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Israel military investigation concludes Gaza war crimes allegations unfounded

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Israeli military officials closed an internal investigation Monday into allegations of war crimes committed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel against Palestinian civilians, concluding that there was no wrongdoing. The investigation was launched last week by the IDF in response to comments made by soldiers concerning reports of civilian killings and vandalism under liberal rules of engagement during a recent operation in the Gaza Strip. Dismissing the soldiers' reports as "hearsay," the IDF investigation concluded that the soldiers' comments were exaggerated, and repetition of rumors that circulated among forces operating in Gaza and not based on the actual observations of the soldiers who made the allegations. Military Advocate General Brigadier Avichai Mendelbilt said:It is unfortunate that none of the speakers at the conference was careful to be accurate in the depiction of his claims, and even more so that they chose to present various incidents of a severe nature, despite not personally witnessing and knowing much about them. It seems that it will be difficult to evaluate the damage done to the image and morals of the IDF and its soldiers, who had participated in Operation Cast Lead, in Israel and the world.Word of the investigation came as UN Special Rapportuer on human rights in the Palestinian territories Richard Falk issued a report to the UN Human Rights Council, in which Falk criticized Israel for failing to take adequate precautions to distinguish between civilians and combatants in their offensives in the region. Falk called for an independent investigation into the alleged crimes, which he said included the targeting of hospitals and mosques, the use of white phosphorus incendiary bombs in heavily populated areas, as well as Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. Both Israel and the US have criticized the report as biased. Two weeks ago, a group of 16 human rights investigators and judges sent an open letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and the UN Security Council calling for an investigation into the alleged crimes. Earlier this month, Iran announced that it would seek INTERPOL arrest warrants for Israeli war crimes suspects. In January, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for an independent investigation of possible war crimes and human rights violations in Gaza. International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is also attempting to gain jurisdiction over Israel to investigate its actions in Gaza for alleged war crimes. Israel has already begun to consider defenses against possible war crimes charges, partly based on accusations that it used white phosphorus in a civilian area.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 31, 2009 (boomark / email).