The Israeli government has released report concluding that action taken in the Gaza Strip last summer was "lawful" and "legitimate", ahead of a forthcoming United Nations report on the conflict.
The Israeli report largely blames Palestinian militants – namely Hamas – for violations of international law, stating that action taken by Israeli troops was an “imperative necessity”.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said the report presented “the true picture” of what took place during last summer’s conflict, adding that “whoever wants to automatically – and without foundation – blame Israel, let them waste their time with the UN Human Rights Council report.”
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is due to release a report on potential war crimes carried out by Israel and Palestinian militants on Monday.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri dismissed the Israeli report, saying it “has no value and will not work in changing the facts because the Israeli occupation crimes took place in front of the world’s cameras”.
The Palestinian Authority also rejected the report with government representative Ihab Bseiso saying “Israel’s decision to deny having targeted civilians in Gaza is the logical extension of what it did in the Gaza Strip”.
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