In its actions in Gaza, the commission found Israeli authorities responsible for war crimes such as “starvation as a method of warfare, murder or deliberate killing, deliberate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention and attacks on personal dignity.”
The report says starvation will impact Gaza’s population, particularly children, “for decades to come,” while “the siege it has led to… amounts to collective punishment and retaliation against the civilian population, both of which are clear violations of IHL.”
In the West Bank, the commission found that Israeli forces committed sexual violence, torture, and inhuman or cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity, “all of which constitute war crimes.”
The commission said the Israeli government and forces had “permitted, encouraged and incited a campaign of violence against Palestinian communities” in the territory.
The commission said the report was based on remote interviews with victims and witnesses in Turkey and Egypt, and the study of thousands of verified open-source objects, satellite images and forensic medical reports.
It said, “Israel obstructed the Commission's investigation and prevented it from accessing Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.”
This report will be presented before the United Nations Human Rights Council next week.