Israel has failed to demonstrate that it will conduct “thorough and impartial investigations” into alleged violations by its forces during the Gaza conflict, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Sunday.
“Israel claims it is conducting credible and impartial investigations, but it has so far failed to make that case,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director for Human Rights Watch in a press statement. “An independent investigation is crucial to understand why so many civilians died and to bring justice for the victims of unlawful attacks.”
The New-York based watchdog said that it met military lawyers from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on February 4 to discuss the investigations, but learned that while the military is conducting investigations, “officials did not provide information showing that they will be thorough and impartial or that they will address the broader policy and command decisions that led to unlawful civilian deaths.”
In one case, HRW said, a military investigation apparently missed an important piece of evidence: remains of an aerial bomb found in the al-Badr flour mill outside Jabalya. Israel denied targeting the mill from the air, as alleged by the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. However, video footage obtained by Human Rights Watch and released today shows the apparent remains of an Israeli MK-82 500-pound aerial bomb in the damaged mill, and UN de-miners say they defused the bomb.
HRW said that it had documented 53 civilian deaths in 19 incide continue reading…
