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UN human rights chief Volker Türk wants the international community to investigate suspected war crimes in the war between Israel and Hamas.
He says this during a meeting with UN member states – after having visited the Middle East himself.
“Extremely serious allegations of numerous and pervasive violations of international humanitarian law, regardless of who commits them, require thorough investigation and full accountability,” says Volker Türk, who is the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The demand for a war crimes investigation is strongly criticized by Israel’s ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar, who says that international law is not “a suicide pact”.
– If a state cannot defend itself, or is criticized for doing so in line with international law, terrorist organizations will be encouraged to continue using these methods – convinced that they have continued international support, he says.
According to the Palestinian ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi, the UN countries should “wake up” to the massive violations committed by Israel in Gaza.
– This is a massacre, this is genocide, and we see it on TV. It cannot continue, says Khraishi.