Goldstone report
The UN inquiry into the Gaza War that took place in the winter of 2008/2009 between Hamas (defending) and Israel (attacking)
The Israeli ground invasion began on January 3, 2009, the war ended on January 18.
Between 1,387 and 1,417 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.More than 5000 Palestinian injured, 400,000 Gazans were left without running water, while 4,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless; 80 government buildings were hit.
A report published in September 2009 by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) stated that both Israeli and Palestinian forces committed war crimes during the war and it recommended bringing those responsible to justice.
On September 15 2009, a 574 page report by Judge Goldstone's UN inquiry team was released, titled "Human Rights in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories: Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict"
Goldstone report summary
I- Using civilians as Human shields
A- Israel using civilians as Human shieldsThe report found at least 4 cases of Israeli soldiers using Palestinian civilians as human shields.
Known cases of Israelis using Human shields :
On March 24, a report from the UN team responsible for the protection of children in war zones was released, it found "hundreds" of violations of the rights of children and accused Israeli soldiers of shooting children, using children as human shields, bulldozing a home with a woman and child still inside, and shelling a building they had ordered civilians into a day earlier.
One case involved using an 11-year-old boy as a human shield, by forcing him to enter suspected buildings first and also inspect bags.
The report also mentioned the boy was used as a shield when Israeli soldiers came under fire.The Guardian has also received testimony from three Palestinian brothers aged 14, 15, and 16, who all claimed to have been used as human shields.
In the report published by human rights NGO Breaking the Silence in July 2009, two testimonies were dedicated to alleged cases of using Palestinian civilians as human shields who were forced to enter suspect buildings ahead of troops.B- Hamas using civilians as Human shieldsDuring the Gaza war Israeli military argued that the reason behind the high number of civilian casualties amongst Palestinians is due to the use of human shields by Hamas militant. But in the report Hamas militants were cleared of such allegations, the report refuted allegations made by Israelis that Hamas or other Palestinian militias used any form of human shields.
II- Gaza Siege
Since June 2007 Egypt and Israel have imposed a blockade on the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip (part of the Palestinian territories), Forbidding the entry of products, goods, fuel, food...
The report found that the blockade of Gaza "amounted to collective punishment", was likely a war crime and a crime against humanity and recommended that the matter be referred to the International Criminal Court.
III- Bombarding the infrastructure
Israeli forces targeted police stations (that killed 240 policemen), parliament building, prison and other government offices and buildings. Civilian infrastructure including mosques, private homes, hospitals, medical facilities*, schools, universities, ...
The report refuted allegation that Hamas fighters were hiding in U.N building or used Ambulances (29 ambulances were hit by israeli force) as a mean of transportation or conducted missile launch from within Hospitals parameter.
*In a damage assessment by the World Health Organization, 48% of the 122 health facilities assessed were found to be damaged or destroyed. 15 of Gaza's 27 hospitals and 41 primary health care centers suffered damages. 29 ambulances were partially damaged or destroyed.IV- Bombarding the industries
The report condemned the bombarding by the Israeli force of the Palestinian industries. Between 35% and 60% of the agriculture industry was wrecked.
219 factories were destroyed or severely damaged during the Israeli military operation.
V- Weapons used by Israel Military in Gaza war
The report condemned the systematic use by the Israeli military of weapons which violate laws on distinction:
White phosphorous:
White phosphorus burns quite fiercely and can set cloth, fuel, ammunition and other combustibles on fire. It also can function as an anti-personnel weapon with the compound capable of causing serious burns or death.
White phosphorus was also used during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Israel stated that it had used phosphorus shells "against military targets in open ground" in south Lebanon. Israel stated that its use of the white phosphorus bombs was permitted under international conventions. President of Lebanon Émile Lahoud claimed that phosphorus shells were used against civilians in Lebanon.
Flechette shells:
The use of artillery flechette rounds in populated areas has been criticized. These criticisms focus on the wide area of effect of artillery flechette rounds, and their use in areas with large civilian populations. Detractors argue that the use of such rounds conflicts with the Fourth Geneva Convention provisions protecting non-combatants.
DIME Bomb:
As reported in the French national newspaper Le Monde, according to a team of journalists from the Italian State radio-television RAI, DIME-type bombs were being used in the Gaza Strip by the IDF against Palestinian targets during July/August 2006. The investigation was performed by examining the unusual wounds, and a lab analysis of the metals found in the victims' bodies was reportedly "compatible with the hypothesis" that a DIME weapon was involved. Israel denied possessing or using such weapons.
Dr. Mads Gilbert and Dr. Erik Fosse, working on wounded from the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, report injuries that they believe can only be caused by some new type of weapon used by Israel which they suspect are DIME bombs.
On the objectives and strategy of Israel's offensive, the investigation concluded that military planners deliberately followed a doctrine which involved "the application of disproportionate force and the causing of great damage and destruction to civilian property and infrastructure, and suffering to civilian populations".
On the firing of mortars and rockets from Gaza, Goldstone's report concluded that they were indiscriminate and deliberate attacks against a civilian population and "would constitute war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity".
It said that their apparent intention of spreading fear among Israeli civilians was a violation of international law.
