Foreign Ministry Spokesman Eric Chevallier has publicly criticized Israel for allegedly blocking the shipment of a water purification station into Gaza, forcing France to return the equipment to Europe despite the serious health emergency growing in Gaza over contaminated water. Spain for its part has now opened an investigation to look into the allegations of crimes against humanity in how Israel conducted the operation.
The French ministry insists that Israel blocked the equipment but has yet to give it a satisfactory explanation: “An important amount of aid was let in (to Gaza), but for reasons which we have difficulty to explain, the water purification could not enter,” he told a news conference.
Spain has now opened a war crimes investigation into the Gaza allegations. Soon after Israel withdrew from Gaza, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that it would defend any soldiers accused of war crimes and that special legal team were created within days of the withdrawal in anticipation of such charges.
For the full story, click here.