Israeli army probe on Gaza lacks credibility, Amnesty
London, 24 April-(ANA)-The Israeli army should make public the full details of the findings of its probe into some of its attacks during the 22-day Gaza military offensive, Amnesty International has said.
The human rights organisation was reactingto the army’s conclusion that its forces had committed no violations and only rare mistakes, some of which may have resulted in the killing of
Palestinian civilians.
Amnesty says a briefing paper distributed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to journalists stating that “All findings are to be used as background information to be attributed to the reporter only”, lacks crucial details.
The army briefing does not even attempt to explain the overwhelming majority of civilian deaths nor the massive destruction caused to civilian buildings in Gaza, Amnesty says, adding that there is a strikingly large gap between the “very small number” of mistakes referred to in the IDF’s briefing paper and the killing by Israeli forces of some 300 Palestinian children and hundreds of other unarmed civilians.
In the absence of the necessary evidence to substantiate its allegations, the army’s claims appear to be more an attempt to shirk its responsibilities than a genuine process to establish the truth, Amnesty said.
Amnesty said the deaths and injury of many civilians and the large-scale destruction in attacks which often violated international humanitarian law demand a full, independent and impartial investigation.
The Israeli army, Amnesty said, must provide specific, detailed information about why targets were chosen and the means and methods of attack used in order to assess their conclusion that the IDF complied fully with international humanitarian law.(ANA)
