Jerusalem, Nov 13 (IANS/EFE) The Israeli government has denied access to members of a UN commission charged with investigating war crime allegations against the Israeli military during last summer's offensive against Gaza.
"Since the commission is not an inquiry but a commission that gives its conclusions in advance, Israel will not cooperate," foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said.
The commission, headed by Canadian international law expert William Schabas, was appointed by the UN after the war in Gaza in which 2,200 Palestinians and 70 Israelis died.
The commission members, who are in Jordan, asked Israel a few days ago for permission to cross its territory on the way to Gaza, but the Israeli foreign ministry refused.
According to the Yediot Aharonot newspaper, Israeli diplomats claim that Schabas has strong anti-Israeli views and had once said he would like to see Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "in the dock of the International Criminal Court".
--IANS/EFE
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