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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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April 23rd,
2009 - Barak: Gaza Probe Shows IDF Among World’s Most Moral Armies |
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Barak: Gaza Probe
Shows IDF Among World’s Most Moral Armies By Anshel Pfeffer Haaretz April 23, 2009 The Israel Defense Forces
announced on Wednesday that an internal investigation has determined that no
civilians were purposefully harmed by IDF troops during Operation Cast Lead
in the Gaza Strip. Following the release of the
investigation results, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the army's
willingness to probe itself "once again proves that the IDF is one of
the most moral armies in the world. "The IDF is not afraid
to investigate itself and in that, proves that its operations are
ethical," said Barak. The defense minister added that he has
"complete faith in the IDF, from the chief of staff to the last of the
combat soldiers." The inquiries were performed
by five IDF colonels who were not involved in the fighting in Cast Lead, and
examined reports of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, medical
personnel and facilities, United Nations facilities, and also the use of
white phosphorous. The investigation, which was
supervised by IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, did find cases of civilians
killed by mistaken fire on the part of IDF troops, but said the incidents
were isolated. Deputy IDF Chief of Staff
General Dan Harel said that in the dozens of cases they examined, they found
that throughout Cast Lead the IDF "adhered to international law and
maintained a high level of professionalism and morality." The most glaring case of
mistaken fire found by the inquiry was the attack on the Al-Dahiyeh family
home in the Gaza City neighborhood of Zeitoun, in which 21 members of the
same family were killed. In the incident, the IDF
called a household that was suspected of being a weapons storehouse and told
the residents to evacuate, saying an attack was imminent. The subsequent IAF strike,
which was targeting a suspected weapons storehouse, landed dozens of meters
from its target, slamming into the Al-Dahiyeh household. The mistaken fire reportedly
came as a result of a malfunction in the targeting system of the aircraft
carrying out the mission. The IDF has called the
incident "regretful", but said it resulted from "an
operational mistake that is bound to happen during intensive fighting." Another incident reported in
the probe's findings was the case of an IAF attack on a truck that military
intelligence had reported was carrying Grad rockets. After the attack, which
killed 8 Palestinians, including 4 Hamas gunmen, it was determined that the
truck was transporting gas canisters. Tibi: No reason to acknowledge IDF inquiry MK Ahmed Tibi (United Arab
List) on Wednesday criticized the findings of the probe, saying "there's
no reason to acknowledge the IDF inquiry, which comes from a murderous,
secretive, and moaning army known for being murderous and for complaints and
cover-ups." Tibi said "if these
hundreds of civilians were killed knowingly, that is a war crime, and under
Israeli law, it is considered even more severe." Tibi added that he is
"not surprised that the IDF has refused to cooperate with UN probes of
mass killings in Gaza." Head of the Hadash party
Mohammed Barakeh also blasted the report, saying those who performed the
inquiry are obscuring the truth about "war crimes that Israel committed
in Gaza. There is a price for committing war crimes, and also for mistakes
that cause war crimes." Barakeh also criticized the
source of the inquiry, saying "military officials are not commissions of
inquiry, there are a part of the system that perpetrated these crimes, and is
carrying out a cover-up." Barakeh added that eventually
those responsible for the "war crimes" will be brought to trial
"from those at the top of the pyramid, all the way down to rank-and-file
soldiers." Human rights group B'Tselem: IDF inquiry flawed An Israeli human rights
group, B'Tselem, called the military's investigation flawed. and said it
"does not answer the need for an independent inquiry outside the army
that would look at the whole range of violations the army is incapable of
looking at." "It shows how important
it is that Israel cooperate with the fact-finding mission of [Richard]
Goldstone that would look at violations," said spokeswoman Sarit
Michaeli, speaking on behalf of a group of human rights groups that have made
this demand in the past. Goldstone, a former United
Nations chief prosecutor for war crimes, was recently appointed to head a UN
investigation into atrocities allegedly committed during Israel's three-week
war against Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers. The investigation called by
the UN's Human Rights Council was only supposed to look at Israeli conduct.
But Goldstone did not accept the assignment until the mandate was changed to
also examine Palestinian actions. Israel has not said whether
it would cooperate with the Goldstone investigation. But it has rejected
council investigations in the past, calling them biased. Among questions being raised
is whether Israel used disproportionate force and failed to protect
civilians. In one case, Israeli
artillery fire reportedly hit near a UN school where hundreds of Gazans had
sought refuge, killing an estimated 42 people. Israeli said its troops were
responding to fire from militants near the school, and both the incident and
number of casualties have been disputed. In another instance, Gazans
allege Israeli soldiers ordered 110 civilians into a warehouse, then shelled
it the next day, killing 30. Israel denies the army targeted the warehouse. Israel also has been
criticized for using white phosphorus weapons, which can be legitimately used
in war to create smoke screens or provide illumination. But rights activists have
said its use over populated areas can indiscriminately burn civilians and constitute
a war crime. Israel says its army took
great care to avoid harming civilians in Gaza, preceding some airstrikes with
leaflets or phone calls warning civilians to flee - a contention confirmed by
Gaza residents. Israel is preparing for
potential legal action, barring the media from publishing pictures of
officers' faces and their names for fear of investigations. It has promised
legal and financial support for any officers facing trial, despite the
difficulty of prosecuting Israelis. External link: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1080244.html |