by Aryeh Savir and Yaniv Hassidoff
The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Ibrahim Khreisheh, admitted in an interview translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) that the Palestinian Authority unity government (PUG) — which includes Hamas — does not abide by international law and commits war crimes.
Kreisheh made the statement while responding to a question presented to him on PA TV last week about the PUG demand to appear to the International Criminal Court at The Hague (ICC) against Israel.
“The missiles that are now being launched against Israel, each and every missiles constitutes a crime against humanity, whether it hits or missed, because it is directed at civilian targets… Therefore, targeting civilians, be it one civilian or a thousand, is considered a crime against humanity,” he said.
With regard to the current IDF effort to protect Gaza civilians in Operation Protective Edge, the PLO envoy acknowledged Israel is doing its best to avoid harming innocents.
“Please note that many of our people in Gaza appeared on TV and said that the Israeli army warned them to evacuate their homes before bombardment. In such a case, if someone is killed, the law considers it a mistake rather than intentional killing, because (the Israelis) followed the legal procedures.”
Khreisheh further stated that while firing from PLO-controlled areas, Hamas does not warn civilians before firing on them. By doing so, he said, the terrorist organization is committing a war crime.
“As for the missiles launched from our side, we never warn anyone about where these missiles are about to land, or about the operations we carry out.”
He concluded by saying that the Palestinian Authority unity government has no hope of pressing charges against Israel in the international court.
“Therefore people should know more before they talk emotionally about appealing to the ICC,” he commented.
Gaza terrorists fired more than 800 rockets and missiles at Israeli civilians by the sixth day of Operation Protective Shield on Sunday, July 13, 2014.