28-03-2024 11:05 AM Jerusalem Timing

Netanyahu Complains to Ban: Gaza War Probe “One-Sided”

Netanyahu Complains to Ban: Gaza War Probe “One-Sided”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has complained to UN chief Ban Ki-moon that a probe by the world body into the Gaza war is “one-sided,” his foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has complained to UN chief Ban Ki-moon that a probe by the world body into the Gaza war is “one-sided,” his foreign ministry said Wednesday.

At a meeting with Ban on Tuesday in New York, Netanyahu charged that the UN Human Rights Council "is not focusing its inquiry on (Palestinian resistance movement), Hamas, which used UN facilities in order to fire at Israel," a ministry statement said.Ban and Netanyahu

Israeli shelling during its 50-day brutal offensive on the besieged strip hit several UN schools sheltering displaced Palestinians, killing scores of civilians.

Netanyahu said the UN's conduct towards Israel was "disproportionate" and insisted that his country "did not direct its attacks against civilians."

The commission probing Israel's Gaza offensive has said it is also investigating Hamas's actions in the war.

Nearly 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were martyred and more than 11,000 others were injured in the Israeli assault.

According to the UN, Ban told Netanyahu of the "urgent need to address the underlying causes of the crisis, including the need to lift the closure of Gaza," in reference to the Israeli blockade which has been in place since 2006.

Lifting the blockade is seen as key to consolidating the ceasefire in Gaza.

The UN said Ban had also voiced "deep concern” at Israel's continued settlement activity on Palestinian land, raising a thorny issue which is viewed as illegal by the international community and has repeatedly derailed the so-called peace talks with the Palestinians.