In a joint statement Monday, a UN panel of experts called for full and independent investigations into crimes committed in Israel and Palestine.
The UN called on Israel, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Gaza authorities to co-operate fully with the investigations. They said that “independent investigators must be provided with the necessary resources, support and access required to conduct prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into crimes allegedly committed by all parties to the conflict.” UN officials added:
“The duty to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity, including any act of summary or extrajudicial killing, torture or other outrages on human dignity, is a fundamental legal obligation.”
They also called on the international community to work to ensure that all those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as any other international crimes committed during the conflict, are brought to justice as soon as possible, especially those with command responsibility:
“There is no statute of limitation for such crimes, and they fall under universal jurisdiction, which means that courts in any country can exercise their authority to prosecute those responsible, regardless of their nationality and the country where the crimes were committed.”
Israel launched a massive military offensive in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.
It has since killed at least 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and more than 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave. The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.
Israel and Hamas entered a four-day truce on Friday. Since then, the Palestinian group has released 58 out of the nearly 240 hostages captured from Israel last month.
