The Palestinian president on Wednesday said the Gaza attacks were war crimes for which Israeli officials should be held accountable, but he insisted he would continue seeking a lasting peace with Israel.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas _ who is on a European tour seeking support for a unity government _ gave a speech at EU Parliament detailing the suffering of Gaza's civilians during Israel's three-week offensive targeting Hamas militants.
He said he would push for a war crimes investigation into the Israeli attacks, which ended Jan. 18. When he said he held Israel's leaders accountable, he was applauded by European lawmakers.
"People who committed those crimes have to be held responsible so that these crimes cannot be repeated," he told reporters after the speech.
"We do not want to continue to be the enemies of Israel. We are stretching out our hand for peace with Israel. But what was done is regretfully crimes of war."
He also denounced Hamas' rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel, which triggered the Israeli offensive.
"I have condemned such rocket attacks for years, and I still condemn them," he said. "They do not go in the direction of peace."
But Abbas said there was no comparison between the Israeli offensive and rocket attacks such as the one Tuesday morning that hit Israel's coastal city of Ashkelon, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Gaza. Vehicles and buildings were damaged, but no one in the 122,000-population city was hurt.
Abbas, whose government controls the West Bank, also told European lawmakers he was committed to reuniting Palestinians and reconciling with Hamas, which controls Gaza.
"Our doors are still open" to a unity government with Hamas, he said.
He said such a union would allow Hamas to be part of an effective cease-fire with Israel, but added that "Hamas is capable of respecting a period of calm, whether in government or not."
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