B'Tselem: IDF probes alleged cases of harm to civilians in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces criminal investigation division is examining 21 cases where soldiers are suspected of inflicting harm on Palestinian civilians during Operation Cast Lead, writes the Israeli rights group B'Tselem in a report.

According to the report, not one of the investigations has developed enough as to require an official indictment.

The report writes that six cases have been opened to investigation thus far, where soldiers allegedly fired at civilians who waved a white flag, resulting in the killing of nine people including two minors. B'tselem also reports investigations regarding four cases of IDF soldiers using Palestinians as human shields.

In the report, the rights organization harshly criticizes the IDF's investigation method, but simultaneously claims it will do everything in its power to aid the success of the investigations. "As of now there are only investigations regarding specific events, and there isn't one investigation regarding the operation's general policies or regarding decisions made by government officials," the organization writes in the report.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1125802.html

"Third, officials in the Judge Advocate General’s Office, who will ultimately decide the fate of the investigations, were personally involved in setting military policy during the operation and also approved certain actions. Such involvement will make it hard for them to make an impartial determination, based on the facts, as to the claims."

<snip>

"The top commander of the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday that the army was carrying out numerous investigations into the Gaza Strip, and was willing to look into any complaint of misconduct on the part of its soldiers.

"The (Goldstone) report and the claims that came out of it necessitate some sort of response," said IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, of a UN-commissioned report that accuses both Israel and Hamas of carrying out war crimes during the offensive in the Gaza Strip earlier this year.

"The report accuses the Israeli government of acting against the civilian population and of punishing activities. I have personally appointed five investigative committees, and we have found mistakes," he added.

The IDF chief said that the army was open to probing any complaint whatsoever regarding the offensive, adding, "I do not command an army of criminal, plunderers and rapists."

"Our criminal investigation division is in the midst of checking 45 complaints," he said. "I invite all Palestinians to testify if they have complaints. As of now, 60 Palestinians have delivered their testimonies."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1127190.html

http://www.goldstonereport.org/blog/2009/11/09/goldstone-discounts-hamas-booby-traps/

HR hypocrites and their faux concern for the human rights of Palestinians.....priceless.

Yes, how horrible. Several more were brutally assaulted with the Goldstone Report itself on this very day -- rumour has it that it can be fashioned into a club-like blunt object, but until now this shocking development had yet to be credibly confirmed. Damn that Goldstone! He must have the Jew Flu (another remarkably retarded concept -- where do these things come from? Can I make up silly nonsense about all the people I don't like also?--I have a few good ones chambered, believe you me!).

Really? You're completely serious about this crap, that's what gets me.

and here are more Hamas HR violations against Palestinians you and your fellow Goldstoners can continue to ignore while pretending to care about Palestinian HR's....
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x292775#292954

you see...your concerns for Palestinian HR's can't be taken seriously when you deliberately turn a blind eye to Hamas' attempts to maximize Palestinian suffering and casualties and instead focus on irrationally demonizing Israel.

not that I'm singling you out...your faux concern is shared by almost all of your like-minded comrades whose sole motivation in all this is to bash and demonize....

a conscience. Uzi Silber is a better example of a "self-loathing Jew" than anyone else I've ever heard of.

The notion that holding the state that purports to represent you to high moral standards is an illness is disgusting. You should be ashamed to lower yourself to such talk.

If there was no one in the Diaspora or within Israel that did what you and Uzi Silber so smugly attack, Israeli would lower itself to the level of Syria in a matter of months.

Lizi Sagie, B’Tselem’s data coordination director, resigned from the Israeli NGO following exposure of the Nazi analogy and other forms of anti-Israel demonization on her personal blog. After these items were published, Jessica Montell, B’Tselem’s executive director, repudiated Sagie’s comments and disassociated her organization from them.

First publicized by Yonatan D. HaLevi and then reported by NGO Monitor, Sagie’s blog, written throughout 2009, included numerous statements that are entirely inconsistent with the moral claims of human rights organizations. These include (translations by NGO Monitor):

“The IDF Memorial Day is a pornographic circus of glorifying grief and silencing voices.”
“Israel is committing Humanity’s worst atrocities… Israel is proving its devotion to Nazi values… Israel exploits the Holocaust to reap international benefits.”
“We don’t erect gas chambers and extermination camps, but if there were any, how many people would actually resist it, and not only in their hearts?”

In addition to employment at B’Tselem, Sagie is an activist with Mossawa, co-authoring a March 2010 report that labeled the current Knesset as “the most racist in history,” and with Machsom Watch and New Profile. These Israel-based NGOs have yet to respond.

http://blog.ngo-monitor.org/other-ngos/btselem/radical-activist-resigns-from-b’tselem/