suggesting they were officially sanctioned.
Hamas said the report was biased and had relied on dubious sources.

The report, entitled Strangling Necks, covered the period of last summer’s 50-day war between Israel and militants in Gaza.
It says while “Israeli forces were inflicting destruction and death on the people in Gaza, Hamas forces took the opportunity to ruthlessly settle scores”.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told BBC Arabic the investigators “did not listen to Hamas, and relied on some sources and this is what makes the report in doubt and lack professionalism”.

The fighting between Israel and the militants left at least 2,189 Palestinians dead, including more than 1,486 civilians, and 11,000 injured, according to the United Nations. On the Israeli side, 67 soldiers and six civilians were killed, with scores more wounded.

Amnesty has been deeply critical of the actions of both Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza in recent reports, accusing both sides of abuses during the conflict. Israel and the Palestinians have rejected the allegations.

‘Committed with impunity’

In the latest report, Amnesty says Hamas forces committed the abuses during Israel’s military offensive, which began on 8 July and ended on 26 August 2014.

According to the report, at least 23 Palestinians were subjected to summary, extra-judicial executions. Most were already in prison, accused of acting for Israel, it says.

In addition, “perceived political opponents” of Hamas were abducted, tortured or assaulted – “particularly members of the rival Fatah party and former members of the Palestinian Authority security forces in Gaza”.

“These abuses too were committed with impunity,” the report says.

BBC Middle East correspondent Kevin Connelly says Hamas exercises undisputed authority within Gaza, and Amnesty’s powerful report depicts an organisation responding to the relentless pressure of Israeli military operations with a brutal campaign against its own enemies within.

In one incident, six men were shot dead outside a mosque as they knelt in hoods in front of a crowd of men, women, and children, the report says.

The killings were among a series of “spine-chilling actions, some of which amounted to war crimes, [and] were designed to exact revenge and spread fear across the Gaza Strip,” Amnesty regional director Philip Luther said.
Amnesty called on the Palestinian authorities to “impartially and independently” investigate the allegations, and bring the perpetrators to justice.

‘Strangling Necks’, Abductions, torture and summary killings by Hamas forces during the 2014 Gaza / Israel conflict,pdf file, report by Amnest International, May 2015.



Palestinian armed groups killed civilians on both sides in attacks amounting to war crimes

Press statement on report ‘Unlawful and deadly: Rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinian armed groups during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict’

Amnesty International
March 26, 2015

Palestinian armed groups displayed a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians by repeatedly launching indiscriminate rockets and mortars towards civilian areas in Israel during the conflict in July and August 2014, said Amnesty International in a new report published today.

Unlawful and deadly: Rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinian armed groups during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict provides evidence that several attacks launched from inside the Gaza Strip amount to war crimes. Six civilians in Israel, including a four-year-old boy, were killed in such attacks during the 50-day conflict. In the deadliest incident believed to have been caused by a Palestinian attack, 11 children were among 13 Palestinian civilians killed when a projectile fired from within the Gaza Strip landed in the al-Shati refugee camp.

“Palestinian armed groups, including the armed wing of Hamas, repeatedly launched unlawful attacks during the conflict killing and injuring civilians. In launching these attacks, they displayed a flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law and for the consequences of their violations on civilians in both Israel and the Gaza Strip,” said Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International.

All the rockets used by Palestinian armed groups are unguided projectiles which cannot be accurately aimed at specific targets and are inherently indiscriminate; using such weapons is prohibited under international law and their use constitutes a war crime. Mortars are also imprecise munitions and should never be used to attack military targets located in or near civilian areas.

“Palestinian armed groups must end all direct attacks on civilians and indiscriminate attacks. They must also take all feasible precautions to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip from the effects of such attacks. This includes taking all possible measures to avoid locating fighters and arms within or near densely populated areas,” said Philip Luther.

At least 1,585 Palestinian civilians, including more than 530 children, were killed in Gaza, and at least 16,245 homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by Israeli attacks during the conflict, some of which also amounted to war crimes.

“The devastating impact of Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians during the conflict is undeniable, but violations by one side in a conflict can never justify violations by their opponents,” said Philip Luther.

“The fact that Palestinian armed groups appear to have carried out war crimes by firing indiscriminate rockets and mortars does not absolve the Israeli forces from their obligations under international humanitarian law. The war wrought an unprecedented level of death, destruction and injury on the 1.8 million people in the Gaza Strip, and some of the Israeli attacks must be investigated as war crimes.

“The Israeli and Palestinian authorities must both co-operate with the probes of the UN Commission of Inquiry and the International Criminal Court to end decades of impunity that have perpetuated a cycle of violations in which civilians on both sides have paid a heavy price.”

According to UN data, more than 4,800 rockets and 1,700 mortars were fired from Gaza towards Israel during the conflict. Out of the thousands of rockets and mortars fired, around 224 are estimated to have struck Israeli residential areas, as Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted many others.

The death of Daniel Tregerman, a four-year-old boy, on 22 August 2014 clearly illustrates the tragic consequences of using imprecise weapons such as mortars on civilian areas. His family had fled their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz because of the fighting but returned the day before he was killed. Moments after the alarm sirens went off, a mortar launched from Gaza struck the family car parked outside the house. Daniel’s little sister who was also present watched him die before her eyes.

“My husband and son were in the living room and I was yelling for them to come into the shelter. Shrapnel [from the mortar] entered Daniel’s head, killing him immediately,” his mother, Gila Tregerman, told Amnesty International.

Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The briefing also highlights the Israeli authorities’ failure to adequately protect civilians in vulnerable communities during the conflict, particularly Bedouin villages in Israel’s Negev/Naqab region, many of which are not officially recognized by the Israeli government. Ouda Jumi’an al-Waj was killed by a rocket that struck the Bedouin village of Qasr al-Sir near the Israeli city of Dimona on 19 July.

Most Bedouin villages are classified as non-residential “open areas” by the Israeli authorities, so the Iron Dome system to intercept rockets does not operate there and there are no bomb shelters. More than 100,000 people live in Bedouin villages in southern Israel.

“Civilians living in Bedouin villages during the conflict were left vulnerable and exposed, one manifestation of the discrimination they face on a daily basis. The Israeli authorities must ensure everyone is given equal protection,” said Philip Luther.

Other civilians killed by attacks launched in Gaza included an agricultural worker from Thailand, Narakorn Kittiyangkul, who was killed when a mortar struck the tomato farm in southern Israel where he was working. Ze’ev Etzion and Shahar Melamed were killed in a mortar attack on Kibbutz Nirim on 26 August.

In the deadliest incident believed to have been caused by a Palestinian armed group during the conflict, 13 Palestinian civilians – 11 of them children – were killed when a projectile exploded next to a supermarket in the crowded al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza on 28 July 2014, the first day of Eid al-Fitr.

The children had been playing in the street and buying crisps and soft drinks in the supermarket at the time of the attack.
Although Palestinians have claimed that the Israeli military was responsible for the attack, an independent munitions expert who examined the available evidence on behalf of Amnesty International concluded that the projectile used in the attack was a Palestinian rocket.

“Evidence suggesting that a rocket launched by a Palestinian armed group may have caused 13 civilian deaths inside Gaza just underscores how indiscriminate these weapons can be and the dreadful consequences of using them,” said Philip Luther.

Mahmoud Abu Shaqfa and his five-year-old son Khaled were seriously wounded in the attack. His eight-year-old son Muhammad was killed. “The rocket fell near the car… The whole car was pierced by shrapnel. A piece of shrapnel pierced me… My son [Khaled] came to me. He was screaming ‘Daddy get up, get up…’ My entire leg was torn open and my arm had been wrenched to my back.”

There are no bomb shelters or warning systems in place to protect civilians in Gaza.

The report also details other violations of international humanitarian law by Palestinian armed groups during the conflict, such as storing rockets and other munitions in civilian buildings, including UN schools, and cases where Palestinian armed groups launched attacks or stored munitions very near locations where hundreds of displaced civilians were taking shelter.

“The international community must help prevent further violations by tackling entrenched impunity and by ending transfers to Palestinian armed groups and Israel of all arms and military equipment that could be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law,” said Philip Luther.

Amnesty International is calling on all states to support the UN Commission of Inquiry and the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over crimes committed by all parties to the conflict.

Unlawful and deadly: Rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinian armed groups during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict, pdf file



Amnesty International: Palestinians committed war crimes during 2014 Gaza conflict

From World Jewish Congress
March 26, 2015

Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes by indiscriminately firing rockets at civilians in Israel during the conflict between Israel and Hamas last summer, the Amnesty International is alleging in a report published on Thursday.

This is the first report by the London-based human rights organization that specifically focuses on Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza.

Hamas’s armed wing watching the crowd in Rafah celebrate the release of Palestinian Suliman al-Hasash from an Israeli jail, September 24 , 2014. Photo by Reuters

“Palestinian armed groups, including the armed wing of Hamas, repeatedly launched unlawful attacks during the conflict, killing six and injuring civilians,” said Philip Luther, director of Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa Program, in a press release. “In launching these attacks, they displayed a flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law and for the consequences of their violations on civilians in both Israel and the Gaza Strip,” he added.

The 63-page report entitled ‘Unlawful and Deadly: rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinian armed groups during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict’ is the third in a series of reports on the war, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge. The first two focused on Israeli military action in Gaza and a fourth upcoming report will look at summary killings by Hamas in Gaza.

The Amnesty report generally confirms Israeli allegations that Palestinians had fired many rockets from civilian areas, although it could not confirm such a charge in every situation it investigated. Still, it said that general evidence showed that rocket launchings from civilians areas were “far from isolated incidents.”

“There are credible reports that, in certain cases, Palestinian armed groups launched rockets or mortars from within civilian facilities or compounds, including schools, at least one hospital, and a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City,” the report says. “In at least two cases, accounts indicate that attacks were launched in spite of the fact that displaced Gazan civilians were sheltering in the compounds or in neighboring buildings.”

The report specifically points out that the 13 civilians who were killed on July 28th in the Shati refugee camp were likely killed by a Palestinian rocket misfiring, based on testimony from an independent munitions expert. “The blast crater was too shallow to have been caused by an artillery or mortar shell or a missile fired by a drone, and its circumference was too wide to have been caused by a tank shell,” the report said.

In its report, Amnesty also deals at length with the impact of the rockets fired against Israel and looked at the deaths of the six Israeli civilians killed during the war. It also mentioned that 66 IDF soldiers were killed.

“The majority of Israel’s 8.3 million people, and all 2.8 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, are now within range of at least some of the rockets held by Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip,” the report said.

All the Hamas rockets are unguided projectiles, which cannot be accurately aimed and can strike from three to six kilometres away from their intended targets. Some of these rockets had a range of up to 160 kilometers, it added.

In the weeks leading up to the war, at least 250 rockets and dozens of mortars were fired at Israel, the report noted.

Palestinian armed groups fired 4,881 rockets and 1,753 mortars at Israel between July 8 and August 26, 2014, according to the report. At least 243 were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, while another 31 fell short and landed within the Gaza Strip, according to the report.

However, Amnesty concluded that the Palestinian attacks did not justify Israel’s response.

“The devastating impact of Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians during the conflict is undeniable, but violations by one side in a conflict can never justify violations by their opponents,” said Luther.

“The fact that Palestinian armed groups appear to have carried out war crimes by firing indiscriminate rockets and mortars does not absolve the Israeli forces from their obligations under international humanitarian law,” he said.

Amnesty has called on the International Criminal Court to prosecute both Israelis and Palestinians for their actions during the summer and requested the international community to halt arms shipments to both.

The Israeli Embassy in London said in response to the report that it welcomes “the highlighting of Hamas’s war crimes, including the deliberate targeting of Israel’s civilian population by thousands of rockets and mortars.”

It added, “Unlike Hamas, Israel is vigorously investigating its conduct, aiming to draw lessons and minimize civilian harm. Meanwhile, Hamas continues to incite terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, boast of building new cross-border assault tunnels, and test-fires rockets, in preparation for further violence against Israelis.”



Hamas executed Palestinians during Israel war: Amnesty

Amnesty International accused the Islamist movement Hamas Wednesday of committing war crimes against fellow Palestinians to “settle scores” during last year’s Gaza war with Israel, executing at least 23 people. A report by the London-based rights group detailed the “brutal campaign of abductions, torture and unlawful killings against Palestinians accused of ‘collaborating’ with Israel.

By AFP / Al Monitor
May 27, 2015

Amnesty International accused the Islamist movement Hamas Wednesday of committing war crimes against fellow Palestinians to “settle scores” during last year’s Gaza war with Israel, executing at least 23 people.

A report by the London-based rights group detailed the “brutal campaign of abductions, torture and unlawful killings against Palestinians accused of ‘collaborating’ with Israel” by Hamas, de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip enclave.

“In the chaos of the conflict, the de facto Hamas administration granted its security forces free rein to carry out horrific abuses including against people in its custody,” Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa director Philip Luther said.

“These spine-chilling actions, some of which amount to war crimes, were designed to exact revenge and spread fear across the Gaza Strip.”

The report details the “extrajudicial execution of at least 23 Palestinians and the arrest and torture of dozens of others”.

“It is absolutely appalling that, while Israeli forces were inflicting massive death and destruction upon the people in Gaza, Hamas forces took the opportunity to ruthlessly settle scores, carrying out a series of unlawful killings and other grave abuses,” Luther said.

A Hamas spokesman rejected the watchdog’s findings.

The report “lacks professionalism and credibility and is deliberately exaggerated, without taking into account all sides or verifying information,” Fawzi Barhum told AFP.

Around 2,200 Palestinians were killed during last year’s 50-day conflict with Israel, with 73 killed on the Israeli side.

The Jewish state went to war against Hamas to stamp out cross-border rocket and mortar fire.

A March report by Amnesty found that rockets fired during the war by Gaza militants killed more Palestinians than Israelis.

According to the new Amnesty report, “Hamas forces also abducted, tortured or attacked members and supporters of Fatah, their main rival political organisation within Gaza, including former members of the Palestinian Authority security forces.

“Not a single person has been held accountable for the crimes committed by Hamas forces against Palestinians during the 2014 conflict, indicating that these crimes were either ordered or condoned by the authorities,” it said.

Luther accused Hamas of “appalling crimes against powerless individuals”, which in some cases constitute war crimes.

He said the militant movement displayed “a disregard for the most fundamental rules of international humanitarian law”.

Amnesty called on the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and Hamas to “co-operate with independent and impartial international investigative mechanisms”, and to bring “suspected perpetrators” to justice.

The Palestinians are preparing to sue Israeli officials through the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes committed during last year’s Gaza conflict.

Israel’s military has opened investigations into deadly incidents that took place during the war.

Amnesty accused Israel in a December report of committing war crimes in its Gaza campaign.



Amnesty: Hamas tortured, killed Gaza civilians during war with Israel

Hamas carried out a brutal campaign against Palestinians accused of ‘collaborating’ with Israel, Amnesty International says in report.

By Ori Lewis, Reuters / Ha’aretz
May 27, 2015

Amnesty International said in a report on Wednesday that Islamist Hamas committed war crimes against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip during last year’s war with Israel.

A cease-fire last August ended 50 days of fighting between Gaza militants and Israel in which health officials said more than 2,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed. Israel put the number of its dead at 67 soldiers and six civilians.

“Hamas forces carried out a brutal campaign of abductions, torture and unlawful killings against Palestinians accused of ‘collaborating’ with Israel and others during Israel’s military offensive against Gaza,” the human rights group’s report said.

In a previous report in March, Amnesty also criticised Israel and accused it of war crimes during the conflict. Apart from the many deaths, at least 16,245 homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable. Gaza militants fired thousands of rockets and mortars at Israel.

In Wednesday’s report, Amnesty listed a number of cases it described as “spine chilling” in which Palestinians accused by Hamas of helping Israel were tortured and killed.

“The de facto Hamas administration granted its security forces free rein to carry out horrific abuses including against people in its custody. These spine-chilling actions, some of which amount to war crimes, were designed to exact revenge and spread fear across the Gaza Strip,” Amnesty said.

Representatives of Hamas were not immediately available to comment on the Amnesty report.

Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, a coastal enclave on the Mediterranean which borders Israel and Egypt.

The Palestinians have joined the International Criminal Court since the end of the war, a move opposed by Israel, and the ICC is examining possible war crimes in the conflict. But joining the court also exposes Palestinians to possible prosecution if a case is opened.

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