Labor MP Melissa Parke suggests Israel is committing a war crime in Gaza

A LABOR MP has accused Israel of “indiscriminate” killing of women, children and the disabled in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli missiles are aimed at smuggling tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

A LABOR MP has accused the Israeli military of “indiscriminate” killing of women, children and the disabled, suggesting the Jewish state has committed a “war crime” in the Gaza Strip.

Melissa Parke, a former aid worker in Gaza, today voiced “extreme concern” about this week’s bombardment of Palestinian neighbourhoods in response to Hamas rockets being fired at Israeli towns.

The MP for Fremantle told parliament that the air strikes had killed more than 170 Palestinians and injured a further 1100, about 77 per cent of whom were estimated to be civilians, while no Israelis had been killed by the Islamic militants’ rocket fire.

ISRAEL ASSAULT: Thousands flee Gaza

“The rockets from Gaza are not in any way justified and, insofar as they threaten and harm civilians, are illegal under international law,” Ms Parke told parliament.

“But these imprecise rockets fired by militants cannot be compared with the broadscale bombing of a densely populated city by one of the largest and best-equipped military forces in the world.

“The Israelis know every inch of Gaza and are capable of pinpointing their rockets. It is therefore inexcusable that a centre for disabled people was targeted. It is unacceptable that women and children are being killed indiscriminately as collateral damage.

“Collective punishment is not committed under the Geneva conventions and is a war crime.”

Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “We want Hamas to stop this, and now we are acting to put it to an end. Our goal is to free the people of Israel from Hamas’ deadly rocket fire.

“We will do what needs to be done to protect our people.”

Ms Parke condemned the murders of three Jewish teenagers and the torture and murder of a Palestinian teenager on the West Bank, and the responses of political leaders to the violence.

“Both sides should have showed restraint instead of allowing extremists to set the agenda. In my view, a UN peacekeeping force is necessary to restore calm.

“As Noam Chomsky has said, ‘when Israelis in the Occupied Territories claim that they have to defend themselves, they are defending themselves in the sense that any military occupier has to defend itself against the population they are crushing’. Call it what you like, it is not defence.”

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has called for restraint from all sides.

“The retaliatory acts from both sides that have led to civilian deaths and injuries are deeply regrettable, and I call on all parties to exercise restraint and do everything necessary to avoid a further escalation of violence,” she said at the weekend.

Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek urged calm and supported the calls of the UN Security Council for a ceasefire.

“We encourage all parties to do everything they can to stop violence and de-escalate tensions, to end the deaths and the human suffering,” Ms Plibersek said.

Additional reporting: Dow Jones Newswires