Palestinian victim offensive underway

AFP/Arab News:

Israel’s targeting of a Hamas government office which caused serious casualties at a nearby wedding party was a “war crime” and those responsible should be punished, a United Nations official said yesterday.

John Dugard, UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied territories, slammed the killing of Palestinians in other attacks and the closing of border crossings.

“Those responsible for such cowardly action are guilty of serious war crimes and should be prosecuted and punished for their crimes,” Dugard said.

“Recent action violates the strict prohibition on collective punishment contained in the Fourth Geneva Convention,” said Dugard in the statement put out by the UN Human Rights Commission. “It violates one of the basic principles of international humanitarian law that military action must distinguish between military and civilian targets.”

He said that “Israel must have known” about the wedding party in the Gaza Strip close to the Interior Ministry when it launched missiles at the building on Friday.

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Nonsense like this is why there is so little respect for the UN on Middle East issues. I am pretty skeptical that the Israelis got any wedding invitations from anyone in Gaza. the wedding party ruse is getting old and is pretty discredited. It has been used so often that even if true it is not credible.

Then there is the "collective punishment" cry, which is another favorite of the thugs in charge of Gaza. What do they call the rocketing of day care centers--resistance? I am disgusted by the Palestinian victim strategy and their use of wounded kids a props in their propaganda war. They may persuade Muslim religious bigots, but they are no longer credible to those without a dog in their fight.