“This is precisely why Israel was taken to the International Court of Justice with the accusation that it is committing genocide,” said one legal expert.
Palestinian officials on Wednesday demanded an international inquiry after the decomposing remains of dozens of blindfolded and handcuffed bodies were found at a northern Gaza school following the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Gaza officials claim the 30 victims, who were found on the grounds of the Hamad School in Beit Lahia, were civilians who were killed “execution-style” by Israeli troops before they left the area.
Witnesses toldAl Jazeera that the victims were tortured before being murdered and placed in plastic bags. Photos showed the bags were zip-tied with tags containing Hebrew writing.
“As we were cleaning, we came across a pile of rubble inside the schoolyard. We were shocked to find out that the dozens of dead bodies were buried under this pile,” one witness said. “The moment we opened the black plastic bags, we found the bodies, already decomposed. They were blindfolded, legs and hands tied.”
Brett Wilkins is a San Francisco-based journalist and author who contributes regularly to Common Dreams and Counterpunch. He is also a member of Collective 20, a new anti-war collective with Noam Chomsky, Medea Benjamin and others.
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