Much of Israel's destruction was wanton and resulted from direct attacks on civilian objects as well as indiscriminate attacks that failed to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilian objects. Such attacks violated fundamental provisions of international humanitarian law, notably the prohibition on direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects (the principle of distinction), the prohibition on indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, and the prohibition on collective punishment. 

A U.N. human rights investigator on Thursday called Israel's seizure of a ship carrying relief aid for the Gaza Strip "unlawful" and said its blockade of the territory constituted a "continuing crime against humanity". Israeli authorities on Tuesday intercepted the vessel, which was also carrying 21 pro-Palestinian activists, and said it would not be permitted to enter Gaza coastal waters because of security risks in the area and its existing naval blockade. 

Israel has pledged to pay compensation for material damage it caused by shelling UN property during its Gaza offensive more than six months ago, a UN official said on Friday. A UN inquiry said in May that Israel's armed forces damaged UN property on seven occasions during the December-January offensive, including an incident involving a UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school in Jabalya. 

The Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, and George J. Mitchell, the Obama administration’s Middle East envoy, will confer Monday for the second time in a week to pursue regional peace efforts, a senior Israeli official said Friday. The two met for four hours in New York last Monday. The meeting this Monday is to take place in London. 

A West Bank checkpoint managed by a private security company is not allowing Palestinians to pass through with large water bottles and some food items. Machsom Watch discovered the policy, which Palestinian workers have also confirmed. The Defense Ministry stated in response that non-commercial quantities of food were not being limited. It made no reference to the issue of water. 

Al Jazeera takes a look at Israel's plan to use eviction and archaeology as a means to expand and solidify the settlements surrounding occupied East Jerusalem. 

Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border opened briefly on 25, 26 and 27 June allowing Gaza patients in need of emergency care, students, and foreign visa holders to exit. Rafah has been almost completely closed since Hamas took over in Gaza in June 2007, according to Hamada Al-Bayari from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza.