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Israel ‘may have committed war crimes,’ says UN rights chief as left condemns ‘witch hunts’ of Palestinians
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, is displayed on a screen as she delivers her speech during a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to discuss situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland

ISRAEL may have committed war crimes in its 11-day assault on Gaza and should allow an independent probe of its actions, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said today.

She spoke out as Israeli communists warned that mass arrests targeting the country’s Arab citizens were being accompanied by “witch hunts” in which workers, including in the public sector, were being suspended or fired for social media activity considered supportive of Palestine.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights said: “Air strikes in densely populated areas resulted in a high level of civilian fatalities and injuries, as well as the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure.”

  • Israel suspended a police officer on Wednesday after security footage emerged of a 16-year-old Palestinian girl being shot in the back having been ordered back into her East Jerusalem home. Jana Kiswani is in hospital with a broken vertebra.
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