Hamas: Israel must be held accountable for Gaza crimes

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says Israel must be fully held accountable for crimes it has committed in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The request came after an investigation mandated by the UN Human Rights Council found that Israeli troops may have committed “crimes against humanity” in response to Palestinian protests in Gaza.

In the UN report released on Thursday, chair of the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry Santiago Canton said Israeli soldiers have breached international human rights in confronting the Gaza protest rallies.

Tensions erupted in Gaza in March 30, 2018, which marked the start of a series of protests dubbed the “Great March of Return,” demanding the right to return for those driven out of their homeland.

The clashes reached their peak on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the US embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.

The violence left 189 Palestinians dead and more than 6,100 others injured between March 30 and December 31, 2018, the report said.

Palestinian sources say nearly 270 protesters have been killed by Israeli troops since the beginning of the rallies.

Later on Thursday, Hamas issued a statement on the UN report, denouncing the Tel Aviv regime for the crimes it has committed against Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip.

“The report indicates beyond any doubt that the Israeli occupation has committed clear war crimes against the Palestinians who came out to protest peacefully to demand the right of return and lift the siege,” said Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official.

He also called on “the international community to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for the war crimes that it continues to commit against the Palestinians.”

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The "March of Return" demonstrations are held every week to demand the right to return for the Palestinians driven out of their homeland by Israeli aggression.

They also demand a halt to Israel’s inhumane blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.

Israeli forces use live ammunition against protesters in Gaza which has been under a crippling siege since 2007 and witnessed three wars since 2008.

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