On their return from a research mission to Israel and the Occupied
Territories, Amnesty International delegates presented today their
preliminary findings during a press conference at the Foreign Press
Association in London. Delegates interviewed eye-witnesses and met government representatives, including from the Israeli Defence Forces. They visited
Rumaneh village, Jenin city, Jenin City Hospital and Jenin Refugee Camp.
"The evidence compiled indicates that serious breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law were committed, including war crimes, but only an independent international commission of inquiry can establish the full facts and the scale of these violations," said Javier Zúñiga, Director of Regional Strategy of the organization's International Secretariat.
The delegation received credible evidence of such serious violations including:
* Failure to give civilians warning or time to evacuate Jenin refugee camp before Apache helicopters launched their first attacks.
* Failure by the Israeli Defence Forces to protect the people of the refugee camp, who are "protected people" under the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilians Persons in Time of War.
* Allegations of extrajudicial executions.
Territories, Amnesty International delegates presented today their
preliminary findings during a press conference at the Foreign Press
Association in London. Delegates interviewed eye-witnesses and met government representatives, including from the Israeli Defence Forces. They visited
Rumaneh village, Jenin city, Jenin City Hospital and Jenin Refugee Camp.
"The evidence compiled indicates that serious breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law were committed, including war crimes, but only an independent international commission of inquiry can establish the full facts and the scale of these violations," said Javier Zúñiga, Director of Regional Strategy of the organization's International Secretariat.
The delegation received credible evidence of such serious violations including:
* Failure to give civilians warning or time to evacuate Jenin refugee camp before Apache helicopters launched their first attacks.
* Failure by the Israeli Defence Forces to protect the people of the refugee camp, who are "protected people" under the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilians Persons in Time of War.
* Allegations of extrajudicial executions.