Investigating War Crimes on our Fact Finding Mission to Gaza
In early February Anthony Cordesman, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, released a study concluding that Israel did not violate the laws of war during its 22-day offensive against Gaza. Upon returning from a National Lawyers Guild fact-finding mission in Gaza, I believe it is of the utmost importance to speak to Cordesman's resounding dismissal of international law and his turning of a blind eye to Israel's military tactics in "Operation Cast Lead."
In his 88-paged study, Cordesman writes: "...Israel did not violate the laws of war. It did deliberately use decisive force to enhance regional deterrence and demonstrate that it had restored its military edge. These, however, are legitimate military objectives in spite of their very real humanitarian costs." These baffling conclusions reveal a deeply flawed methodology.
Cordesman based his findings solely on Israeli military accounts: briefings in Israel before and after the military offensive as well as daily reporting issued by the Israeli Defense Spokesman. One need not have a law enforcement background to understand why assessing a crime scene requires surveying the scene itself as well as interviewing witnesses. Moreover, Israel's media blackout of Gaza during the offensive heightens the imperative of rigorous scrutiny. Therefore it is odd, to say the least, that Cordesman has unquestioningly accepted the Army's account and proselytized it as "truth."
During our stay in Gaza, the eight-member NLG delegation met with survivors of the Israeli offensive, medical doctors, medical personnel and United Nations officials. We documented accounts describing the direct targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure; the deliberate blockade of medical aid and personnel; and the use of white phosphorous in densely populated civilian areas. Our delegation did not speak with representatives of the Israeli Army. While our failure to do so may have weakened our investigation we nevertheless adhered to a high standard of evidential thoroughness. Unlike Cordesman, we recognized that there imay indeed have been another perspective. As a result, we did not conclude that Israel committed war crimes but rather that our findings strongly indicate violations of laws of war warranting further scrutiny and investigation.
Cordesman makes his skepticism of international humanitarian law clear in his report when he writes, "The debate over proportionality is becoming another extension of war by other means. States and non-state actors continue to use force in their own interest, and almost any rationale can be used to claim that this is done in legitimate self-defense. The opponents of war-or any given side--can claim that virtually any act of violence is excessive." In attempting to discredit the legitimacy of the principle of proportionality, and the ratio of well over 1300 Palestinians killed to 13 Israelis, Cordesman fails to consider that violations of the laws of war are evident in the details of warfare and not simply its aggregate outcome. As interviews in areas like Zeitouna made abundantly clear, the Israeli military did not simply fail to observe principles of distinction and proportionality, but in fact deliberately targeted civilians.
In Zeitouna, a neighborhood in the outskirts of Gaza City, I sat with the remaining members of the al-Sammouni family amidst the rows of rubble that had been their homes, their streets, and their town. Ibrahim al-Sammouni described how on 4 January the Israeli army murdered his wife, Leila; his ten month old grandson, Mu'tassim; and four of his sons, Mohammed, Isma'il, Ishaaq, and Nassar.
The ordeal unfolded on the night of January 3rd as Israeli planes and tanks began shelling the neighborhood and residents rushed to their homes for shelter. Zeitouna's residents awoke the next morning to the sight of hundreds of Israeli soldiers in their neighborhood. The soldiers rushed Ibrahim's home, forcibly expelling its sixteen inhabitants into the neighboring house. The soldiers later forced the huddled families into yet another home where they joined nearly 110 residents of the Zeitouna neighborhood. The residents anxiously awaited their fate under house arrest and the denial of food, water, and such basic necessities as baby powder. After a long and sleepless night, Zeitouna's residents heard the Israeli Army's first shelling of the overcrowded house at approximately 7 am. Moments later the Israeli Army propelled another shell at what had become the neighborhood's collective shelter; killing dozens of people directly on impact, including Ibrahim's wife and four sons. A second round of shelling destroyed a wall of the home through which the survivors fled. As these civilians ran out of the burning home and towards the main street--Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition at them. The Israeli soldiers shot Mu'tassim, cradled by his mother, in his chest killing him instantly (see picture attached).
Those who were injured but could not flee remained among the dead for four days before the Israeli Army permitted medical personnel to enter Zeitouna. After the Red Cross and Red Crescent removed the injured civilians, including emaciated children, Israeli forces struck the home with an aerial missile collapsing it over the lifeless bodies. They remained there for seventeen more days before Israeli forces permitted the Red Cross and Crescent to remove them for burial. The medical personnel were forced to remove the rotting corpses on donkey carts that they pulled themselves because Israeli forces prohibited them from driving their ambulances into the neighborhood. When we visited Zeitouna we saw three lone homes where thirty formerly stood. We were told that Israel used those homes as military outposts and demolished the rest.
Unfortunately this story was not unique. Residents of southern Gaza bore testimony to civilians being shot in their heads, abdomens, and chests. The Israeli army forcibly gathered large groups of civilians in homes and schools; the Israeli Army would then shell these makeshift collective shelters and shoot at the people fleeing the crumbling buildings. I doubt that that the Israeli Defense Spokesmen recounted such testimonies to Cordesman or that he shared images like the one of Mu'tassam's punctured chest. Undettered by the possibility that his information may be deficient or that there is indeed significance to assessing the scene of the offensive and gathering testimonies from witnessess, Cordesman irresponsibly concluded that Israel did not violate laws of war.
While our delegation did not conclude the contrary to be true, our evidence strongly suggests that such violations were committed. In light of the situation's gravity, characterized by the humanitarian costs that Cordesman laments, an investigation is the least that we can ask for. Short of such an investigation, no party can claim the 'unequivocal' presence or absence of war crimes. Failure to conduct such an investigation and openly discuss its findings raises profound questions on what is being concealed and the potential impact of revelation. Nearly six decades after the Nuremberg Trials and more than a century after the establishment of the laws of war, we now face the sad reality that conducting an investigation into possible violations is itself a victory rather than a matter of course.
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if israel would have declared war on the palestians. they could have totally destroyed gaza and removed everybody from the land, winner takes all. but they didnt. were they telling the truth, remember in islam its alright to lie for jahad. i am sure many innocent people died, but in war the innocent always gets punished. the people in gaza are still defending the terrorists that started it . we allknow, that the palestians could have stopped the rockets but didnt . by not stopping them they become the terrorists by helping them. hese people
MagisterLudi,
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch... hmm, I will remember this.
"hmm, I will remember this."
Do remember, and remind other Hamas supporters as well.
"Hamas supporters." I'm somewhat comforted by the fact that if you actually were an American, ML, you would undoubtedly be a Republican. Nobody else could accommodate your intransigence and your lack of civility.
"I don't think there's ever been a time in the history of warfare when any army has made more efforts to reduce civilian casualties and deaths of innocent people than the IDF is doing today in Gaza." British Colonel (ret.) Richard Kemp commented on the BBC,
BBC interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WssrKJ3Iqcw
Has there been a glitch in the GIYUS software? The rest of your Hasbara chums seem to have left you on duty alone.
Have you any comments at all on the appalling treatment of the Sammouni family? I saw the the little girl on the BBC's Panorama programme and she said "If I am not crying in my eyes I am crying in my heart."
Once people learn the truth, it can't be unlearned. Shame on you Israel.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/09/israel-foreign-ministry-media
No, there's been a glitch in Hamas fans minds.
Esp. those incapable of reading Amnesty International and Human Right Watch reports on Hamas atrocities and war crimes against israelis and other Palestinains.
We know all about the British military and their antics in the former colonies. You can also probably find a hundred American Colonels who would say the same kind of thing. These are not reliable sources by any means.
The IDF bombed UN compounds more than once -- according to one IDF soldier their orders were to 'fire on anything that moves'.
In fact there was very little effort to reduce civilian casualties. The whole plan was to punish and terrorize the Gaza population so that they would no longer support Hamas (which they still do).
re."In fact there was very little effort to reduce civilian casualties"
Utterly wrong.
Hamas chose not to fight, but simply hid behind human shields and hospitals. There are many highly reliable stories of Hamas leaders and their bodyguards roaming the halls of Gaza hospitals dressed as doctors and riding around in U.N ambulances. Do you support this behavior?
Fact: Hamas militants CHARGE Gazans for the use of their tunnels.
Fact: Instead of fighting Israelis, Hamas comcentrated on bumping off their Fatah rivals.
Hamas leader quote:" israelis will come and go, but you ( Fatah) will be here and present dangers to us."
where your source. sounds like you made it up.
Amnesty International calls on the Hamas de-facto administration to:
- immediately end the campaign of abductions, deliberate and unlawful killings, torture and death threats in which Hamas forces and militias have been engaged since the end of December 2008;
- agree to the establishment of an independent , impartial and non-partisan national commission of experts to investigate human rights abuses committed by its forces and militias and any other parties since December 2008, and pledge to cooperate with such a commission and allow it to carry out its work;
- guarantee that victims, witnesses and others who testify or otherwise complain about human rights abuses will not be targeted, harassed or intimidated;
- undertake to hold accountable those responsible for the abuses, according to internationally recognized fair trial standards and without recourse to the death penalty.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE21/001/2009/en/9f210586-f762-11dd-8fd7-f57af21896e1/mde210012009en.html
Here is the 2008 report on Israel that you seem to have conveniently left out.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/israeloccupied-palestinian-territories/report-2008
Hamas certianly has plenty to be accountable for, but Israel's violatioins go much further, are far more numerous and on a much larger scale.
"but Israel's violations go much further, are far more numerous and on a much larger scale."
Really?
In the last several years Hamas and their subsidiaries are responsible for tens of thousands of attacks EACH specifically planned to kill Israeli civilians.
EACH one is a war crime.
Israel does not want peace. For 60 years they have illegally expanded their borders. Israel has violated international law and illegally occupied the West Bank, Gaza and Gollen Heights. they have engaged in apartheid policies towards their Arab population with some Israelis going so far as to demand loyalty oaths in order to be allowed to vote. Most recently Israel has bombed U.N. schools and used phospherous bombs on innocent civilians. These are the acts of a rogue nation that must be held accountable for their war crimes and violations of international law.
Human rights Watch statements.
"During recent fighting in the Gaza Strip, armed Palestinian groups have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, in some cases amounting to war crimes."
“Using a vehicle with press markings to carry out a military attack is a serious violation of the laws of war. Four armed Palestinians drove a white jeep bearing “TV” insignias to a fence on the Gaza-Israel border and fired at Israeli soldiers. Photos taken by the Associated Press as the attack was under way show the letters “TV” written in red on the front of the jeep."
"The deliberate abuse of this protected status in order to breach the confidence of an adversary in an attempt to kill, injure or capture them, would amount to an act of perfidy, a serious violation of international humanitarian law."
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2007/06/12/gaza-armed-palestinian-groups-commit-grave-crimes
Here is a list of reports by Human Rights Watch so far this year
http://www.hrw.org/en/search/apachesolr_search/Israel+language%3Aen+createdyear%3A2009?
Here's one for 2008.
http://www.hrw.org/en/search/apachesolr_search/Israel+language%3Aen+createdyear%3A2008
And while this was going on - the Israeli government seized another hilltop in the West Bank to enlarge another of the illegal settlements - and we continue to pay for all of this while the Israelis continue to stick a finger in Uncle Sam's eye - bet you its the middle finger.
Cordsman writes "...Israel did not violate the laws of war. It did deliberately use decisive force to enhance regional deterrence and demonstrate that it had restored its military edge. These, however, are legitimate military objectives in spite of their very real humanitarian costs."
enhance regional deterrence? restored its military edge? He can't be serious.
The international community along with our country needs to hold war crimes and war criminals accountable. What these poor citizens have endured should never happen again. We've caused catastrophic effects on their living conditions, starving them and then allowed the massacrists to invade without impunity.
Amnesty International statement:
There is incontrovertible evidence that Hamas security forces and armed militias have been responsible for grave human rights abuses and that the victims of such abuses and many others are being intimidated and discouraged from testifying about their ordeal.
The Hamas de-facto administration has displayed a flagrant disregard for the most fundamental human rights norms, not only allowing such abuses to be perpetrated, but actually facilitating and encouraging the abuses by justifying them and by granting absolute impunity to the perpetrators. "
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE21/001/2009/en/9f210586-f762-11dd-8fd7-f57af21896e1/mde210012009en.html
You've posted this already.
Thank you for your analysis Ms. Erakat. It is truly embarrassing to see our senators and our presidents proclaim support for this state. We are supporting murderers essentially. These people need to be brought to justice and have a trial that acknowledges their horrendous war crimes.
Analysis of the a few quotes from the above opinion.
"Cordesman irresponsibly concluded that Israel did not violate laws of war. While our delegation did not conclude the contrary to be true.",
Let me repeat: "...did not conclude that contrary to be true." Those of you who never attended law school or had advanced logic in college, watch out.
Let's translate that lawyerese into English:
" Our delegation largely agreed with Cordesman."
They determined that further investigation is merited--
I don't read that as "largely agreed with Cordesman"
Thanks anyway for your attempt to subvert the facts for us.
These are horrific stories coming out of Gaza-- a full independent investigation is merited and if Israel has nothing to hide, it should allow this.
It's almost like you didn't read the article.
"The end result was that Hamas initiated the conflict as a weak non-state actor that could launch rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli civilians and civil facilities over an extended period of time but had little other warfighting capability other that using its own densely populated urban areas as barriers.
[Hamas} seems to have relied on the population density of Gaza to both deter Israeli attacks, and as a defense against Israeli land and air attacks." Cordesman report.
This statement cannot be credibly refuted.
Fact:Gaza government possesses a small army.
Fact: This army is organized with identifiable leadership and various divisions of function.
Fact: This Gazan army violated every single rule of war from Geneva to Hague Conventions and in between" from failing to wear identifiable uniform to shelling random civilians to using Gazans as human shields and taking hostages.
Fact; This blog has not mention ANY of the thousands(!) violations of that Hamas- led army and its auxiliary forces. In fact the word Hamas or Gaza forces aren't even mentioned!
Conclusion: Opinion from one member of a team which purposefully fails to investigate both sides of the conflict lacks objectivity, necessary to separate fact from fiction in this conflict.
MagisterLudi:
one point I need to make in response to your post:
Your fourth fact... this is not the concern you should be raising. What you should question is the terror that has erupted and what we SHOULD do for those who are most affected. By pointing your finger to another actor, you fail to see the consequences behind power politics. We can go on and list the violations of both parties, but this will not answer the question of why Israel goes unscathed by countries like the United States for ALSO contributing to the warfare. The point is that Israel is "violating the laws of war" yet still continues to gain support from the United States and this is being questioned in the article.
Hamas violations of international law:
1.a,Deliberate targeting of civilians with missiles and suicide bombings-war crime.
1b.Crimes against humanity: deliberate and systematic and widespread attacks, for years in end on civilians and civilian centers.
2."Hamas attacks [from within] civilian areas and civilian structures Use of a civilian infrastructure to launch bombs--war crime.
3. "The misuse and abuse of humanitarian symbols for purposes of launching attacks is called the perfidy principle. Gazans have been repeatedly were caught using ambulances to transport fighters or weapons, using cars with TV or U.N. logos to attack israelis. disguising themselves as doctors. All war crimes.
4. Hamas habitually violates the prohibition in the Fourth Geneva Convention against the direct and public incitement to genocide.
5. Failure to wear identifiable uniform in the field of battle.
6. Recruitment of children into armed conflict.
7. Use of civilians as human shields.
8. Use of mosques, schoolyards and civilian houses as weapons storage and firing points--war crime.
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