Speeches given at the United Nations regarding the 2014 Gaza War

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From July 8 to August 26, 2014, another conflict between Israel and Gaza escalated and led to the outbreak of a war between Israel and Gaza. Between 2,127 [1] - 2,168 [2] Gazans were killed, including 578 [3] children. The Gaza Health Ministry reported more than 70% of the victims were civilians whilst Israel reported that 55% of the dead were civilians. [4] On the Israeli side 66 soldiers and 5 Israeli civilians, including one child, were killed. [5] These violent outbreaks led to various speeches regarding the Gaza Conflict in front of the United Nations, given by the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas and members of the Human Right Watch and Representatives of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

Contents

Netanyahu`s speech in front of the United Nations General Assembly

On September 29, 2014, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech to the United Nations focusing on the Iranian threat and the most recent Israel-Gaza conflict. [6] In the speech Netanyahu claimed that he had come to the United Nations "to expose the brazen lies spoken from this very podium" against Israel and the soldiers of Israel.

This statement is referring to the 21st Special Session of the Human Rights Council on the Human Rights Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem on July 23, 2014. During this Session the Human Rights Council accused Israel of violating the laws of war and called for an investigation and report on violations by both sides, in order to identify the responsible ones. [7]

Prime Minister Netanyahu stressed that by investigating Israel rather than Hamas for war crimes, the UN Human Rights Council had betrayed "its noble mission to protect the innocent". Furthermore, he accused the Human Rights Council of sending a clear message to all terrorists: "Use civilians as human shields. [...] Because sadly, it works." He stated that the UN's Human Rights Council has turned into a Terrorist Rights Council by accepting and giving legitimacy to the use of human shields. Netanyahu reported in his speech that Israel had justly defended itself against terror tunnels and rocket attacks and had no intention in targeting innocent civilians. He mentioned that Israel " was doing everything to minimize Palestinian civilian casualties" by sending text messages, dropping flyers, making phone calls and announcing warnings on television. "No other country and no other army in history have gone to greater lengths to avoid casualties among the civilian population of their enemies."[ citation needed ]

The Prime Minister believes that not Israel but the Hamas has broken the International Law by hiding missile batteries in residential areas, using Palestinian as human shields and telling Palestinians to ignore the warnings of Israel to leave. Furthermore, he blamed the Hamas for deliberately placing rockets next to Palestinian children in order to create images of horror for the press. "Israel was using its missiles to protect its children. Hamas was using its children to protect its missiles."[ citation needed ]

Abbas`s speech in front of the United Nations General Assembly

Three days before Netanyahu's speech the President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly as well. [8] He stated that "Israel has chosen to make it a year of a new war of genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian people." He called for the support and recognition of the free and independent State of Palestine and for an end to the Israeli blockade and he blamed Israel for creating the "largest prison in the world for nearly two million Palestinian citizens". Abbas emphasized that Palestine, other than Israel, will maintain its commitment to international law, international humanitarian law and the international consensus. He criticized that Israel had been acting as a state above the law with "impunity and absolving it of any accountability or punishment for its policies, aggression and defiance of the international will and legitimacy", therefore creating a ground for the rise of extremism, hate and terrorism in Palestine. He stated that the people of Palestine are the ones who need immediate international protection and are in need of security and peace.

Human Rights Council on the Human Rights Situation in Gaza

Joe Stork, a member of the Human Rights Watch for Middle East and North Africa Division Deputy Director highlights at an event hosted by the Middle East Institute and the Foundation for Middle East Peace on the 5th September 2014, that the law of war states, that the harm of civilians getting hurt or killed has to be minimized and that only evident military objectives are legitimate targets. [9] However civilians can be considered as collateral damage, which means that they are damage aside from what was intended. Store argues that in the case of the Israel- Gaza Conflict in 2014, investigations and interviews with surviving victims have shown, that in many cases the death of civilians could have been prevented.

Moreover, Joe Stork referred to the attacks on six schools, three of them inhabited by displaced persons. The attacks were justified by claiming that the Hamas was using the school as a storage for their weapons. The victims described the school as empty from missiles and weapons. Stork also mentioned the shooting of a boy school in which 12 people were killed 8 of them children. The shooting was explained by the IDF by stateing that the attack was aiming to kill three Jihad terrorists who were passing by the school on their motorcycles. Why the motorcycle was shot in front of the school and not before or after passing it, was not answered by the IDF. [9] An UN school, used as a shelter for over 3,300 displaced people was hit by Israeli shelling on July 30. [10] The Israeli army had clear information from the UN that the school was housing displaced civilians. Many of them, including children, were injured and killed. Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict condemn this as a grave violation of international law. [10]

Joe Stork further stated that the IDF claims that a person which politically belongs to the Hamas is a legitimate target. However under the law of court a member of the Hamas party is not necessarily a terrorist and therefore not automatically an official legitimate target. [9]

The Human Rights Council named on July 23 the following examples to prove the violations of international law and the international humanitarian law. [11] Before the ground offensive began on July 17 the Human Rights Watch documented airstrikes which killed 30 civilians, 11 of them children. On July 11 airstrike hit the Fun Time Beach café near Khan Yunis, killing seven civilians. Two of them boys, as they were preparing to watch a World Cup game. The IDF claimed that they were"targeting a terrorist" but no further information was provided to explain why they attacked the terrorists in a public place where other civilians were at risk to be killed and injured. On July 16 two young boys were killed and three boys were wounded, trying to flee, by an Israeli missile struck on a Gaza City pier. The Israeli military stated that they attacked because they had "identified Hamas structure" but targeted the boys (age 10 to 13) by accident, as "fleeing fighters." A hospital was attacked by ground and air forces from July 11 to 17. The hospital staff was forced to leave and to evacuate the patients (none of them mobile), under fire. Stork said that the repeated use of guided missiles and direct tank fire on a hospital, is considered to be a war crime. Furthermore, he said the shootings of residential buildings aiming at family members of supposedly members of an armed group are unlawful. He continued saying that even a giving warnings before an attack does not make an unlawful attack lawful. In the speeches it is also mentioned that Palestinian armed groups violated the laws of war as well. Twice rockets in empty UNRWA schools were found and the rockets launched on Israel killed and wounded civilians including young children, and destroyed civilian property. Therefore, the "Human Rights Watch urges the Human Rights Council to [...] investigate and report promptly and publicly on violations by all sides, identify those responsible for grave crimes, and issue recommendations to the parties and the UN, including on measures to ensure accountability."

Navi Pillay a high commissioner for human rights criticized at an emergency debate at the UNHRC in Geneva that Israel had not done enough to protect civilians. [12] Furthermore, she accused Israel of committing war crimes. She highlights, that the killing of civilians in Gaza, included dozens of children and had led to concerns over Israel's foreign policy and its respect for proportionality. [13] The 47- member Geneva state forum accepted the Palestinian resolution by a vote of one state against the investigations (United States) and 29 states in favour of the investigation. 17 states were abstentions (including Germany and other European Union members). The presented resolution called for "an independent, international commission of inquiry" to investigate "all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip".

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Gaza–Israel conflict</span> Israeli military offensive in the Gaza strip

The 2006 Gaza–Israel conflict, known in Israel as Operation Summer Rains, was a series of battles between Palestinian militants and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during summer 2006, prompted by the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militants on 25 June 2006. Large-scale conventional warfare occurred in the Gaza Strip, starting on 28 June 2006, which was the first major ground operation in the Gaza Strip since Israel's unilateral disengagement plan was implemented between August and September 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Hot Winter</span> 2008 military offensive in the Gaza strip

In 2008 the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Hot Winter, also called Operation Warm Winter, in the Gaza Strip, starting on February 29, 2008 in response to Qassam rockets fired from the Strip by Hamas onto Israeli civilians. At least 112 Palestinian militants and civilians, along with three Israelis, were killed, and more than 150 Palestinians and seven Israelis were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaza–Israel conflict</span> Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

The Gaza–Israel conflict is a localized part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The conflict originated with the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. Following the withdrawal, Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, and a civil war between Hamas and Fatah in 2007 culminated in Hamas gaining control over Gaza. In response to Hamas's takeover, Egypt and Israel imposed an extensive blockade of the Gaza Strip that devastated Gaza's economy. International rights groups have decried the blockade as a form of collective punishment, while Israel defended it as necessary to prevent weapons and dual-use goods from entering the territory. Since 2006, Hamas and Israel have fought five wars, the most recent in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaza War (2008–2009)</span> Armed conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip

The Gaza War, also known as Operation Cast Lead, also known in the Muslim world as the Gaza Massacre, and referred to as the Battle of al-Furqan by Hamas, was a three-week armed conflict between Gaza Strip Palestinian paramilitary groups and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that began on 27 December 2008 and ended on 18 January 2009 with a unilateral ceasefire. The conflict resulted in 1,166–1,417 Palestinian and 13 Israeli deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibrahim al-Maqadma Mosque missile strike</span> Air strike during the Gaza War (2008–2009)

The 2009 Ibrahim al-Maqadma Mosque strike or massacre of Ibrahim al-Maqadma Mosque occurred on January 3, 2009, as part of the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza War when the Israeli Air Forces launched a missile and hit the Martyr Ibrahim al-Maqadma Mosque in Beit Lahia in the Gaza strip during the evening prayers.

Roof knocking or "knocks on the roof" is a term used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to describe its practice of dropping non-explosive or low-yield devices on the roofs of targeted civilian homes in the Palestinian territories as a prior warning of imminent bombing attacks to give the inhabitants time to flee the attack. The practice was employed by the IDF during the 2008–2009 Gaza War, Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, and Operation Protective Edge in 2014 to target the homes of police officers or Hamas political or military leaders.

Accusations of violations regarding international humanitarian law, which governs the actions by belligerents during an armed conflict, have been directed at both Israel and Hamas for their actions during the 2008–2009 Gaza War. The accusations covered violating laws governing distinction and proportionality by Israel, the indiscriminate firing of rockets at civilian locations and extrajudicial violence within the Gaza Strip by Hamas. As of September 2009, some 360 complaints had been filed by individuals and NGOs at the prosecutor's office in the Hague calling for investigations into alleged crimes committed by Israel during the Gaza War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict</span> Team formed in 2009 to investigate human rights violations by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza

The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, also known as the Goldstone Report, was a United Nations fact-finding mission established in April 2009 pursuant to Resolution A/HRC/RES/S-9/1 of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) of 12 January 2009, following the Gaza War as an independent international fact-finding mission "to investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by the occupying Power, Israel, against the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, due to the current aggression". South African jurist Richard Goldstone was appointed to head the mission. The other co-authors of the Report were Hina Jilani, Christine Chinkin and Desmond Travers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip</span> Military offensive in the Gaza strip

In November 2012, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation Pillar of Defense which was an eight-day campaign in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, which began on 14 November 2012 with the killing of Ahmed Jabari, chief of the Gaza military wing of Hamas by an Israeli airstrike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Gaza War</span> Armed conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants

The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge , was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since 2007. Following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank by Hamas-affiliated Palestinian militants, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initiated Operation Brother's Keeper, in which some 350 Palestinians, including nearly all of the active Hamas militants in the West Bank, were arrested. Hamas subsequently fired a greater number of rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip, triggering a seven-week-long conflict between the two sides. It was one of the deadliest outbreaks of open conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in decades. The combination of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli airstrikes resulted in over two thousand deaths, the vast majority of which were Gazan Palestinians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Shuja'iyya</span> Battle in the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict

The Battle of Shuja'iyya occurred between the Israel Defense Forces and the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades on 20 July 2014 during 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood of Gaza City, in the Gaza Strip. Shuja'iyya, with 92,000 people in 6 sq-kilometres, is one of the most densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, it had become a "terrorist fortress", that between 8 and 20 July had fired over 140 rockets into Israel after the outbreak of hostilities. Casualty figures are not known with precision, partly because bodies were recovered long after the fighting, and people had also died of injuries afterwards. The UN Protection Cluster states that between the 19-20th, 55 civilians, including 19 children and 14 women, were killed as a result of the IDF's actions. At the time, estimates varied from 66 to about 120 Palestinians killed, with a third of them women and children, and at least 288 wounded. The UN figures of Palestinian casualties are preliminary and subject to revision. 16 Israeli soldiers were killed.

The following is a timeline of the 2014 Gaza War. Over 2014, Palestinians suffered the highest number of civilian casualties since the Six-Day War in 1967, according to a United Nations report, given the July–August conflict, and rising tolls in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. A spike in Israeli casualties also occurred. 2,256 Palestinians and 85 Israelis died, while 17,125 Palestinians, and 2,639 Israelis suffered injuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Israeli shelling of UNRWA Gaza shelters</span>

The 2014 Israeli shelling of UNRWA Gaza shelters were seven shellings at UNRWA facilities in the Gaza Strip which took place between 21 July and 3 August 2014 during the Israeli-Gaza conflict. The incidents were the result of artillery, mortar or aerial missile fire which struck on or near the UNRWA facilities being used as shelters for Palestinians, and as a result at least 44 civilians, including 10 UN staff, died. During the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, many Palestinians fled their homes after warnings by Israel or due to air strikes or fighting in the area. An estimated 290,000 people took shelter in UNRWA schools.

The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict was a United Nations fact-finding mission established by a resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on 23 July 2014 to investigate "all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law … in the context of the military operations conducted since 13 June 2014" in the Palestinian territories, particularly the Gaza Strip, during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.

The 2014 Gaza war beach bombing incidents refers to two incidents that took place during the 2014 Gaza War on 9 and 16 July. In the first incident, Israeli missiles killed nine youths while they were following the 2014 FIFA World Cup on TV; in the second, four boys were killed by Israeli naval fire while playing on a beach. According to an Israeli investigation, the second was a 'tragic mistake'. The latter attack was conducted in front of hotels that sheltered foreign journalists, several of whom witnessed the Israeli shelling, and at least one of whom described the targeting of the children as intentional. Several eyewitnesses have remarked that, even at a distance, it was clear that the targets of the Israeli attack were children. The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, reviewing the evidence, found that the IDF had failed in its obligations to adopt feasible measures to avoid or minimize incidental harm to civilians.

Mass civilian casualties of Israeli bombing, shelling and rocket attacks on the Gaza Strip have occurred in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, in which Israeli bombing attacks on the Gaza Strip cause numerous civilian fatalities. The reason for such operations is purportedly to carry out targeted assassinations of militants from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other groups seen to be a threat to Israel, whose Shin Bet data banks monitor thousands of Palestinians for targeting. Israel regards such cases as either unfortunate errors, the consequence of civilians being used to shield militants, or as acceptable collateral damage.

Events of the year 2023 in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Use of human shields by Hamas</span> Hamas usage of civilians and civilian infrastructure for military purposes

According to NATO, the UN, EU, US, Israel, and a number of European countries, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups have deliberately employed Gaza's civilian population as human shields. This tactic includes launching rockets, positioning military-related infrastructure in civilian areas, and engaging the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from or near residential and commercial zones.

References

  1. ↑ "Here's what really happened in the Gaza war (according to the Israelis)". Washington Post.
  2. ↑ "Statistics: Victims of the Israeli Offensive on Gaza since 08 July 2014". Pchrgaza.org. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  3. ↑ "Ministry of Health: 2145 Palestinians, Including 578, Killed In Israel's Aggression". 27 August 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Occupied Palestinian Territory: Gaza Emergency Situation Report" (PDF). September 4, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2014.
  5. ↑ "BBC News - Israeli child 'killed by rocket fired from Gaza'". BBC News.
  6. ↑ "Full text of Prime Minister Netanyahu's UN speech". The Jerusalem Post. 29 September 2014.
  7. ↑ "Human Rights Council: Establish Fact-finding Mission in Israel". July 23, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Palestinian Authority President Abbas' address to the UN General Assembly in New York". 26 September 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 "Discussion Political Humanitarian Implications - Video - C-SPAN.org". C-SPAN.org.
  10. 1 2 "Leila Zerrougui: No Safe Place for the Children Of Gaza". United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.
  11. ↑ "Human Rights Council: Establish Fact-finding Mission in Israel/Palestine - Human Rights Watch". 23 July 2014.
  12. ↑ Ian Black (23 July 2014). "UN human rights body to investigate claims of Israeli violations in Gaza". the Guardian.
  13. ↑ "BBC News - UN's Navi Pillay warns of Israel Gaza 'war crimes'". BBC News. 23 July 2014.
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