Falcon29
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Israeli military hiding targeted killing investigative panel - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News | Haaretz
The Defense Ministry and Israel Defense Forces recently formed a committee to investigate allegations of war crimes raised after recent targeted aerial strikes against Palestinian militants. The names of panel members, however, were not disclosed.
Heading the panel is a retired judge, but reports conflict on whether on that served in a district court or in a magistrate's court. The rest of the panel is formed of a veteran general, retired Shin Bet commander and an expert of international law.
IDF spokesman confirmed on Thursday that the panel currently investigates "several incidents" and that so far no attack was deemed illegal.
In March, Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Danny Efroni publically commended the establishment of an external body to probe into the legality of targeted killings, but also avoided commenting on who its members would be. Efroni further refused to answer whether the panel has been assembled to contend and look into claims that had been raised about civilian harm – which could potentially constitute war crimes and which the military pledged to investigate.
The current panel is the third incarnation of a committee which was originally formed following a Supreme Court's decision on the case regarding the assassination of Sheikh Salah Mustafa Shehade in 2002, in which 14 Gaza civilians – including children – were killed. Bagatz ordered that Shehade's killing be investigated. The panel charged with the inquiry was to be headed by then-Military Advocate General Zvi Inbar and presided by veteran Gen. Itzhak Eitan and D., a former branch leader in the Shin Bet.
After Inbar's death, retired Supreme Court Justice Tova Straussberg Cohen was appointed to head the committee but refused to chair the panel regarding the legality of targeted killings. After her, the post was offered to another retired judge, Ze'ev Hemmer, who would be accompanied by veteran General Gabi Ofir. Both left the committee before it could form substantial conclusions. Last year the committee has been active again, but details of its appointees, who have been personally approved by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, remain concealed.
This fact clashes with the self-congratulating tone of the military advocate general, who prides himself in finding confluence between the IDF's activities and international law. In February last year, set to the backdrop of the 2012 Pillar of Cloud operation in Gaza and the publication of the Turkel Committee report about criminal aspects in military operations, Efroni announced that the army's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz has ordered the formation of an "independent military investigative body." According to Efroni, "today we open an investigation for every incident in which a civilian, unaffiliated with insurgent activities, is killed in Judea and Samaria during a [military] operation that is not an official campaign."
As opposed to the IDF's activities in the West Bank, which is under Israeli sovereignty and does not include aerial assassinations, the military follows a different policy for Gaza and in neighboring Arab countries that permits the employment of aerial killing against targets that "operate under the shelter of civilian populations and from within them, and do so against Israeli civilians and in breach of the laws of war."
The advocate's official statement does not specify what crafts are used by the IDF for assassinations. U.S. President Barack Obama, in a speech he gave at West Point Wednesday, specifically mentioned drones as being employed for "the war on terror." Fully-manned American air-crafts are seldom used.
.....................
@ResurgentIran @al-Hasani
This man in the comment section explains it all:
These are bogus investigations meant to avoid being indicted at the ICC by pretending having already done investigations...
... Except the Court will not buy it.
The Defense Ministry and Israel Defense Forces recently formed a committee to investigate allegations of war crimes raised after recent targeted aerial strikes against Palestinian militants. The names of panel members, however, were not disclosed.
Heading the panel is a retired judge, but reports conflict on whether on that served in a district court or in a magistrate's court. The rest of the panel is formed of a veteran general, retired Shin Bet commander and an expert of international law.
IDF spokesman confirmed on Thursday that the panel currently investigates "several incidents" and that so far no attack was deemed illegal.
In March, Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Danny Efroni publically commended the establishment of an external body to probe into the legality of targeted killings, but also avoided commenting on who its members would be. Efroni further refused to answer whether the panel has been assembled to contend and look into claims that had been raised about civilian harm – which could potentially constitute war crimes and which the military pledged to investigate.
The current panel is the third incarnation of a committee which was originally formed following a Supreme Court's decision on the case regarding the assassination of Sheikh Salah Mustafa Shehade in 2002, in which 14 Gaza civilians – including children – were killed. Bagatz ordered that Shehade's killing be investigated. The panel charged with the inquiry was to be headed by then-Military Advocate General Zvi Inbar and presided by veteran Gen. Itzhak Eitan and D., a former branch leader in the Shin Bet.
After Inbar's death, retired Supreme Court Justice Tova Straussberg Cohen was appointed to head the committee but refused to chair the panel regarding the legality of targeted killings. After her, the post was offered to another retired judge, Ze'ev Hemmer, who would be accompanied by veteran General Gabi Ofir. Both left the committee before it could form substantial conclusions. Last year the committee has been active again, but details of its appointees, who have been personally approved by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, remain concealed.
This fact clashes with the self-congratulating tone of the military advocate general, who prides himself in finding confluence between the IDF's activities and international law. In February last year, set to the backdrop of the 2012 Pillar of Cloud operation in Gaza and the publication of the Turkel Committee report about criminal aspects in military operations, Efroni announced that the army's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz has ordered the formation of an "independent military investigative body." According to Efroni, "today we open an investigation for every incident in which a civilian, unaffiliated with insurgent activities, is killed in Judea and Samaria during a [military] operation that is not an official campaign."
As opposed to the IDF's activities in the West Bank, which is under Israeli sovereignty and does not include aerial assassinations, the military follows a different policy for Gaza and in neighboring Arab countries that permits the employment of aerial killing against targets that "operate under the shelter of civilian populations and from within them, and do so against Israeli civilians and in breach of the laws of war."
The advocate's official statement does not specify what crafts are used by the IDF for assassinations. U.S. President Barack Obama, in a speech he gave at West Point Wednesday, specifically mentioned drones as being employed for "the war on terror." Fully-manned American air-crafts are seldom used.
.....................
@ResurgentIran @al-Hasani
This man in the comment section explains it all:
These are bogus investigations meant to avoid being indicted at the ICC by pretending having already done investigations...
- By Ari
- 01 Jun 2014
- 10:58AM
... Except the Court will not buy it.
