Amnesty International has called Thursday for a global arms embargo against Israel accusing its forces of committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
“Amnesty is renewing its calls for governments worldwide to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel” the group said in a fresh statement.
The rights group has accused Israel of “carrying out a murderous assault” against Palestinians taking part on the “Great March of Return” in the Strip.
Over those weeks Amnesty said “the Israeli military has killed 35 Palestinians and injured more than 5500 others — some with what appear to be deliberately inflicted life-changing injuries”.
“In most of the fatal cases analysed by Amnesty International victims were shot in the upper body including the head and the chest some from behind” the group said. “Eyewitness testimonies video and photographic evidence suggest that many were deliberately killed or injured while posing no immediate threat to the Israeli soldiers.”
“The time for symbolic statements of condemnation is now over. The international community must act concretely and stop the delivery of arms and military equipment to Israel” the group stated. “A failure to do so will continue to fuel serious human rights abuses against thousands of men women and children suffering the consequences of life under Israel’s cruel blockade.”
Earlier this month the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor warned Israeli leaders that they could face trial for violence against civilians in Gaza.
On 30 March 2018 Palestinian youths launched a six-week campaign composed of a series of protests at the Gaza Strip near the Gaza-Israel border.
One of the main demands of the Great March of Return is that Palestinians be allowed to exercise their internationally recognised right to return to lands from which they and their families were expelled and from which Israel excludes them solely because they are not Jews.
