IDF already investigating some Goldstone allegations
Military advocate looking into 12 Palestinian claims of alleged civilian deaths, property destruction.
By Amir Oren Tags: Goldstone report Israel news IDFWhile the IDF is opposed, in principle, to setting up a committee of inquiry into the allegations against Israel made in the Goldstone Report on the fighting in the Gaza Strip, the military advocate general, Brig. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit, has ordered investigations into a number of allegations, currently being carried out by the Military Police.
Mendelblit has ordered investigations into 12 incidents that were, even before the report, the focus of Military Police investigations or part of operational investigations. Two involved civilian deaths, based on Palestinian claims. In the 10 other incidents, Palestinians claimed their property had been destroyed. Coordination of the investigations is being handled by the chief of Military Police in the Southern Command, Lt. Col. Gil Mamon. Mendelblit is part of a team of senior legal experts the government established last week to formulate recommendations on dealing with the report. The findings are to serve as the backbone for a counter-Goldstone report that is expected to be ready in a month.
One of Mendelblit's arguments against creating a committee of inquiry following the Goldstone Report is that such a committee has never been set up as a result of external pressure, and says that surrendering to international pressure will constitute a dangerous precedent.
In his view there is no reason for an internal investigation into the policy decided by the government and then implemented into legal orders. He does believe, however, that it is possible to carry out an investigation into specific incidents. According to the Goldstone Report, government policy - or the orders on the use of force - was allegedly to purposely violate Palestinian human rights in the Gaza Strip.
Mendelblit's starting point contradicts that of the Goldstone commission, and relies on a Supreme Court ruling on providing Gaza with electricity, which also determined that with the pullout from the Strip in 2005, Israel's occupation of the territory came to an end. As such, the military attorney general argues that IDF operations in the Gaza Strip should fall only within humanitarian international law and international law governing warfare, and not the law on human rights.
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the stupidity surrounding this report is incredible ! each war or engagement bans a series of weapons but all the time countries are developing new weapons of destruction. the logistics were clearly beyond goldstone 25,000+ homes and many other building were destroyed yet THERE WERE ONLY around 1200 dead. mark do try thinking occasionly whilst pounding the computer 1
How many Israeli soldiers are in Gaza that you whimper about occupation? "why then is every school-book vetted... building materials not allowed in... some foodstuffs considered superfluous... other innocuous items imbued with `security risk`..." Oh,I see.Why don't you call it a genocide it is so close. Poor Esther.That is a low price to pay for all bombings,murders of Israeli children and threats of annihilation of Israel. I have more sympathy for victims of terror than for those who elected terrorists as their representatives.Now they are even bombed when they want to go to see a doctor in Israel,but if it is what they wanted... They made their bed and now they have to sleep in.... So Esther,how many Israeli soldiers are in Gaza that you talk about occupation?
supervision? How about to show some real evidences instead of whining about war crimes allegations? How about Hamas human shields?We know Hamas used them,you know Hamas used them yet you prefer to play dumb saying that Goldstone did not find any proof of Hamas use of human shield.Really. IDF is already investigating some Goldstone allegations,but how about Hamas?Are they investigating?You are so close to them that you should know.Can you tell us how far is Hamas investigation?
Israel MUST investigate itself. It must do so in an unimpeachable, open and honest manner. Nothing else may save it's national honor. Nothing else may avoid Israel proving itself guilty. This is not a challenge which may be thwarted by spin, nor can it be expunged by accusations. Israel MUST perform an open and honest investigation of Cast Lead, starting at it's earliest suggestion and pursuing the truth to the bitter end. If Israel is innocent then it need not fear an open and honest investigation conducted by Israelis. If it is not, then it will refuse to allow an open and honest investigation by Israelis.
Sweden was a neutral, and had the right to trade in war materials for both sides. However, there is little question that Germany's war industry would have had a much harder time without Swedish iron ore to make the steel they needed.
... now this ridiculous contention that Gaza is not occupied by Israel... ... why then is every school-book vetted... building materials not allowed in... some foodstuffs considered superfluous... other innocuous items imbued with 'security risk'...
Goldstone asked for a 'credible' investigation, as did the EU.The IDF investigating itself is a ludicrous idea.
Since you are the wisest and fairest person in the world, You should be selected by Israel to conduct the investigation.
No ? So how come you think Israel worse than you,oh Just Wizard from Houston?
And an open and honest investigation is all that remove the stain upon Israel's escutcheon. Any further 'investigations' composed of the impeached investigating themselves will only further harm Israel.
The IDF is as competent to investigate the Goldstone recommendations as the US Army was to investigate Abu Ghraib. The US Army fried a few small fish and let their officers go. We can expect less from the IDF which has already 'investigated' and found nothing. What happened to those soldiers who told Haaretz about some of the stuff that went on last winter? Why hasn't Haaretz looked them up and asked them what they thought of Goldstone's work? Better order LOTS of whitewash.
for the civilian deaths occuring every day in Afghanistan. Charity starts at home ,Harold the Pious.
didn't demand RAF stopped bombings of Germany to enable her to deliver the ore. btw ,iron ore doesn't kill ,bombs and rockets do ,paraphrasing the beloved motto of gooddoers you belong to.Imagine it being a "help for the bombed and innocent civilian population of Germany".
They never cooperated with anyone before and will never with anyone in the future and that will put them in a grave situation. They think they are the only children of God and feel they are the superiors of the world. Personally I don't blame them but I blame the United States of America creating a monster with several heads.
The investigation should start from the top i.e. Olmert, Barak, Levni and Ishkanazi. Officers young and old received orders from the gang of four and nobody else. The gang of four had the power to start the war to distruct and kill. Therefore investigating themselves by Israelis cannot be trusted.
So should the sale of Iron Ore to Germany during World War II
Reuven The UNHRC made it clear when giving Goldstone a Mandate to make his investigation, it wants the inquiry made ONLY on Israel, as long as that is the case, Israel cannot cooperate. Not only that Reuven, Israel did not cooperate with Goldstone because the Mandate given to Goldstone was to find Israeli war crimes, taking the war crimes as a given fact. If Israel had cooperated with Goldstone that would mean Israel agrees before any inquiry starts that those allegations of our troops committing war crimes is true! In other words if I am asked to make it simple, the UNHRC tried to get us to `Plea Bargain` and as you know `Plea Bargaining` is when one admits he has committed a crime, sorry we are not going to say we have committed a crime when there is no indication we committed one! The question you should ask is why the UNHRC rushed to make an inquiry, when Israel has already started to investigate the incidents before the Goldstone report saw the light of day, what is all the rush in getting us to Huge
even though it doesn't hold any water, you gotta admit...it certainly beats the "most moral army" line. problem is, israel's gaza offensive set a precedent itself...which led to the precedent of a u.n. probe into israel's actions...resulting in the precedent of a critical report on those activities spearheaded by pro-israel zionist. so what's one more precedent?
The charge is that the government of Israel issued orders covering the rules of engagement that were legally unacceptable. It is these orders and their ramifications which need to be investigated. For an air or artillery strike on civilian or civic property, there has to be evidence - from satellite pictures, aerial photography, UAvs, etc. - that insurgents were actually using the building. There also has to be evidence from troops on the ground that civilians were absent from or had been cleared from the building. All commanders and forces work that way, so that they don't (a) kill civilians (b) face criminal charges later. The same applies to air attacks on chicken farms, sewage works etc. If insurgents were not using these at the time, than demolishing them is a humanitarian crime. Sure, individual incidents involving war crimes on the ground need to be investigated, as the IDF claims to be doing. But that is a very small corner of the bigger picture.
"As such, the military attorney general argues that IDF operations in the Gaza Strip should fall only within humanitarian international law and international law governing warfare, and not the law on human rights." It sounds a lot like George W. Bush trying to find a legal loophole to make torture legal Israel is working hard to make sure that laws are on their side, but when it comes to the spirit of the law, it is a different story...
bbecause of the pressures put on them by the Goldstone Report.
do you understand where Arab frustration comes from now? it is never a simple task trying to understand how the state of Israel works and deals, it is never a straight response, full of cleverly put answers and statements that bend the truth so far it starts to look like fiction.
Now I am completely baffled. If Israel was already investigating incidents that occurred during the Gaza operation, why didn't it cooperate with Goldstone? Was it just pure arrogance? Stupidity? Or simple machoism. A fool throws a stone in a well and a thousand wise men cannot bring it up.
The IDF doesn't have the resources or jurisdiction to investigate Dresden or Berlin.
...until then, the Goldstone Report will plague Israel indefinitely.
1398 to go. Hey, it's better than a poke in the eye, ain't it? What phonies.
NO matter how well the IDF investigates, it will always be perceived as a white wash or cover up by Israeli opponents. War is never cut and dry.