Israel Demands UN Condemn Rocket Attacks

Israel has demanded that the United Nations Human Rights Commission, whose Goldstone report accused Israel of war crimes, condemn the latest rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.

Hamas and allied terrorists continued to fire weapons at civilians Sunday morning, shooting a mortar shell that exploded near a kibbutz near Gaza. No one was injured and no damage was reported. Heavy damage was caused Saturday night when a Kassam missile hit an educational facility next to Sderot. A longer-range Grad missile exploded in Ashkelon Friday, also causing heavy damage and sending two people into shock.

Israel filed a complaint with the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Commission, stating that Gaza-based terrorists fired rockets “at Israeli civilians and civilian targets," which constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity.”

The letter also reminded the commission that Israel has the right to self-defense and that the latest attacks were aimed at disturbing international efforts to bring the Palestinian Authority and Israel to the same table for direct talks on establishing the PA as an independent country.

Last year, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead following massive barrages of missiles attacks, some of them deadly, that exploded as far north as Ashdod and several miles north of Be’er Sheva.

The Human Rights Commission later appointed retired South African Judge Richard Goldstone to head an investigation that resulted in accusations against the Israeli Defense Forces for allegedly committing war crimes. The Hamas rocket attacks were barely mentioned in the report, and no action has been taken against the de facto Hamas government, which is designated by the United States and the European Union as a terrorist organization.

Israel struck back at Hamas before dawn Sunday morning, bombing two tunnels used for smuggling weapons and terrorists.


(2010-08-01/IsraelNationalNews )