The Israeli military says it’s concluded an investigation absolving its forces of committing any crimes during the three-week assault on the Gaza Strip beginning late last year. Israeli military deputy chief of staff General Dan Harel said Israel’s lone mistakes came down to intelligence and operational errors.
General Dan Harel: “We found out that the IDF operated under the international law and according to a very high standard of professionalism and moral standards. Saying that, we found out several mistakes, intelligence and operational mistakes we made, and we are dealing with them.”
Israel killed more than 1,300 Palestinians during the Gaza attack, most of them women and children. It bombed crowded civilian areas, ambulances, aid compounds, UN facilities, mosques and several schools. Hamas spokesperson Ayman Taha dismissed the Israeli investigation as a sham.
Ayman Taha: “This is a mockery of all the crimes that have been committed against our people. And the reason that the Israeli army cannot consider what has happened in the Gaza Strip as criminal is because the criminal himself cannot also be the judge. Therefore, these findings of Israeli army innocence are unreliable. The crimes that have been committed are crystal clear.”
The Israeli probe comes ahead of a UN investigation headed by former international prosecutor Richard Goldstone. Bill Van Esveld of Human Rights Watch called the IDF move a preliminary reaction to the UN’s anticipated findings.
Bill Van Esveld: “This appears to be a whitewash investigation that is happening just before the Goldstone investigation mandated by the United Nations. And it seems to prove the point that Human Rights Watch has been making all along, which is that there needs to be an independent and impartial United Nations investigation into these allegations of laws of war violations, because the IDF has not lived up to the job.”
Israel Demolishes Palestinian Home in East Jerusalem
In other news from Israel and the Occupied Territories, Israel has defied US warnings and demolished another Palestinian home in East Jerusalem. The Obama administration’s few mild criticisms of Israel have centered around destroying homes on Palestinian land. The home belonged to the Hudidon family, which includes seven children.
Clinton Vows Continued US Boycott of Palestinians
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has renewed US vows to boycott the Palestinian government unless Hamas meets US-Israeli demands. Clinton testified Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “We will not deal with nor in any way fund a Palestinian government that includes Hamas, unless and until Hamas has renounced violence, recognized Israel, and agreed to follow the previous obligations of the Palestinian Authority. And that is our policy, and that is exactly what is guiding us, but we want to leave open the door that that can happen.”
The policy of opening the door to Hamas’s acceptance marks a slight rhetorical deviation from Bush administration policy, which unequivocally rejected any dealings with Hamas. But it continues the Bush policy of imposing conditions on Palestinians not imposed on Israel. Israel has long refused to renounce violence, recognize Palestine or agree to uphold prior agreements. In response to Clinton’s comments, Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan said, “Hillary Clinton must understand that there is a Palestinian democracy and there [were] Palestinian elections and someone won those elections.”
Meanwhile, Clinton was also asked about former Vice President Dick Cheney’s comments the Obama administration’s rollback of Bush torture policies is endangering the nation.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “Well, it won’t surprise you, I don’t consider him a particularly reliable source.”
This week, Cheney called for the release of documents that could prove what he called the “success” of the Bush administration’s torture methods in gaining new intelligence.
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