Israel's forced displacement of Palestinians a 'war crime'

Israeli forces have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza through a "systematic" campaign of "massive deliberate forced displacement" of Palestinians, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.

- BEL TREW

The New York-based advocacy group urged governments to impose sanctions and halt weapon sales to avoid “complicity” in these grave violations. The Israeli military has repeatedly denied committing crimes in Gaza, telling The Independent that it is “committed to international law and operates accordingly”.

In a 154-page report published yesterday, HRW said there was “no plausible imperative military reason” to justify the mass displacement of 90 per cent of Gaza’s population of two million people, with many individuals displaced multiple times in the 13 months since the current campaign began.

It said that statements by senior Israeli officials with command responsibility show that forced displacement was “intentional and forms part of Israeli state policy”, amounting to a crime against humanity.

The report concluded that Israel’s actions “appear to also meet the definition of ethnic cleansing” and urged the International Criminal Court at The Hague to investigate.

“The Israeli government cannot claim to be keeping Palestinians safe when it kills them along escape routes, bombs so-called safe zones, and cuts off food, water, and sanitation,” said Nadia Hardman, HRW’s refugee and migrant rights researcher who authored the report. “Israel has blatantly violated its obligation to ensure Palestinians can return home, razing virtually everything in large areas.”

She called on the US, Germany and other countries to suspend weapons transfers and military assistance to Israel immediately.

“No one can be in denial about the atrocity crimes the Israeli military is committing against Palestinians in Gaza,” she said. “Transfer of additional weapons and assistance to Israel by the United States, Germany and others is a blank cheque for further atrocities and increasingly puts them at risk of complicity.”