U.N. Envoy Calls Israeli Gaza Raids a War Crime

These actions constitute...war crimes...They also amount to collective punishment which violates both humanitarian law and international human rights law," said South African law professor John Dugard in a statement.

The envoy, who has often strongly criticized Israeli actions, said that the U.N. Security Council should consider imposing an arms embargo against the Jewish state just as it had against the apartheid regime in South Africa in 1977.

"The special rapporteur calls on the Security Council to take appropriate action to stop the violence, if necessary by the imposition of a mandatory arms embargo," he said.

Israeli tanks and helicopters fired on protesters in a refugee camp on Wednesday, killing 10 Palestinians and raising a two-day death toll to 33 in Israel's bloodiest Gaza raid in years, witnesses said.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5195060