Israel says Gaza war followed international law

Israel says its military force acted according to International law during the Gaza war, except for a few “unavoidable” errors. It has also backed down over white phosphorus saying it was used only to create smokescreens.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said an internal investigation reportedly concluded that Israeli troops actually made only a few errors during its operations in Gaza, otherwise its troops acted absolutely professionally during the war against Hamas fighters who allegedly terrorized Israeli civilians. Human rights groups have already accused Israel for war crimes and demanded an external independent investigation for its disproportionate operations during Gaza war. Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi reportedly appointed five colonels to investigate soldiers' conduct during the operation, known in Israel as Operation Cast Lead, in Gaza three months ago. IDF investigators probed five sets of accusations, including allegations that Israeli army used white phosphorus bombs as weapons in civilian area and firing of artillery shells in United Nations (UN) and other international facilities, as well as medical facilities and personnel. According to a news report published last month, the Operation Cast Lead during its 23-day offensive killed 1,400 Palestinians including more than 300 children. World Health Organization said more than half of Gaza's 27 hospitals and 44 clinics were damaged by Israeli attack. Human rights groups claimed that during Gaza war only three Israeli civilians died, six Israeli soldiers killed by Hamas attack and four killed by friendly fire. IDF, on Wednesday, said Israeli army committed a small number of errors due to mistakes in intelligence and targeting. It said deaths of 21 people in a wrongly hit house in the Zietoun neighborhood of Gaza City were “unavoidable” as Gaza militants had used civilian sites for cover. The report said not a single case was found where a soldier targeted innocent civilians during the war. “Unfortunate incidents were unavoidable” The IDF has denied the UN claim of 42 deaths due to Israeli bombings near a UN-run school on 6 January. The investigators said only 12 people died in that attack and five of them were “terror operatives.” Regarding the deaths of three children in a Palestinian doctor’s house the IDF said the army had been targeting "suspicious figures" in the building and had urged the family to leave days earlier. According to investigators, Hamas fighters "systematically used medical facilities, vehicles and uniforms as cover for terrorist operations," and their military and political leaders operated from Gaza's main hospital. In a statement the IDF claimed that Israeli army maintained “a high professional” level against Hamas and “operated in accordance with moral values.” It also said the army has made "an enormous effort" to avoid harming uninvolved civilians. The army reportedly said it has confirmed seven incidents where civilians were harmed by the attack. However, human rights organizations have already documented several more such incidents. Defense Minister Ehud Barak reportedly expressed regret for the suffering of innocent people but said the Israeli army did not fear investigations and was one of the world's most moral forces. Regarding civilian deaths, the army said:

“These unfortunate incidents were unavoidable and occur in all combat situations, in particular of the type which Hamas forced on the IDF, by choosing to fight from within the civilian population."

Use of white phosphorus was legal The investigators said the controversial use of white phosphorus was fully legal. It said the “media buzz” had forced them to withdraw the shells from its arsenal on January 7. Notably, on the same day The Times published evidences showing stockpiles of shells containing white phosphorus and two days after it had exposed the effect of these shells on innocent civilians. As per Geneva Conventions phosphorus bombs could be used to create smokescreen, but they cannot be used as weapons in civilian areas. The investigators have said that the ground forces as well as naval forces used two different munitions containing white phosphorus. Although, on January 7, an Israeli spokesman said that they did not use explosives or white phosphorus in the shells in question, but, the latest statement by Major-General Dan Harel, the IDF Deputy Chief of Staff, made it clear that Israeli officials were concerned about the issue. Harel said:

“Since this was a big buzz in the media, we issued an order 7 January, 2009 to stop using white phosphorus shells. These shells were used only to create smokescreens, in keeping with international law.”

UN investigation International human rights campaign group Human Rights Watch has condemned IDF’s statement by saying it as an insult to the dead civilians who lost their life during Gaza war and an embarrassment to any Israeli officers who took military justice seriously. Earlier this month Israel reportedly slammed the UN probe into alleged war crime committed by Israel in Gaza. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor reportedly said:

"This is not an attempt to find the truth but to tarnish Israel's reputation and to join efforts led by some countries to demonize Israel."

Meanwhile, 10 Israeli human rights organizations have urged Israel to cooperate with the UN investigation. They have also called for an external and extra-military investigation into Gaza war. In a statement they have said: “Data collected by Israeli human rights organization shows that many civilians were killed in Gaza not due to 'mishaps' but as a direct result of the military's chosen policy.” This month, the UN has set up an investigation team led by former war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone to investigate all sorts of violations occurred during Israel’s military incursion in Gaza strip. The team includes experts from Pakistan, Britain and Ireland. However, it is still not clear whether Israel will cooperate with UN probe.