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Israel accused of blocking human rights workers' access to Gaza

Xinhua, April 3, 2017 Adjust font size:

An international human rights organization on Monday accused Israel of barring human rights workers from entering the Gaza Strip for documenting abuse in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

The 47-page report, released by Human Rights Watch, accuses Israel of "systematically" blocking researchers from traveling into and out of Gaza, even where the Israeli security services make no security claims against them as individuals.

The report also accuses Egypt of preventing its workers and workers of the Britain-based Amnesty International from entering Gaza from its border since 2012.

The group charged that this practice calls into question Israel's proclaimed commitment to investigate possible war crimes during its 51-day-long military campaign in Gaza in 2014.

In a statement released on Monday, the group urges the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor's office to take note of the restrictions in the context of its ongoing preliminary examination of the Palestine situation.

"If Israel wants the ICC prosecutor to take seriously its argument that its criminal investigations are adequate, a good first step would be to allow human rights researchers to bring relevant information to light," said Sari Bashi, Israel and Palestine advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

"Impeding the work of human rights groups raises questions not just about the willingness of Israel's military authorities to conduct genuine investigations, but also their ability to do so," she added.

Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza, home to about two million people, following Hamas winning in the 2006 elections in the Strip.

Under Israel's restrictive policy, only a very limited number of people and goods are allowed in and out of Gaza.

The office of Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT,) the body who regulates access to Gaza, denies it prevent access of any human rights workers.

A statement by COGAT said about 1,000 people cross through Israeli crossings every day for various of purposes, including for human rights work. Endit