IDF chief: Army open to looking into Goldstone claims
Ashkenazi says Israel must explain the war's justice as it is possible we will be forced to act again in Gaza.
By DPA and Haaretz Staff Tags: Goldstone report Gabi Ashkenazi Israel news Gaza warIsrael Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said last week that the army was willing to probe claims of wrongdoing by its soldiers.
Speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Ashkenazi said that the IDF was open to investigating all complaints of misconduct during the Gaza war, including claims made by the Goldstone report.
"The Goldstone report deserves a response," he said. "We must explain the justice of that war and to explain that there is the possibility that we will be forced to act again."
On Friday, Ashkenazi said the army would not hesitate to respond if Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip continued to fire rockets at Israel.
"We are prepared to contend with the whole arc of threats," Ashkenazi told students during a visit to a Be'er Sheva high school, citing both the local defense situation as well as Iran's contentious nuclear program.
Although the Hamas rulers in Gaza have of late been "restraining themselves and others," said Ashkenazi, "we must not fool ourselves. If necessary, we will operate again in the Gaza Strip to stop the rocket fire."
Responding to the Goldstone Commission's damning report on the Gaza war, Ashkenazi emphasized that the IDF had the responsibility to defend itself at all costs.
"We must defend ourselves when we see a militant cell rigging Grad rockets in the direction of Be'er Sheva, and that is exactly what we did," he said.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, meanwhile, has warned that Israel is planning another offensive on the Gaza Strip, Iran's Press TV reported on Friday. The IDF chief did not respond directly to that report during his visit to the Be'er Sheva school.
According to Haniyeh, it is Israel and not Hamas that is intent on keeping the conflict going between the two sides.
Hamas is "not looking for more violence," Haniyeh told a group of Red Cross delegates visiting the Gaza Strip earlier this week.
Hamas is also claiming that Israel fabricated a report showing the group to have a long-range Iranian made missile capable of hitting Tel Aviv.
Hamas' spokesman in Gaza, Fawzi Barhoum, said in a written statement that Israel's claim that the movement had tested a second rocket "shows Israel's intentions to escalate aggressive actions against the Gaza Strip."
"Such threats are coming under the title of incitement and creating pretexts in order to commit more new crimes against Gaza and cover on the previous crimes were committed during the last war," said Barhoum.
He called on Arab and Islamic nations to sever ties with Israel in response to the threats against the Gaza Strip, adding "these claims are part of the Israeli lies to justify a new aggression on the Gaza Strip."
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement that he could not confirm or deny that the group had test-fired a rocket.
"These threats are an evidence that the Israeli occupation had failed in its last war on Gaza to achieve its goals. The occupation is trying to escape from the international condemnations by fabricating such lies," said Abu Obeida.
Haniyeh said he was not looking for war but should an Israeli offensive occur, Hamas would be prepared to retaliate.
"Our people will not surrender; they will fight back," Haniyah's office said in a statement.
The IDF reported recently that Hamas had managed during the past few months to bring huge quantities of Chinese-made weapons to the Gaza Strip.
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investigated and forced to abide by the law without forcing Hamas to do the same,we can be sure that Hamas war crimes will continue thanks to the UN leniency. This is not just about Israeli war crimes this is about war crimes that were committed during Cast Lead in general isn't it Johnboy.... So now when we know what you expect from Israel can you tell us about your expectations from Hamas?
AS: "In short, you want a SuperGoldstone commission to confirm what the Goldstone #1 has "found" " No, I want a "super winograd commission" to examine the Goldstone fact-finding mission, and to determine if it has found any violations of Israeli or international law by either the Government of Israel or the Israel Defense Force. The Winograd Commission did exactly that w.r.t. the Lebanon War, so why shouldn't the same treatment be applied to the "Gaza War"?
In short, you want a SuperGoldstone commission to confirm what the Goldstone #1 has "found"
Although you may feel a strong Israel is a vital asset to the US, we survived until 1948 without you, and the odds are we could muddle on through without you quite comfortably.
Embarrassing isn't it.If only BBSNews could show one to make his allegations about dog hunters(or eaters?)more credible...
Hunting by the fence? Jihadis under the bed? Someone please explain why some at these boards call Hamas and Hezbollah "freedom fighters" and ally themselves with the jihad.
Or do you just believe the IDF?
As he's contemplating looking into the stories reported by the Goldstone report, Ashkenazi also might consider the statements made by the IDF Chief Rabbi in Haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1128144.html He also might look into the statements made by the IDF Chief Rabbi just before Cast Lead that equated Gaza's children with those of Amalek. It just might be that some IDF soldiers took the Chief Rabbi seriously.
.. becasue THAT is ther main reason for the Goldstone report, and not any construed claim of self-defense.
and rightly so.How long it will take before they understand that the trips into Israel to kill some Jews are over and that the Hamas story about dog hunter are good just for rabid anti-semitic haters who will believe anything without questioning the veracity of the claims as long as it can be used against Israel. How do you know that the dog hunting story is true?Because Hamas said so?And the same goes for your white flag war crime.Anything will do when it comes to bash Israel,even undocumented lies collected from Hamas people right Michael? While you will have a hard time to prove that the white flag incident really happened I can prove that Hamas fighters were hiding amongst civilians waving white flag,but I suspect that you know that too and that you talk about IDF war crimes just to hide the ugly truth about Hamas war crimes. Any video supporting your accusations?
A strong Israel is a vital asset to the free world and America. To be a strong and dependable friend in a 'rough neighborhood', Israel must have defensible borders and military prowess capable of addressing multiple challenges which can materialize suddenly in this unstable region. The conflict between Palestinian Arabs and Israelis is not the only adversary Israel faces. Historically, anti-Zionism has been the glue behind Arab nationalism. It has provided a convenient scapegoat for deflecting Arab states' frustration over unsolved domestic problems, but it also stems from a deep innate intolerance that exists throughout the Muslim world to any non-Muslim presence. For a better understanding of the M.-E. : http://xrl.us/bktwe
"Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said last week that the army was willing to probe claims of wrongdoing by its soldiers." That is a credit to you, my good man. I have nothing but praise for such sentiments. However.... That deals only with the little fish i.e. the individual grunts who may (or may not) have Done Something Very Wrong during Cast Lead. The Goldstone report certainly mentions many of those incidents, but it also points out that there was a PATTERN OF BEHAVIOUR to the IDF's conduct that suggests that it was being directed to conduct a war *against* the civilian popln. No IDF investigation is ever going to be able to investigate THAT, no matter how diligent the military police are; they simply do not have the authority to investigate such an accusation. Only an independent judicial inquiry could get to the bottom of THAT, and so that's what Bibi has to appoint.
BS is bound to belive Hamas fantasie and blame Israel
...then someone will of course fire one of those puny and futile homemade projectiles in protest. An MIT scientist and her team found Israel does not like lulls, and in nine out of ten times breaks them by some sort of incursion or shooting such as the one just described. It's an endless cycle of violence most often provoked by the occupier poking the occupied just because you can. As to the Goldstone Report, no IDF "investigation" will fully answer charges such as shooting civilians with white flags, and it's doubtful that even an independent investigation will fully address the eighteen times "collective punishment" was mentioned in the report nor probably the IDF's use of civilians as shields. But the findings will not rest from the Goldstone Report unless Israel undertakes a completely open, transparent and independent to bring justice and closure.