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Israel Orders Gaza War Probe: Report
JERUSALEM - The Israeli military has ordered 14 criminal probes into the conduct of soldiers during the war on the Gaza Strip at the turn of the year, the Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday.
It said the military is currently reviewing close to 100 complaints from a number of sources, including from soldiers who took part in the devastating 22-day operation on Gaza, as well as Palestinians and human rights groups.
A picture shows Israeli troops stationed near the Israel-Gaza border in January. The Israeli military has ordered 14 criminal probes into the conduct of soldiers during the war on the Gaza Strip at the turn of the year, the Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday (AFP) The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the December-January war that left swathes of the aid-dependent, Hamas-run territory in ruins.
Among the Palestinians killed, 926 were civilians, 313 of them children, according to Palestinian figures which Israel disputes.
In a report earlier this month, Amnesty International accused both Israeli forces and Hamas militants of war crimes.
Also this month, an Israeli human rights group said Israeli soldiers were told to shoot first and worry about the consequences later, and used Palestinian civilians as human shields.
Instructions received before battle led to trigger-happy soldiers, civilian deaths and massive destruction in the densely populated Palestinian enclave, the Breaking the Silence group said in a report based on testimony from 30 soldiers.
In April, the military said its investigations showed the army "operated in accordance with international law," maintaining "a high professional and moral level" while facing an enemy who deliberately fought from within civilian areas.
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14 Comments so far
Show AllWhen you ask the fox to investigate loss of chickens in the hen house, the fox will say it was the chicken's fault.....and the theft, murder and mayhem will still go on.
,,,just like they did with the USS Liberty massacre or Sabra and Chatila massacre or the killing of Rachael Corrie,,,
More than 200 Jewish extremists have reportedly entered al-Aqsa Mosque, positioning themselves inside the holy site, allegedly to perform religious rituals.
According to a statement released by the Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage, the incursion was "significant". The foundation has called on Muslims, Arabs and all Palestinians to take action in support of the mosque.
PressTV
Al-Jazeera English has nothing on anything like that.
Here is the link:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=102030§ionid=351020202
Al-Jazeera has been unreliable for a while. I think they're caving in to US-Isr pressures. You have to look in more places than A-J now.
A rap on the knuckles is the most that can expected out of this inquiry.
"...an enemy who deliberately fought from within civilian areas."
Oh, sorry! You mean they didn't move to the designated battlefield in Gaza to fight the Israeli invaders?
And if your civilian areas are being blanket-bombed with phosphorus and daisy cutters, then that's where you defend your families, yes?
Sick.
I wish I had a broker, so I could place a call to buy, buy, buy Israeli whitewash futures!
I can write the report right now: There is no basis to the charges that any IDF member violated any law or misbehaved in any way. We solemnly conclude that the Gazans were asking for it by lobbing those rockets at us, and allowing themselves to be used as human shields by terrorists.
We also solemnly conclude that the Palestinians smeared their own feces on the walls of their homes and committed any other vile acts of wanton vandalism that occurred.
The End.
PS: I'm disappointed that mikep hasn't posted his obligatory defense of Zionism Gone Wild.
· Yr Obd't Servant
Can't wait for this one. It will either be 1 large blank page or one large page blaming the UN, Amnesty, Human Rights Watch and that hugely 'successful' terrorist group, Hamas, for anti-semitism and bias. Why doesn't the world understand that the Israeli defense forces have the most moral code of conduct in the world?
Sorry for the sarcasm; it just sort of spurted out along with
my personal fury over the duplicity of Israeli leaders.
Ray Berthiaume
I wouldn't believe anything the Israeli or U.S. governments say about the Gazan genocide.
I have to resist falling into the trap of assuming that the truth is always the OPPOSITE of whatever the Official US or Israeli Spokescriminals say.
I mean, it's a good rule of thumb. But one must stay on one's toes as well as relying on one's thumbs when dealing with pathological liars.
· Yr Obd't Servant
You can do away with the conscience trip.
Expect lies. Expect lies by omission. Expect distortions of truth. Expect invalid denials. Except attempts to deceive the public. ...
There's an AlJazeera.net article for which the link was obtained at Uruknet and it's about Israeli government leadership admitting that Israel used white phosphorous during the war on Gaza this past winter, but that's while nevertheless denying that this was done illegally.
"Israel admits white phosphorus use", July 31, 2009
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/07/200973020830886898.html
Expect lies. Expect lies by omission. Expect distortions of truth. Expect invalid denials. Except attempts to deceive the public. ...
Don't be expecting much serious truth. And expect that any truth obtained will be half-truth(s) or similar lies.
Frankly, be critical; instead of seeming to be like a whiny or apologetic "leftie".
The "war probe" is just a show to try to appease opposition to Israel and while the article briefly mentions some words from Amnesty Intl that may seem harsh, firm, ... AI isn't innocent and should get off of Hamas' back! Actually, AI's apparently moved to far from innocent.
"Entertaining Apartheid Israel Deserves No Amnesty!
Open Letter to Amnesty International by PACBI",
by Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), July 30, 2009
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=56518
EXCERPT:
In May, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) called on singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen to heed the Palestinian call for a cultural boycott of Israel and avoid complicity with Israel’s violations of international law by cancelling his planned September concert in Israel, particularly in view of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza earlier this year. Sadly, according to a July 28 article in the Jerusalem Post, Amnesty International USA has agreed to cooperate with Cohen in dealing with Israel on the basis of business as usual. Amnesty International USA will serve as sponsor of a new fund that will whitewash the money raised at Cohen’s concert in Israel by using it to finance programs for "peace." Being one of the world’s strongest proponents of human rights and international law, you shall thus be subverting a non-violent, effective effort by Palestinian and international civil society to end Israel's violations of international law and human rights principles. We call on you to be true to your values and immediately withdraw support for Leonard Cohen’s ill-conceived concert in Israel.
The Jerusalem Post report indicates that Cohen and his PR staff, having been criticized for trying to normalize Israel’s occupation and apartheid, are trying to whitewash the concert in Israel by using Amnesty International USA’s good name. According to the article, "All of the net proceeds from Leonard Cohen's September 24 concert at Ramat Gan Stadium will be earmarked for a newly established fund to benefit Israeli and Palestinian organizations that are working toward conciliation," and the fund will be "sponsored by Amnesty." Curt Goering, the senior deputy executive director of Amnesty International USA, told the Post, "We saw this as an exciting opportunity with potential to recognize, support and pay tribute to the Israelis and Palestinians who have been working for peace and human rights amid a difficult environment and insurmountable odds. I see our participation as complementary to what we do, even though this initiative is different from Amnesty's ongoing work."
Why We Are Calling on Amnesty to Withdraw from the Project
By supporting Cohen’s concert in Israel, Amnesty International is actively undermining a particularly successful effort by Palestinian and international civil society to end Israel's occupation and other violations of international law and human rights principles. We find this position by Amnesty particularly frustrating and puzzling given your call for an arms embargo against Israel following its atrocities in Gaza earlier this year, which your organization described as constituting war crimes.
Accepting funds from the proceeds of Cohen’s concert in Israel is the equivalent of Amnesty accepting funds from a concert in Sun City in apartheid South Africa. Profits earned through violations of human rights and international law are tainted and should not be accepted by any morally consistent human rights organization, particularly when this money is intended to be used to whitewash the very violations behind those profits.
END OF EXCERPT
This is perhaps just a dumb mistake on the part of AI, instead of it really being far from innocent; but AI has long enough known now about the international boycott movement which gained quite a lot of support, internationally.
I'll side with PACBI about this matter. My vote's cast.
This "investigation" will yield the same results as Nazi "investigations" into the Warsaw Ghetto at the request of the International Red Cross in the 1940's!!