Amnesty defends report on Israel's destruction of Gaza By Dalila Mahdawi Daily Star staff Saturday, July 04, 2009

BEIRUT: Israel carried out "wanton" and "deliberate" destruction of the besieged Gaza Strip during a 22-day offensive in December and January, a leading human-rights group said Friday. Unveiling their latest report, "Operation 'Cast Lead': 22 Days of Death and Destruction," Amnesty International (AI) representatives in Beirut drew attention to grievous acts of violence committed by Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

"We used the same rules and legal basis of international humanitarian law" in addressing the crimes of both parties," Ahmad Karoud, head of AI's Middle East and North Africa office, told an audience gathered at Beirut's Gefinor Rotana Hotel.

The 117-page report found that much of Israel's military action against the Palestinians violated international humanitarian law, "notably the prohibition on direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects ... the prohibition of indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, and the prohibition on collective punishment." Israel's indiscriminate use of high-precision weapons, close-range shootings, and white phosphorus were found to have violated international humanitarian law. "Much of the destruction was wanton and deliberate, and was carried out in a manner and circumstances which indicated that it could not be justified on grounds of military necessity," the report found. About 1,400 Palestinians, many hundreds of whom were civilians, were killed in Israel's attacks.

The report reprinted a quote by an Israeli Army commander effectively endorsing attacks of Palestinian civilians: "I want aggressiveness - if there's someone suspicious on the upper floor of a house, we'll shell it. If we have suspicions about a house, we'll take it down ... There will be no hesitation ... Nobody will deliberate - let the mistakes be over their lives, not ours," he told soldiers during a briefing. The quote was originally carried by Israeli newspaper Haaretz in March.

"Israel's failure to properly investigate its forces' conduct in Gaza, including war crimes, and its continuing refusal to cooperate with the UN international independent fact-finding mission headed by Richard Goldstone, is evidence of its intention to avoid public scrutiny and accountability," said AI's Donatella Rovera, who led a research mission to Gaza and southern Israel during and after the conflict.

Hamas also committed war crimes by launching rocket attacks into southern Israel, killing three civilians, Amnesty said.

The remarks drew criticism from some of those at the conference that the report equated Israel's civilian losses with those of the Palestinians. "It's not about numbers but about the perpetration of a crime," Ka?roud said. "We have to apply international humanitarian law, even if it is for one person."

The Israeli military earlier rejected the report's findings as "distorted," saying it "succumbed to the manipulation of the Hamas terror organization." Amnesty's report ignored "efforts made by the [Israeli Army] to minimize, as much as possible, harm to noncombatants," a statement from Israel's army added.

Hamas also criticized the report, saying it did not emphasize the gravity of Israel's crimes against the Palestinians. "This report equates between the aggressor and the victim and ignores international laws that guarantee resistance against occupation," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Thursday. "Instead of publishing such reports, those murderers [Israel] should have been taken to court for trial," he added.

Responding to Israel and Hamas' remarks, Karoud reiterated the impartiality and professionalism of the team responsible for researching and writing the report. "This report is based on a fact-finding mission by researchers with years of experience in conflict ... as well as a military expert. We have no political agenda." Karoud added that AI gave Israel an opportunity to present their point of view, but by the report's printing in June there had been no response from Tel Aviv.

The report urges the international community to fully back an international fact-finding mission established by the UN Human Rights Council, which is currently investigating violations of international law during the hostilities. AI also recommended the Security Council impose an arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and the other armed Palestinian groups involved, and to launch criminal investigations, wherever there is evidence of war or related crimes, in national courts.

Amnesty also made several recommendations to Israel, including bringing an end to the blockade on Gaza and to launch impartial and thorough investigations into its military action, as well as to prosecute anyone found to have committed war crimes. Hamas was urged to renounce rocket attacks against Israelis and to distinguish Hamas members from non-combatants.