Amnesty accuses IDF of war crimes in Jenin

Joseph Algazy of Ha'aretz reports,

Israel Defense Forces operating in Jenin and Nablus during Operation Defensive Shield were guilty of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to an Amnesty International report, titled "Shielded from scrutiny: IDF violations in Jenin and Nablus," which is to be published Monday.

In the 76-page report, the human rights organization concludes that Israel has the right to defend itself, but that the measures it employs to do this do not justify the violation of human rights as enshrined in international treaties and humanitarian law.

...The Amnesty report states that in the four months between February 27 and the end of June, when the IDF carried out its two largest operations in the West Bank since the start of the intifada, the army killed nearly 500 Palestinians.

"Although many Palestinians died during armed confrontations, many of these IDF killings appeared to be unlawful and at least 16 percent of the victims, more than 70, were children," the report states.

The report also notes that over 250 Israelis were killed by Palestinians during this period, including 164 civlians - 32 of them children - and points out that the organization has "condemned attacks by Palestinians on Israeli civilians as crimes against humanity."

In both Jenin and Nablus, the Amnesty report states, the IDF blocked medical teams, ambulances, and humanitarian organizations from gaining access to areas that had been hit, even after it had been reported that fighting there had ceased.