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Edited on Fri Jan-15-10 03:31 PM by azurnoir
"The Mission has determined that the rockets and, to a lesser extent, the mortars fired by the Palestinian armed groups are incapable of being directed towards specific military objectives and have been fired into areas where civilian populations are based. The Mission has further determined that these attacks constitute indiscriminate attacks upon the civilian population of southern Israel and that, where there is no intended military target and the rockets and mortars are launched into a civilian population, they constitute a deliberate attack against a civilian population. These acts would constitute war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity.
"Given the seeming inability of the Palestinian armed groups to direct the rockets and mortars towards specific targets and given that the attacks have caused very little damage to Israeli military assets, the Mission finds that there is significant evidence to suggest that one of the primary purposes of the rocket and mortar attacks is to spread terror among the Israeli civilian population, a violation of international law.
"Noting that some of the Palestinian armed groups, among them Hamas, have publicly expressed their intention to target civilians in reprisal for the civilian fatalities in Gaza as a result of Israeli military operations, the Mission is of the view that reprisals against civilians in armed hostilities are contrary to international humanitarian law."
The report notes that the vast disparity between victims of Israeli attacks, estimated at some 1,400 deaths, and Palestinian operations, leaving dead 13 Israelis, most likely had little or no relationship to armed groups' efforts to protect civilians. In fact, according to the mission, the relatively few casualties sustained by Israeli civilians is due in large part to the precautions put into place by Israel. This includes an early warning system, the provision of public shelters and fortifications of schools and other public buildings.
Israeli civilians also enjoyed protection from injury because the bulk of armed groups' artillery consisted of homemade projectiles fashioned from rudimentary materials, such as hollow metal pipes. "They are relatively unsophisticated weapons and lack a guidance system, and so cannot be aimed at specific targets," the Goldstone report notes.
While the mission acknowledges an occupied people's right to resistance, "including the right to resist forcible deprivation of their right to self-determination and the right to live, in peace and freedom, in their own State," it insists that Israelis also "have the right to live in peace and security. Both peoples are entitled to justice in accordance with international law." In turn, the report alleges that armed groups in Gaza have displayed and continue to display consistent disregard for international humanitarian law.
"The Mission is aware that Hamas continues to view all armed activities directed against Israel as resistance to occupation and practices of the occupation, and, therefore, a legitimate right of the Palestinian people. The Mission fully recognizes the Palestinian people's right to self-determination," the report states. "It also acknowledges that United Nations bodies and others have repeatedly pointed out practices of the Israeli occupation that deprive Palestinians of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Nevertheless, the Mission forcefully reiterates that the peremptory norms of customary international law ... apply to all actions that may be undertaken in response to, or to oppose, human rights violations."
It continues: "There is no justification in international law for the launching of rockets and mortars that cannot be directed at specific military targets into areas where civilian populations are located. Indeed, Palestinian armed groups, among them Hamas, have publicly expressed their intention to target Israel civilians. The al-Qassam Brigades, on their website, claimed responsibility for the deaths of each of the Israeli civilians killed by rocket fire during the operations in Gaza.
"From the facts it ascertained, the Mission finds that the Palestinian armed groups have failed in their duty to protect and respect civilians. Even though the al-Qassam Brigades and other armed groups in Gaza have recently claimed that they do not intend to harm civilians, the fact that they continue to launch rockets at populated areas without any definite military targets and are aware of the consequences to civilians indicates an intent to target civilians."
Given the gravity of its allegations, the commission said it sought clarification from armed groups during its investigations over the summer, requesting consultations with representatives. "However, the groups were not agreeable to such a meeting. ... Despite various attempts, the Mission was unable to contact members of armed factions operating within the Gaza Strip." The commission, consequently, "had little option but to rely upon indirect sources to a greater extent than for other parts of its investigation."
Among those were media reports in which military representatives confirmed and justified the use of projectiles during the assault. The Goldstone report cites remarks, during an interview with Ma'an, in which a representative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) stated two days before the end of the war that "the rockets are both practical and a symbolic representation of our resistance to the occupier."
Additionally, in its efforts to gather more direct information on the subject, the team raised questions regarding the conduct of certain groups. According to its final report, those interviewed in Gaza appeared reluctant to speak about the presence of or conduct of armed groups. "Whatever the reasons for their reluctance, the Mission does not discount that the interviewees' reluctance may have stemmed from a fear of reprisals."
For its part, the de facto government reportedly cooperated in full, responding that it "had nothing to do, directly or indirectly, with al-Qassam Brigades or other armed groups and had no knowledge of their tactics." "While noting that the weaponry used by the armed factions was not accurate, the Gaza authorities discouraged the targeting of civilians," according to the report.
In the de facto government's view, it took "the initiative to spare civilian lives when they renounced suicide attacks in April 2006. ... a Government spokesperson stated that the resistance factions did not aim their rockets at civilians but rather at IDF artillery and other positions from which attacks against Gaza were launched," the report states.
However, the team "found no evidence of any system of public monitoring or accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law set up by the Gaza authorities. The Mission is concerned with the consistent disregard for international humanitarian law with which armed groups in the Gaza Strip conduct their armed activities ... Despite some media reports, the Mission remains unconvinced that any genuine and effective initiatives have been taken by the authorities to address the serious issues of violation of international humanitarian law in the conduct of armed activities by militant groups in the Gaza Strip.
"The Mission was also given no evidence of any arrests, investigation or prosecution connected with the serious violations of the peremptory norms of international law that have been alleged."
Among the commission's conclusions are that the de facto government is responsible for ensuring that effective measures for accountability for violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law committed by armed groups acting in or from Gaza are established. It points out that such responsibility would continue to rest on any authority exercising government-like functions in the Strip.
"The Mission concludes that the rocket and mortars attacks, launched by Palestinian armed groups operating from Gaza, have caused terror in the affected communities of southern Israel. ... The Mission recommends that Palestinian armed groups should undertake forthwith to respect international humanitarian law, in particular by renouncing attacks on Israeli civilians and civilian objects, and take all feasible precautionary measures to avoid harm to Palestinian civilians during hostilities."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=250397
it would seem Hamas was was condemned
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