RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AFP) – UN investigators arrived in the Gaza Strip on Monday to probe alleged violations of international law during Israel’s massive offensive against the Palestinian enclave.
The 15-strong team entered the small coastal strip through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and were met by UN officials in Gaza and a representative of the Islamist Hamas movement which rules the territory.
They should remain in Gaza for a week.
The probe is headed by Richard Goldstone, a former chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda who also headed a public inquiry into violence and intimidation in the run-up to South Africa’s first post-apartheid elections in 1994.
Israel’s 22-day war against Gaza in December and January killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, according to Palestinian officials, and caused widespread damage in the impoverished territory.
Israel has said it would refuse to cooperate with the probe, with the foreign ministry claiming it was based on a biased mandate and sought to tarnish the country’s reputation.
Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities. Launched in London in 1978, Asharq Al-Awsat has established itself as the decisive publication on pan-Arab and international affairs, offering its readers in-depth analysis and exclusive editorials, as well as the most comprehensive coverage of the entire Arab world.
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