Palestinian Authority president accuses Israel of war crimes
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – As deadly fighting between Israel and the Gaza terror group Hamas continued for a tenth day on Wednesday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of conducting “state terror” and “war crimes,” the Times of Israel reports. Abbas heads the Palestinian Authority which has partial self- rule in areas of the West Bank, while Islamic Jihadist group Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.
The latest round of the intractable Israel-Hamas conflict began on May 10 when Hamas began launching the first of some 4,000 rockets from Gaza at Israel. As indiscriminately fired missiles reached deep into Israel, killing Israeli citizens in their wake, the IDF began a massive retaliatory airstrike campaign in an effort to dismantle Hamas terror infrastructure and capability.
By Wednesday, 12 Israelis, including two children, had been killed in the fighting. In Gaza, some 227 people, including 64 children had been killed, the Gaza health ministry has said.
Referring to Israel’s campaign in Gaza in an address to the Arab League Wednesday, PA President Abbas said: “Israel is brutally attacking civilians and deliberately destroying homes and structures on the heads of their residents. Israel is destroying infrastructure and killing the elderly, women, and children. This is organized state terror conducted by Israel. These are war crimes punishable under international law. We shall not hesitate to pursue those who commit such crimes before the International Criminal Court.”
Israel maintains that Hamas deliberately uses children as human shields, strategically placing them in the line of fire to both deter and discredit Israel.