Norway to study accusation of Israeli war crimes
OSLO, April 22 (Reuters) - Norway's public prosecutors said on Wednesday they would study a complaint filed by a group of lawyers accusing Israeli leaders of war crimes over a military offensive in Gaza last year that killed hundreds of civilians.
A group of Norwegian lawyers filed the complaint, using a new law under which foreigners can be charged in Norway with war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity even if the alleged acts were carried out elsewhere.
"We received the complaint today," said Siri Frigaard, chief prosecutor at Norway's National Authority for Prosecution of Organised and Other Serious Crimes.
"We will follow normal procedure, which means we will look through the complaint to determine whether or not to send it to the police to carry out a formal investigation," she told Reuters, adding that a decision was not likely this week.
Israeli forces launched a 22-day offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in late December with the stated goal of stopping Palestinian militants from firing home-made rockets across the border into Israel.
A Palestinian rights group said 1,417 Palestinians, including 926 civilians, were killed in the fighting, in which 13 Israelis died. Israel disputes the Palestinian figures.
In a statement, the lawyers said Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, seven Israeli military officers, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni were responsible for "massive terror attacks primarily directed at the population in Gaza."
They accused Israel of illegally using weapons against civilian targets, including attacks on hospitals.
The Israeli embassy in Oslo was not immediately available for comment. Each side has accused the other of using Palestinians as human shields, increasing civilian casualties.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has begun investigating allegations of human rights violations by both sides in the Gaza conflict. (Reporting by Wojciech Moskwa; editing by Tim Pearce)
