Israeli security forces may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by using lethal military force against unarmed protesters in Gaza, a United Nations independent commission of inquiry recently reported. “The Commission has found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli security forces committed serious violations of humans rights and international humanitarian law,” Santiago Canton, the head of the commission, stated on Thursday “These violations clearly warrant criminal investigation and prosecution.” The report states that more than “6,000 unarmed demonstrators were shot by military snipers, week after week at the protest sites by the separation fence,” and “another 3,098 Palestinians were injured by bullet fragmentation, rubber-coated metal bullets or by hits from tear gas canister.” The commission was formed after more than 60 people were killed in a single day of protests last May in 2018, it was responsible for identifying and investigating those responsible for rights violations in relation to the Great March of Return demonstrations along Gaza’s eastern boundary. “Unless undertaken lawfully in self-defence, intentionally shooting a civilian not directly participating in hostilities is a war crime,” the report added. “We are saying that they have intentionally shot children. They have intentionally shot…
