Analysis / Trying one soldier for Gaza war crime doesn't solve root of problem
Givati Brigade soldier who allegedly murdered two Palestinian women in violation of commanders' orders indicted for manslaughter.
By Amos Harel Tags: Goldstone report Gaza Gaza war Israel newsIn its fourth interim response to the Goldstone Report's claims of Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces acknowledged serious suspicions that one soldier committed a war crime and said a second case is still under investigation.
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A Bedouin family holding white flags after leaving their house outside the Jabalya refugee camp north of Gaza City during Operation Cast Lead in January 2009. |
| Photo by: AP |
Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit also cited several instances in which officers and soldiers violated the rules of engagement without malicious intent.
In the first case, Mendelblit has decided to try S., a soldier from the Givati Brigade, for manslaughter over the deaths of at least one and possibly two Palestinian women, on whom he opened fire in spite of clear orders not to by his commander. The case was reported in the media several weeks ago, and the Military Police are now investigating why the incident was not reported up the chain of command beyond the battalion and brigade levels.
As in several other cases, Mendelblit's office only learned of the killing because Palestinians filed a complaint via human rights groups.
In another case, Mendelblit issued a warning to the commander of the elite Egoz unit for making use of the "neighbor procedure," in which Palestinian civilians are used to make first contact with militants barricaded in homes.
A third case involved an IDF missile strike on the Ibrahim al-Maqadmah Mosque in Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of 13 Palestinians. The Military Police investigation concluded that contrary to the Goldstone Report's claims, the mosque was not hit intentionally; the targets were two nearby militants, and the civilian deaths occurred when shrapnel from the missile hit those at prayer inside the building. But the captain who ordered the attack ignored last-minute intelligence that a mosque was in the vicinity - something the IDF had not known until three minutes before the strike. The captain was therefore reprimanded.
In contrast, Mendelblit has closed the case against the commander of a tank company who fired at rocket-launching militants and accidentally killed civilians in a nearby mourning tent. He also rejected all of the Goldstone Report's claims that the IDF targeted civilian infrastructure, including food factories, wells and a flour mill. In all these cases, Mendelblit said, the evidence showed that the forces had targeted Hamas fighters.
As in the past, Mendelblit's office relied to a great extent on testimony collected by human rights groups. In some cases, this testimony was cross-checked in investigations carried out by the Military Police, and was generally found to be reliable. The problem, it turns out, was not false testimony by the Palestinians, but the way this testimony was distorted by the Goldstone Committee to paint IDF soldiers as war criminals.
But Mendelblit's findings do nothing to solve the real problem, which is that it is almost impossible to fight terrorist organizations embedded in a civilian population without civilian casualties - yet the international community has evinced zero understanding for the impossible environment in which the IDF operates.
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Those who question our existence, protest our efforts at self-defense and find nothing good to say about us, should not be surprised if so-called "innocent"Palestinians are killed in military operations. Remember what the US and the UK did to Germany and the US to Japan, complete with civilian deaths. Frankly, we could care less what these alleged "human rights" groups say. Better a dead Palestinian than a dead Israeli.
The IDF has a very poor record of prosecuting its own soldiers for crimes against Arabs. It hardly ever does it. By the law of averages, the IDF must have committed a fair number of crimes over the decades of fighting, and certainly there are loads and loads of accusations, but somehow the IDF always seems to manage to whitewash itself. In this instance, the Goldstone report means that a total whitewash isn't feasible, so one minor pawn is sacrificed to try to convince the world to drop the Goldstone report.
"The problem, it turns out, was not false testimony by the Palestinians, but the way this testimony was distorted by the Goldstone Committee to paint IDF soldiers as war criminals." That sentence just gets slipped into this article as if it was established fact. Well it may be in Zionist circles, but not elsewhere. If he wants to make an accusation like that, he needs to back it up.
"The problem, it turns out, was not false testimony by the Palestinians, but the way this testimony was distorted by the Goldstone Committee to paint IDF soldiers as war criminals." That sentence just gets slipped into this article as if it was established fact. Well it may be in Zionist circles, but not elsewhere. If he wants to make an accusation like that, he needs to back it up.
They could have cleared things up and avoided much of the report. Instead Israel works alone does not cooperate and a story is published in haaretz. With all due respect most of the world does not read haaretz. The damaage, as such, has not been repaired.
Really its without military casualties that Israel is interested in, so civilians don't stand a chance, In war there are soldiers killed too but Israel knows public opinion evaporates when soldiers get killed, look how much fuss over Shalit! Israel's achillies heel is it's conscripted army.
Thats correct they should have jailed everylast one on board for trying to enter a closed area without proper permission. As with any country violate the laws and you must pay the price.
A man walking on the sidewalk is a passerby, but when he steps on your lawn, he's a trespasser. I suggest you acquaint yourself with this very simple concept.
And if I believe that Israel will try that soldier, will the Ha'aretz also try to sell me a slightly used bridge in Brooklyn? If I only had a penny for every time that I see a caption in here, telling the world how a soldier has been indicted for horrors committed against Palestinians and, in the same breath, they tell how the punishment is a suspension or a reprimand. Please, please, for once assume that at least half of your readership is intelligent and don't deliberately offend their intelligence. You know as well as we do that they will do absolutely nothing to him. Besides, even if they did something, how about prosecuting the ones above him, the fat cats that give the orders and actually either encite or condone the violence and the crimes against humanity?
There is a War! one side plays with PR and fat cats like U are ready to "eat" any publication. What about to send Goldstone to Ruanda? or Yemen or at least Kirgizstan? or to Afganistan?
What do you really want from all this incitement
'...The problem, it turns out, was not false testimony by the Palestinians, but the way this testimony was distorted by the Goldstone Committee to paint IDF soldiers as war criminals. But Mendelblit's findings do nothing to solve the real problem, which is that it is almost impossible to fight terrorist organizations embedded in a civilian population without civilian casualties - yet the international community has evinced zero understanding for the impossible environment in which the IDF operates...' This is a complete crock, easily demonstrated by reference to the experiences of armies from civilized countries fighting under similar circumstances.
Fine, so the terrorists are hiding in civilian areas. Tell us something we didn't already know. The point is, after the destruction of Gaza on the scale of the last operation, and the continued blockade, how has any of this helped Israel in bringing peace? Sure there's less rocket fire, but at what expense? War crimes and continued "occupation"? Time to rethink the strategy when dealing with these terrorists. Somehow, invading Gaza and bombing near mosques doesn't seem to be working. That's the root of the problem, not having a better way of handling the terrorists in a way that would minimize or eliminate civilian casualties.
"yet the international community has evinced zero understanding for the impossible environment in which the IDF operates." Maybe that's because the int'l community understands perfectly well that the IDF had no need to "operate in that environment", because there was absolutely no need for Israel to launch Operation Cast Lead.
... but so far the IDF is investigating only the small fish. The highest ranking officer investigated is a Lt. Col. I suspect that other Goldstone accusations of war crimes, such as "attacks on the foundations of civilian life in Gaza: destruction of industrial infrastructure, food production, water installations, sewage treatment and housing", will not be investigated since they involve the highest level officers and the civilian leadership. Perhaps the goal of the IDF investigation is to show the Security Council that Israel is really doing an investigation, so the issue should not be sent to the Hague. But the low level of the accused may work against this strategy.
Does't the IDF court-martial soldiers who disobey their commanding officers over such a serious matter as murdering civilians? Is it a real army - or a bunch of gangsters?
Where else could you have got such an expression?