UN Report Confirms ‘Appalling’ Violations by Israel, Hamas - Rights Group

The United Nations report released on Monday confirms appalling violations of human rights by both Israel and Hamas during the 2014 Gaza war, an international human rights organization said in a statement.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Luther noted that the earlier Amnesty International probe found that both sides carried out a litany of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

“[The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry report is] a welcome… independent validation of Amnesty International’s own extensive research,” Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa Programme Director Philip Luther said in the statement on Monday.

Amnesty International called on both Israeli and Palestinian authorities to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherland which was launched in January 2015.

Victims of war crimes committed by both sides in the 2014 Gaza conflict “could be a step closer to justice,” Amnesty International said. “The evidence is overwhelming.”

The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry, mandated by the Human Rights Council in July 2014, investigated the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip and Israeli actions in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, as well as the activities of Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, including their attacks on Israel.