The London-based human rights organization Amnesty International on Wednesday accused the Israeli occupation army of committing "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity" in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In its annual report, Amnesty International pointed out that Israeli occupation troops and Jewish settlers killed 700 Palestinians in 2004, including 150 children.
The report said that most of the casualties were caused by shooting, explosions, and aerial attacks on residential neighborhoods.
The Amnesty report also pointed out that Palestinian resistance fighters killed 109 Israeli soldiers, settlers and civilians during 2004, including eight children.
An Israeli spokeswoman dismissed the report, saying "We don’t target Palestinian civilians, let alone children. The Amnesty report is wrong."
On his part, a Palestinian official backed Amnesty. "The Israelis murder children and then lie about the murder. The disproportionately high number of Palestinian children killed by the Israeli army leaves no doubt as to the fact that Israeli soldiers target Palestinian children deliberately and premeditatedly," said Ya'cob Shahin, from the Palestinian Ministry of information.
