JERUSALEM— Israel’s prime minister has criticized an upcoming United Nations report into last year’s war in the Gaza Strip, calling it a waste of time.
Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday that “whoever wants a baseless automatic accusation against Israel can waste their time reading the U.N. report.”
Instead, he said an Israeli report — and an unofficial report compiled by a group of retired Western generals — shows “the truth.” Both documents say Israel did its utmost to avoid civilian casualties.
Over 2,200 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, were killed, while 73 people died on the Israeli side.
Israel says Gaza’s Hamas rulers are responsible for the civilian casualties because it launched attacks from residential areas.
The U.N. Human Rights Council’s report is expected to be released this week.