Hamas slams Israel for banning UN inquiry from probing war in Gaza

Islamic Hamas movement on Monday slammed Israel for not allowing the UN inquiry committee from arriving in Gaza to probe the results of the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Hamas spokesman in Gaza Sami Abu Zuhri said in an e-mailed press statement that banning the UN inquiry, which belongs to the Human Rights Council, from arriving in Gaza shows that Israel wants to cover up war crimes.

He called on the global humanitarian organization "to stick to its right to get to the Gaza Strip and investigate the results of the war crimes on the ground and gear the real testimonies from the people themselves."

He also called on the UN committee not to accept any investigation of the war's results outside of Gaza, adding "the Palestinian Authority should also carry its responsibilities to pressure on Israel and let the UN committee to go to Gaza."

Several days ago, Israel Foreign Ministry announced that it rejected a request made by the UN committee to reach the Palestinian territories to probe the results of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The UN Human Rights Council decided on July 23 to form a probing committee to investigate the violations during the large- scale Israeli offensive on Gaza that lasted for 50 days and ended in Aug. 26.

The members of the UN committee are currently in Jordan, where they held meetings and consultations with witnesses as well as with Palestinian governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Enditem