Monday, August 23, 2021

BlackRock Support Sought in Bid to End 5-Month Coal-Mine Strike

Fola Akinnibi, Bloomberg News Members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) raise their fists during a strike against Alabama's Warrior Met Coal at the BlackRock offices in New York, on July 28. Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg

Members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) raise their fists during a strike against Alabama's Warrior Met Coal at the BlackRock offices in New York, on July 28. Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Coal miners from states including Alabama and West Virginia picketed outside BlackRock Inc.’s New York headquarters Wednesday in a bid to get the world’s largest asset manager to pressure Warrior Met Coal Inc. for better wages and employee benefits.About 120 miners and supporters descended on BlackRock’s offices in midtown Manhattan, carrying signs that read “we are one,” chanting in unison and speaking out against their treatment by the coal company. Union members from other industries joined the picket line, while truck drivers and garbage men who drove by honked in solidarity. BlackRock was listed as Warrior Met’s biggest shareholder as recently as March 31.

More than 1,000 miners represented by the United Mine Workers of America have been on strike for almost five months as they pursue a new collective-bargaining agreement with Warrior Met, a Brockwood, Alabama-based miner of metallurgical coal used in steel making. The workers are seeking support from BlackRock, arguing the asset manager has allowed the coal company to exploit them in labor negotiations and on the job.

“We’re in New York City because we are simply following the money, and demanding that those who created that wealth, the miners, get their fair share of it,” said UMWA International President Cecil Roberts in a statement.As Warrior Met was looking to emerge from bankruptcy in 2016, the miners took pay and benefit cuts to keep their jobs. That collective-bargaining agreement ended April 1. The miners are now looking for pay and benefit increases beyond what Warrior Met is offering, saying the company has the financial wherewithal to reverse the reduced wages from the last agreement.

Chris Brubaker, 47, who traveled from his home in Jasper, Alabama, to attend the rally, said he took a $6 per hour pay cut in the old contract and Warrior Met is only offering $2 per hour in raises over the next five years.“All we want is a fair contract,” Brubaker said. “We don’t want no more than what’s owed to us. We go underground in conditions that at any moment can get you killed.”

Workers’ Plight

Warrior Met has been ignoring their workers’ plight while doling out millions of dollars in fees to Wall Street and paying bonuses to upper management, the union and miners said. Mike Wright, 45, of Alabaster, Alabama, said the cuts to miners’ insurance coverage have resulted in higher medical bills and new debt from his diabetes treatment. Wright, the chair of safety at one Warrior Met’s mines, said the deductible model that the company switched to is the cause.

The strike has taken a toll on Warrior Met, which has had to idle one mine and scale back production at another. The ongoing dispute also is among the reasons why the company delayed development of a new project and halted stock buybacks.

“We have and will continue to work with the UMWA to reach a fair and reasonable contract that provides our employees with a competitive package while protecting jobs and ensuring the longevity of the company,” Warrior Met said in an emailed statement.The union has distributed $4.3 million to striking workers to cover benefits and health-care costs since the walkout began, according to a statement.The coal miners’ decision to involve BlackRock is the latest example of groups asking the asset manager to take a stand on its investments. The company oversaw about $9.5 trillion at the end of June, with about two-thirds of that in index funds -- meaning it’s amassed major stakes in companies through passively managed portfolios. That at times has placed BlackRock in an awkward position, as Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink attempts to position the firm as a leader in environmental, social and governance investing.

Officials at BlackRock declined to comment on Warrior Met. The firm held almost 7.5 million shares of Warrior Met at the end of March, or nearly 14.6% of the company’s outstanding shares.

WHY DOORDASH DRIVERS ARE ON STRIKE

By:

Josie Fischels

July 31, 2021 - 8:03pm

Image(s) Credit:

Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images

Across the country, many DoorDash drivers have stopped dashing to your door.

They've logged off the app for the day as part of a strike organized on social media against the food delivery service, demanding tip transparency and higher pay.

Here's why.

It all started, presumably, on Reddit

While the strike is nationwide and not affiliated with any particular organization, it appears to have originated on Reddit, where a post from July 15 circulated, titled, "DOORDASH BOYCOTT ON JULY 31ST ALL DAY !!"

The post urged Dashers — the company name for drivers — to stop using the app for the day and to instead use UberEats. At the bottom the post lists demands, including a minimum "base pay," the amount a driver earns on each order before a tip, of $4.50.

According to information provided to NPR by DoorDash, Dasher base pay is calculated based on the estimated time, distance and desirability of an order, Right now, Dashers can expect to earn a base pay between $2 to $10+, according to DoorDash's website. Drivers say the lower end of that range had previously been $3.

"As if a $3 base pay from DoorDash was not insulting enough, they've lowered it to $2, $2.25, $2.50, $2.75," one DoorDasher, Denise Small, said in a TikTok video that has amassed over 530,000 views. "I've declined so many orders because they've been $2."

Drivers want to know tip amount before accepting an order

Workers have also demanded to know how much in tips they'd make before accepting or declining an order. Dashers keep 100% of their tips, but the DoorDash app only shows a guaranteed minimum amount and does not allow drivers to see how much a customer has tipped until after the driver accepts the order.

For orders that contain larger tips, the app shows an estimated amount rather than the full tip amount, which according to information sent to NPR from DoorDash, the company does due to the number of drivers who would repeatedly decline deliveries if they didn't have high tip amounts.

But some drivers have told Motherboard that because tip amount is factored so heavily into a driver's total earning, the tip can be the difference between making or losing money on a delivery.

Some Dashers solved this problem by downloading Para, a third-party app that used DoorDash's code to let drivers see the tip amount before accepting an order.

The app became extremely popular, but its success was short-lived. Soon enough, in mid-July, it no longer worked with DoorDash's app.

"I would say a lot of workers woke up when Para stopped working," one DoorDash driver told Motherboard. "Para showed that DoorDash is not as transparent as it could be. I think it's ridiculous that DoorDash hides tips for orders. It's very common to get no tips."

According to a statement from DoorDash, Para violated the company's terms of service.

"Para collects its information by scraping content without authorization from the DoorDash platform. This is deeply concerning as we are committed to protecting the privacy and data security of every side of our marketplace and stakeholders," the statement read.

The effects of the strike are unknown so far

It's unclear how many Dashers have participated in the strike, though hundreds of posts about it can be found across TikTok, Reddit, Twitter and Facebook. While some people have voiced their approval and encouraged others to participate, several other commenters expressed their doubts that the strike would be effective.

In information sent to NPR, DoorDash called the strikers "a vocal minority," but said the company was monitoring boycott conditions.

"DoorDash is proud to provide flexible, low-barrier earning opportunities for Dashers while helping restaurants grow their businesses. On average nationally, Dashers work fewer than 4 hours a week and earn over $25 an hour (while) they're on delivery, including 100% of their tips," DoorDash wrote in a statement.

One driver who is participating in the strike told Insider: "Dashers want fair compensation for our time and efforts. We are what makes the company run but we're treated as disposable."

Josie Fischels is an intern on NPR's News Desk.

GXO draymen call off nationwide strikes

By James Ridler
23-Aug-2021 -

Unite members across GXO Logistics Drinks have called off strike action

RELATED TAGS: Drinks

Threats of a nationwide ‘beer brought’ have been quashed, after Unite members working across GXO Logistics Drinks called off strikes in lieu of an improved pay offer.

Strikes across the country by 1,000 GXO draymen responsible for delivering beer some of the UK’s biggest brands have been suspended following an improved pay offer.

A pay increase of 4% by GXO will now be voted on by Unite members, which the union recommended they accept.

Called off

Strikes scheduled for Tuesday 24 August and Thursday 2 September have been called off while the ballot, which opens on 23 August and closes 31 August, is carried out.

Unite national officer for food, drink and agriculture Joe Clarke said: “Our members keep the nation’s beer pumps flowing and pint glasses filled, and they deserve a fair pay rise. We believe GXO’s offer of 4% cent delivers this and will be recommending that our members accept the deal.

“All industrial action has been suspended while we conduct this democratic process. We had a very strong mandate for industrial action and Unite is pleased the company have recognised the need for this offer.”

Previous vote

Union members voted 97% for strike action and 99% for industrial action short of strike over the company’s pay offer – a 1.4% rise for 2021, which Unite claimed was well below the current retail price index inflation rate of 3.9%.

According to Unite, its members were responsible for 40% of the beer deliveries to pubs and other hospitality outlets across the UK.

Meanwhile, the Government has been pressured to take immediate steps to solve the heavy goods vehicle driver shortage and ease the unsustainable pressure placed on supply chains.

Pret a Manger staff consider strike after temporary pay cuts made permanent

Staff told suspension of pay during breaks and reduction to service bonus will remain despite easing of trading restrictions

One worker said pay was becoming worse just as the work was becoming harder, partly as a result of a subscription service that enables members to get up to five coffees a day for a monthly £20 fee. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

Sarah Butler
@whatbutlersaw
Thu 12 Aug 2021

Pret a Manger staff are considering strike action after the coffee shop chain told them it was permanently cutting pay despite the easing of trading restrictions.

The workers, the vast majority of whom earn basic pay of the legal minimum £8.91 an hour, were told they would temporarily not be paid for breaks and a service bonus would be ditched in July last year after the pandemic hit.

Pret has now told workers that the cut to pay for breaks is permanent. The service bonus, linked to performance judged by a mystery shopper, was reintroduced in April this year at 50p an hour, down from £1 before the pandemic hit. Workers have been told that change is also permanent.

The combined changes for a worker on an eight-hour shift, including a legally required half-hour break, who regularly gets a mystery shopper bonus amount to an 11% pay cut per shift versus pre-pandemic levels.

One worker told the Guardian they had been moved to organise a strike next month as pay was becoming worse just as the work was becoming harder, partly as a result of a subscription service introduced a year ago that enables members to get up to five coffees a day for a monthly £20 fee.

“I [have] always been working in hospitality but changed to Pret because they used to give better conditions for their employees.

“With the coffee subscription we have more work. More effort. More stress. People never stop going for free coffee. But our conditions as employees are going back instead … Now there is not any difference to work between a Pret a Manger and [another coffee shop]. I love my job but we want our conditions to improve or be at least as before.”

Pret told the Guardian it was having to keep down pay after the pandemic had “a big impact on our business”.

The company ditched its dividend payment to shareholders and in April warned of “material uncertainties” over whether it can continue as a going concern as its city centre outlets suffered from the absence of commuters and tourists.

The group permanently closed 74 outlets in the UK last year and 22 in the US, while shareholders pumped in £185m of additional funding into the company in February and put a further £100m on standby in March to help keep it afloat.

A Pret spokesperson said: “The business is still trading significantly below pre-pandemic levels, but we continue to review our benefits. This is in no way a reflection of the hard work of our teams, and we’re incredibly grateful for their dedication and commitment. It’s important to us that we always communicate openly and honestly with our team members, which we’ll continue to do over the coming months.”

Ian Hodson, national president of the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union, said: “We call on Pret to think again. We can no longer sit back and allow these companies to boost their profits from workers wages. It’s awful to read that workers are facing even worse conditions as we try and get the economy back on track.

“After the pandemic we are seeing a return to bad business as usual and working people cannot and should not accept that any more. We all deserve a better deal and we will support the workers at Pret if the strike goes ahead.”

Unifor celebrates Mexican union vote, supports Mexican autoworkers

TORONTO, Aug. 19, 2021 /CNW/ - A vote by workers at a General Motors plant in Mexico this week, rejecting an imposed and undemocratic union contract, is a great step forward for them and for workers across North America, Unifor National President Jerry Dias says.

"This is exactly what we worked so hard to achieve during the talks to renegotiate NAFTA. Every worker deserves a real voice in their workplace" Dias said.

Unifor celebrates Mexican union vote, supports Mexican autoworkers (CNW Group/Unifor)

"From here, the workers at Silao will be able to negotiate a collective agreement with General Motors that protects their rights and improves their lives."

In a vote held this week in Silao, Mexico, 7,000 GM workers rejected the existing company-led union contract, negotiated by an affiliate of the Confederación de Trabajadores de México (CTM) union, notorious for intimidation tactics and undemocratic trade union practices, throughout the country.

The vote was held under provisions of a 2019 Mexican labour law reform, and backed by enforcement measures in the renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement. The new trade terms set out the rights of workers to approve collective agreements and choose their own union, with companies facing severe trade sanctions for a breach of those rights

With the rejection of this contract with a vote of 3,214 to 2,623, the workers can now work with an independent union that has already been registered at the plant to negotiate a new collective agreement with the company.

Previous votes at the plant were marred by allegations of illegal vote tampering, ballot destruction and worker intimidation.

Unifor has stood worth the workers at the plant throughout the process, with Dias and International Director Mohamad Alsadi, attending a series of recent events in Mexico, including trips to the Silao facility, to let the workers and authorities there know that unions and governments across North America were watching.

Dias said Unifor got involved with the NAFTA renegotiation to ensure the needs of workers in all three NAFTA countries were addressed, and will remain involved in making sure labour provisions in the new CUMSA deal are honoured.

"No worker can make progress if any are being exploited," Dias said.

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector and represents 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

Information about the union's response to the pandemic, as well as resources for members can be found at unifor.org/covid19.

SOURCE Unifor

For further information: To arrange for interviews, in-person or via Skype or FaceTime, please contact Unifor Communications Representative Stuart Laidlaw at stuart.laidlaw@unifor.org or 647-385-4054 (cell).
Related Links

http://www.unifor.org

Unifor condemns injunction against striking

De Havilland workers

NEWS PROVIDED BY Unifor
Aug 20, 2021, 12:33 ET

TORONTO, Aug. 20, 2021 /CNW/ - An overreaching injunction issued by Justice Fred Myers against Unifor members who are on strike and picketing at De Havilland Aircraft of Canada is an affront to workers' rights, says Canada's largest private sector union.

The injunction issued by the Ontario Superior Court on August 17, 2021 imposes conditions on union members that Unifor believes are extreme and unfair and orders an end to the union's protest activities.

Unifor condemns injunction against striking De Havilland workers (CNW Group/Unifor)

"Justice Myers had a great deal of discretion yet chose to side with the interests of wealthy corporate owners over those of the community, the 700 workers and their families," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “This injunction silences our members and stops workers from picketing peacefully against De Havilland.”

De Havilland workers have been on strike since August 1, 2021. The labour dispute concerns the future location of De Havilland's manufacturing of the Dash 8 program.

After the company bargained in bad faith, reneged on an agreement to continue negotiations, and began using scabs at the Downsview plant, the union launched a peaceful protest to pressure the company to commit that Dash 8 manufacturing would remain within a reasonable radius of the current Downsview site, if and when De Havilland resumes assembly of the Dash 8. Unifor members have been building the Dash 8 aircraft for nearly 40 years.

"To call this injunction an abomination is an understatement. This is a new low for workers' rights in this province," Dias added. "Limiting our members' picketing activities to just one person walking the line for sixty seconds every five minutes is preposterous and in my experience this has to be one of the worst injunctions I have seen."

"This injunction adds insult to injury. This dispute with De Havilland and its parent company Longview Aviation Capital can only be resolved at the bargaining table, not by the courts or police. Losing 700 good jobs in Ontario is on Judge Myer's head," said Dias.

The union continues to urge De Havilland to work with the union to save jobs and secure a new location for the Dash 8 platform to stop union members' jobs from leaving the province.

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector and represents 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

SOURCE Unifor

For further information: For media inquiries, or to arrange Facetime, Zoom, Skype, phone, or in person interviews following the event, contact National Communications Representative David Molenhuis: David.Molenhuis@Unifor.org

TOLL DRIVERS TO GO ON STRIKE FRIDAY

The TWU says thousands of truck drivers will strike for 24 hours this Friday after crisis talks with Toll over rights and entitlements collapsed today

Toll workers to strike this week

The TWU again appealed to Toll to provide workers with job security provisions and abandon plans to engage an underclass of lower paid truck drivers, but Toll refused to budge, triggering mass strikes and disrupting food and fuel supplies this weekend.

The union says on Thursday, workers voted 94% in favour of taking action to fight for their jobs. The successful ballot gives around 7000 transport workers protection under the Fair Work Act to walk off the job.

The TWU purports that in a bid to compete with exploitative business models like AmazonFlex, Toll is aiming to drive down labour costs by scrapping overtime entitlements and engaging outside drivers on minimal pay and with fewer rights.

Read about other transport workers considering strike action, here

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine says it is disappointing Toll is forging ahead with its attack on jobs, leaving workers no choice but to withdraw their labour after months of failed talks.

"Toll workers have been forced to take the last resort option to go on strike this week because their jobs are being smashed. To do nothing would be to wait like sitting ducks for the jobs they’ve skilfully done for decades to be given away to the lowest common denominator. If workers had accepted this today, their jobs could have been contracted out moments after signing on the dotted line," Kaine says.

"It is an abomination that billionaire retailers like Amazon are smashing profit records while ripping off transport supply chains and crushing the jobs of the truck drivers who’ve risked the health of their families to deliver parcels and keep shelves stocked.

"Toll workers need guarantees that they won’t be sliced and diced Qantas-style and replaced by a cut-price, underemployed workforce. They don’t want to go on strike, especially during a pandemic, but they must because they have everything to lose," he says.

TWU NSW/Qld secretary and lead Toll negotiator Richard Olsen says Toll management made no effort to prevent strikes and refused to provide workers the job security they need.

"Toll’s behaviour is reprehensible. The transport giant is responsible for two crises at the same time: a cruel attack on good, safe transport jobs, and mass disruption to food and fuel supplies. Both of these disasters would have been fixed today if Toll had taken a reasonable approach and backed down on plans to trash jobs and drag down standards in Australia’s deadliest industry.

"While we implore Toll to fix this, none of it would be happening if the Federal Government had the right regulation in place to ensure transport supply chains are adequately funded by wealthy retailers, manufacturers and oil companies at the top," Olsen says.

Attacks on job security are widespread in the transport industry, with a further 6,000 transport workers due to vote on strike action at StarTrack and FedEx this week and next.

The TWU says strike action has never and will never disrupt medical supplies or vaccines.

Other key facts:

TWU NSW is suing Toll in the NSW Supreme Court for more than 5,000 late payments to owner truck drivers which could result in penalties of up to almost $52 million.
Toll recently reported a huge jump in revenues during the pandemic, $6.3 billion from $4.7 billion in 2020. But its transport costs also ballooned highlighting the tight margins transport companies are forced to operate under by major retailers, manufacturers and oil companies through their low-cost contracts. Worker wages and benefits at Toll decreased this year also while the company has been forced to write down the sale of Toll Express to Allegro.
Retailers globally have boomed since the pandemic hit with Amazon announcing profits up 224% to $US8 billion in just the last quarter. Bunnings’ revenue grew 24.4% to $9 billion in the six months to December 2020.
The TWU has filed claims on 50 retailers operating in Australia demanding that they lift standards to ensure fairness and safety in transport.
The Federal Government tore down an independent tribunal five years ago which was investigating risks to safety in road transport caused by a financial squeeze on transport by wealthy retailers like Amazon and Aldi. Since then, 205 truck drivers have been killed.

Residents rally to ‘save the northwest’ amidst Rio Tinto Kitimat strike

The event was a call out to both parties involved in the dispute – Rio Tinto and Unifor 2301 representing over 900 smelter workers – to get back to the table and iron out a collective agreement.

Aug 7, 2021 10:58 AM By: Binny Paul

Residents gathered at Centennial Park in Kitimat ahead of a rally dubbed ‘save the northwest’ on August 5, 2021. People at the gathering called for Rio Tinto and Unifor Local 2301 to resume negotiations to resolve the labour disputes that led to a strike at the smelting facility. Binny Paul/Terrace Standard

Hundreds of northwest B.C. residents took to the streets in Kitimat, Thursday afternoon amidst stalled labour dispute negotiations between Rio Tinto and its unionized aluminum smelter workers.

Prior to the rally – dubbed ‘save the northwest’ – a gathering took place at Centennial Park where employees of Rio Tinto, members from the local union and small business owners addressed people that had gathered.

The event was also a call out to both parties involved in the dispute – Rio Tinto and Unifor 2301 representing over 900 smelter workers – to get back to the table and iron out a collective agreement before the strike brings about large scale economic repercussions for Kitimat and surrounding northwest communities.

“What we wanted to achieve today was to come together so that people could get a better understanding of what could potential happen to the town if negotiations don’t continue,” said Kitimat resident Jeremy Morden, who was one of the rally organizers.

Morden and fellow organizer Liberal Botelho are worried the trickle down economic effect of the strike is going to hurt not just families of Rio Tinto employees, but also ancillary businesses and Kitimat’s economy.

“It’s a small town and people rely on each other, so in a short period things could go bad for a lot of businesses,” said Morden.

Botelho, who works at the Kitimat smelter along with four other family members fears “long term ramifications” for the whole northwest community if both parties don’t get back to the table to resolve the dispute.

“If [Rio Tinto and Unifor 2301] think their strategy is to outweigh each other by holding out, then it’s going to affect communities and merchants,” said Botello.

A strike which began on July 25 in Kitimat after seven weeks of failed negotiations between Rio Tinto and Unifor Local 2301 is now in its second week.

After 900 employees from the Kitimat smelter walked-out on strike, Rio Tinto reduced the production of aluminum to 25 per cent of its 432,000 tonne annual capacity by taking majority of its smelting pots offline. With the labour dispute unresolved, only 96 pots out of 400 were running as of Aug. 4 at the smelter, according to a Rio Tinto spokesperson.

Once taken offline, restarting the pots and getting them back to full capacity can take anywhere between nine months to a year – which further fuels employment worries of the 900 odd striking smelter workers.

While the industrial hub of the northwest – home to multi billion dollar projects like LNG Canada, Rio Tinto Modernization project and Kemano T2 project – has witnessed labour strikes before, residents and workers say the current one is “worrisome.”

“There hasn’t been any negotiations between both parties for 12 days,” said Morden.

“In the past there were strikes in Kitimat, when Alcan was running the smelter (Rio Tinto acquired Alcan in 2007) but at that time there were still negotiations happening,” added Morden.

Rio Tinto employs approximately 1,050 people at the BC Works smelter and Kemano powerhouse, including around 900 employees represented by Unifor Local 2301. The company contributed C$780 million to the economy of British Columbia in 2020.

Along with residents, local leaders including Skeena BC Liberal MLA Ellis Ross and NDP MP Taylor Bachrach have also called for the dispute to be resolved. Local governments of Kitimat, Terrace and Haisla First Nation have also sent letters to Rio Tinto and the union urging them to return to the bargaining table and reach an “amicable agreement.”

— Terrace Standard/Local Journalism Initiative

Human Rights Watch says Israeli strike on Gaza high-rise broke international law

NY-based group accuses IDF of damaging neighboring buildings, leaving dozens homeless and destroying scores of businesses; Israel has said building was Hamas military asset

By AGENCIES and TOI STAFF

Today,

Fire and smoke rise from the al-Jalaa Tower as it is destroyed in an Israeli airstrike after the IDF warned the occupants to leave, Gaza City, May 15, 2021. (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)

Israeli airstrikes that demolished four high-rise buildings in the Gaza Strip during the war in May apparently violated international laws of war, a leading international human rights group said Monday, calling on the Israeli military to produce evidence justifying the attacks.

Human Rights Watch noted that although no one was harmed in the airstrikes, the attacks damaged neighboring buildings, left dozens of people homeless and destroyed scores of businesses.

“The apparently unlawful Israeli strikes on four high-rise towers in Gaza City caused serious, lasting harm for countless Palestinians who lived, worked, shopped or benefited from businesses based there,” said Richard Weir, crisis and conflict researcher for Human Rights Watch. “The Israeli military should publicly produce the evidence that it says it relies on to carry out these attacks.”

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the report. But it has accused the Hamas terror group of using the buildings for military purposes and turning their occupants into human shields.

It was the New York-based group’s third report on the 11-day war. It has previously accused Israel of apparent war crimes for attacks that it said had no clear military targets but killed dozens of civilians. It also has said that Hamas’ rockets were fired indiscriminately at Israeli cities, constituting a war crime. Both sides denied the accusations.

The war erupted on May 10 after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets toward Jerusalem in support of Palestinian protests against Israeli policing at the Temple Mount and against the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

Rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, May 10, 2021.

(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

In all, some 260 people were killed in Gaza, including at least 66 children and 41 women, according to UN figures. Hamas has acknowledged the deaths of 80 terrorists, though Israel says that number is much higher.

Twelve civilians, including two children, were killed in Israel, along with one soldier.

Israel’s destruction of Palestinian high-rises was one of its most controversial wartime tactics. Among the targets was the 12-story al-Jalaa building, which housed the local offices of The Associated Press. The building was also home to dozens of families.

Israel has said the buildings were used by Hamas for military purposes, and in all cases, it ordered occupants to evacuate before the structures were destroyed in what it says was a step to avoid civilian casualties.

The AP has called on Israel to make public the evidence it used to justify the demolition of the al-Jalaa building. Israel has said Hamas terrorists were using the building for a sophisticated effort aimed at disrupting Israel’s Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it has refused to share its intelligence, saying it did not want to reveal its sources of information.

HRW said it interviewed 18 Palestinians who were either witnesses or victims of the airstrikes. It said it also reviewed video footage and photos after the attacks, as well as statements by Israeli and Palestinian officials and terror groups.

People gather to view the rubble of the al-Jalaa building in Gaza City, Friday, May 21, 2021. The building housed The Associated Press bureau in Gaza City for 15 years. (AP/John Minchillo)

It said it found no evidence that terrorists involved in military operations had a current or long-term presence in the buildings when they were attacked. It also said that even if terrorists were using the buildings, making them legitimate targets, Israel is obligated to avoid disproportionate harm to civilians.

“The proportionality of the attack is even more questionable because Israeli forces have previously demonstrated the capacity to strike specific floors or parts of structures,” it said.

The May conflict was the fourth war between Israel and Hamas since the Islamic terror group, which opposes Israel’s existence, seized control of Gaza in 2007, a year after winning Palestinian elections there. Human Rights Watch, other rights groups and UN officials have accused both sides of committing war crimes in all of the conflicts.

Earlier this year, HRW accused Israel of international crimes of apartheid because of discriminatory policies toward Palestinians, both inside Israel as well as in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel has rejected the accusations.

HRW also has called on the International Criminal Court to include the recent Gaza war in its ongoing investigation into possible war crimes by Israel and Palestinian terror groups. Israel does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction and says it is capable of investigating any possible wrongdoing by its army. It says the ICC probe is unfair and politically motivated.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment