ISRAELI MILITARY officials concluded yesterday that there is no evidence to back up claims that troops deliberately targeted Palestinian civilians during the recent war in Gaza.
The Israel Defence Forces revealed the results of five separate investigations set up to examine allegations by Palestinian and international human rights groups that soldiers attacked civilians, UN staff and compounds, and medical facilities and used white phosphorus during the military offensive which was aimed at halting rockets being fired at southern Israel.
The military admitted “isolated cases” of civilian casualties due to military errors, but concluded that the invading forces acted according to international law.
“These unfortunate incidents were unavoidable and occur in all combat situations, in particular the type that Hamas forced on Israel, by choosing to fight from within the civilian population,” the military report concluded.
Deputy IDF chief of staff Maj Gen Dan Harel said of the 1,166 Palestinians killed during the three-week offensive launched on December 27th, 709 were Islamic militiamen, 295 were civilians and the identity of the remaining 162 could not be determined.
Palestinian sources put the death toll at more than 1,400, claiming that more than half those killed were civilians.
The military report concluded that the army’s use of phosphorus shells adhered to international law. Defence minister Ehud Barak said the very fact that the army carried out the investigations “once again proves that the IDF is one of the most moral armies in the world”. B’tselem, the main Israeli human rights group dealing with the occupied territories, called the military inquiry “flawed”, and demanded an independent investigation.
As the security cabinet of Israel’s new government held its inaugural meeting yesterday, significant differences emerged between senior ministers.
Foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman warned that the Arab League peace initiative, which calls for normalisation between Arab states and Israel in return for Israel’s withdrawal from all occupied territories, was a “recipe for Israel’s destruction”.
Mr Barak, who persuaded his Labor party to join the government of Binyamin Netanyahu, reiterated his support for a two-state solution. “An Israeli plan for a regional solution is a central axis of Israel’s policy in the coming years and a key to ensuring Israel’s future in the region,” Mr Barak said. “Israel must co-operate with the US in formulating the details of the solution.” His comments came a day after US president Barack Obama invited the leaders of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority separately to the White House for discussions next month, warning that “we can’t talk forever”.
The new Israeli government is still engaged in a policy review, but Mr Netanyahu is expected to tell Mr Obama that unless there is progress to thwart the Iranian threat, there is little prospect for a breakthrough on either the Palestinian or Syrian peace tracks.
Meanwhile, a poll conducted by international movement OneVoice found that a majority of Israelis (78 per cent) and Palestinians (74 per cent) polled favoured a two-state solution.