News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Gaza-based terror group Hamas on Thursday rejected accusations in an Amnesty International report that it committed war crimes during the three-week war it fought with Israel in December of 2008. The 117-page report accused Hamas of killing three Israeli civilians by firing rockets indiscriminately from Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. "Hamas rejects all the accusation made against it in Amnesty's report. Instead of publishing such reports, those murderers (Israelis) should have been taken to court for trial," he added,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said at a news conference. "

He said the report "was unfair and unbalanced since it puts the victim and executioner on an equal footing.” The report also called for stopping arms shipments from reaching Hamas, implicitly urging Egypt, which borders Gaza, to increase security measures along the borders to prevent underground smuggling of weapons. "This call aims at expanding the list of accusations against Hamas to incite international parties not to deal with Hamas and to tighten the blockade on Gaza," Abu Zuhri said.