De Israelische Oorlogsmisdaden 92

Israeli forces 'can't clear themselves'

   * Jason Koutsoukis, Middle East Correspondent Gaza City
   * April 24, 2009

A COALITION of Jewish and Arab human rights groups have criticised as
inadequate an Israel Defence Forces investigation into its activities
during the January offensive in Gaza.

The IDF's internal investigation found that no Palestinian civilians were
harmed intentionally by IDF soldiers during the 23-day offensive, which
killed more than 1300 Palestinians and wounded more than 4000.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak hailed the report as further proof of the IDF's
moral stature.

"The IDF is not afraid to investigate itself and, in that, prove that its
operations are ethical," Mr Barak said.

When civilians were killed by IDF fire, the report found that this resulted
from operational mistakes that were "bound to happen during intensive
fighting".

But a coalition of Israeli human rights groups, which includes B'Tselem,
Physicians for Human Rights, Yesh Din, The Public Committee Against Torture
and Rabbis for Human Rights, said the only way to truly investigate alleged
war crimes was through an independent inquiry.

"Military investigation results published today refer to tens of innocent
Palestinian civilians killed by 'rare mishaps' in Gaza during Operation
Cast Lead," they said in a joint statement.

"However, data collected by Israeli human rights organisations shows that
many civilians were killed in Gaza not due to 'mishaps' but as a direct
result of the military's chosen policy implemented throughout the fighting.

"If the military claims that there were no major deficiencies in its
conduct in Gaza, it is not clear why Israel refuses to co-operate with the
UN investigation team, which requests an investigation of alleged
violations of international law by both Israel and Hamas."

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza also called on Israel to
co-operate with the UN investigation team.

The IDF inquiry was conducted by officers not involved in Operation Cast
Lead and focused on reports of civilians who been targeted intentionally,
and also attacks on civilian infrastructure, UN facilities and the use of
white phosphorus.

It said the worst example of mistaken fire was an attack on a family home
in Gaza City's Zeitoun district, which killed 21 members of the same
family.

According to the IDF, their deaths were the result of an equipment
malfunction.


Zie: http://www.theage.com.au/world/israeli-forces-cant-clear-themselves-20090423-agq9.html