Watch part two

The UN human rights council has voted for a resolution condemning Israel's offensive on Gaza. The resolution says Israel's military operations in Gaza have resulted in massive violations of the rights of Palestinians.  

They are accusing Israel of systematic destruction of Palestinian infrastructure and of targeting civilians and medical facilities.
 
Meanwhile, 27 European and American legal experts, lawyers, and academics, said the manner and scale of Israel's operations in Gaza, amount to an act of aggression and a war crime.

The Red Cross is alleging that in the second week of the offensive, the Israeli army refused to let them help a family trapped in a shelled house, that was repeatedly attacked.
 
There have also been accusations that Israel is using white phosphorus in densely populated areas.

Israel has sought to justify its military attacks on Gaza by stating that it amounts to an act 'of self-defense' as recognized by article 51, United Nations Charter.

Israel may have been accused of war crimes, but Israeli officials insist troops are abiding to international law.

On Monday's Inside Story we ask how realistic are these accusations? Can Israel's current assault on the Gaza Strip be justified as self-defense, although it involves serious violations of international law?

What are the chances of pursuing Israel legally? What, if any, recourse has the international community to punish those alleged to be accountable?

Would senior Israeli political and military leaders bear personal liability for their offenses, and could they be prosecuted by an international tribunal? 

Inside Story presenter Maryam Nemazee is joined by Amos Guiora, a professor of law at the university of Utah's law school and a former Israeli military prosecutor; Avril McDonald, a lecturer on the laws of war at the university of Groningen in Holland and also by Fred Abrahams, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.

This episode of Inside Story aired from Monday, January 12, 2009 at 1730GMT and 2230GMT and is repeated at 0430GMT and 0830GMT on Tuesday.