Israeli authorities refuse entry to UN inquiry team

Israeli authorities denied entry on Wednesday night to the commission appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate possible war crimes committed during Israel’s latest war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Ynetnews reported.

The inquiry committee, known as the Schabas commission after the lead investigator Professor William Schabas, had arrived in Amman, Jordan, before asking permission to enter Israel.

However, Ynetnews reported that the Israeli authorities refused the request, a decision that led to an announcement that Israel would not be cooperating with the commission.

The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva appointed the Schabas commission to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas during the recent 51-day Israeli war on Gaza, which claimed the lives of more than 2,260 Palestinians and wounded more than 11,000, mostly civilians.

Israeli authorities also boycotted the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict that investigated the 2008-2009 Israeli war against Gaza, a team led by South African Judge Richard Goldstone. Known as the Goldstone Report, the findings allege that Israel had committed numerous war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.