UNTV - AP CLIENTS ONLY Geneva - 22 June 2015 SOUNDBITE (English) Mary McGowan Davis, Chair of Commission of Inquiry on the Gaza conflict: “First, in 2014 the attacks on homes and families, which led to large numbers of family members dying together when their homes were struck in the middle of the night or as they were gathering for the Iftar meal. These attacks had particular consequences for children. Approximately 551 children died last summer in Gaza during the fighting. Second, the ground operations in Shejaiya, Kuzaa, and Rafa, which led to the razing of entire neighbourhoods and huge numbers of civilian casualties from the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects. Third, the new use of attack tunnels, which crossed from Gaza into Israel, and frightened the residents of communities along the border who are now, as one woman reported, ‘afraid because we don’t know what things can come from the ground.’ Fourth, the increasing use of live ammunition by the police in the West Bank as a means of crowd control, which led to a number of deaths and injuries of innocent bystanders last summer. And, finally, we point to the pervasive failure on all sides to achieve justice through effective, credible, and transparent investigations that lead, where appropriate and justified, to convictions and punishment by relevant accountability mechanisms.” // “We feel strongly that the victims on both sides deserve to be heard. It’s a great source of regret that on this occasion we could not travel to Israel and the occupied territory to meet them face-to-face, but that has only strengthened our determination to provide the victims in Gaza, the West Bank, and in Israel a forum where their stories can be heard.” // “The most that we can hope for, out of this long and arduous process of inquiry, is that we will push the ball of justice a little further down the field, particularly by calling on governments to stand up and join together to address the crying need for changes in policies regarding the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated, urban areas like Gaza and, further, to hold accountable those who do not pay scrupulous attention to protecting the lives of civilians and civilian objects, but waging hostilities like those that consumed Gaza and Israel last summer.”