Israel/Palästina

Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups committed serious violations of the laws of war during fighting in the Gaza Strip in July and August 2014. Israeli military operations in Gaza, including indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, caused the vast majority of civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Palestinian armed groups carried out indiscriminate rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli population centers, and sometimes fired from or near civilian areas, endangering the civilian population.  Israel’s blockade of Gaza, supported by Egypt, amounts to collective punishment, while its settlement and other policies violated international law and harmed Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and Israeli forces conducted arbitrary arrests and suppressed freedom of association and assembly.