HRW: "Israel" Deliberately Destroyed Gaza

HRW released on Thursday a 116-page report under the name, 'I Lost Everything': "Israel's" Unlawful Destruction of Property in the Gaza Conflict.
The report said it has documented 12 separate cases of deliberate destruction during the 22-day "Operation Cast Lead".

It revealed availability of evidence that "Israeli" forces destroyed civilian property, including homes, factories, farms, and greenhouses, in areas under their control although there was no fighting in that area or the fighting had stopped.

HRW said it has documented the complete destruction of 190 buildings, including 11 factories, 8 warehouses and 170 residential buildings, which it said was roughly five percent of the total property destroyed during the war in Gaza. 

The organization investigations, which relied upon physical evidence, satellite imagery and multiple witness accounts at each site, found no indication of nearby fighting when the destruction occurred.

The report added that "Israeli" soldiers forcefully vacated Palestinians from their homes and bulldozed their houses. 

It also urged "Israel" to investigate the cases and bring to justice those who ordered or committed the acts of destruction.

"Almost 16 months after the war, "Israel" has not held accountable troops who unlawfully destroyed swaths of civilian property in areas under their control," Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director at HRW said. 

It condemned the economic blockade of Gaza, and the prevention of reconstructing the impoverished strip, as an illegal collective punishment.

The organization also held Egypt responsible for the blockade.

"The United States, the European Union and other states should urgently call upon "Israel" and Egypt to open Gaza's borders to reconstruction materials and other supplies essential for the civilian population," Whitson said.