UN rights chief criticizes Israel denying war crimes

By Beyza Binnur Donmez</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Israel rejecting a report accusing it of committing “war crimes” by killing Palestinian protesters was a disappointment, said the head of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Wednesday.</p> <p>Speaking at the UN offices in Geneva, Michelle Bachelet decried Israel's &quot;immediate dismissal&quot; of the commission of inquiry report &quot;without addressing any of the very serious issues raised.&quot;</p> <p>“The end of this month will mark one year since the start of demonstrations which – as the Council’s Commission of Inquiry reported – have been met with deadly, disproportionate force by the Israeli security forces, leading to a very high toll of killings and injuries,” she said, referring to the Great March of Return weekly protests by Palestinians in Gaza which started on March 30, 2018.</p> <p>&quot;All parties concerned should exercise restraint as the date of March 30 approaches,&quot; she added.</p> <p>The protests call for the removal of the blockade on the Gaza Strip by Israel and the return of Palestinian refugees.</p> <p>Created by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council last May, the commission of inquiry was tasked with investigating all violence linked to demonstrations on the Israel-Gaza border from March 30 to Dec. 31, 2018.</p> <p>According to the report, 183 Palestinians were killed by Israeli army gunfire — including 35 children — since demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone first began. </p> <p>&quot;Another 6,106 Palestinians were injured by live ammunition,&quot; the report said, &quot;while a further 3,098 were hurt by shrapnel, rubber-coated bullets, and/or teargas&quot;.</p> <p>The Great March of Return rallies reached a climax on May 15, the anniversary of the Nakba (Catastrophe) – the day hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcefully removed from their homes to make the establishment of Israel possible in 1948.</p> <p>