Israeli Soldiers "Getting Away With Murder"

[-theTruth-]

Israeli Soldiers "Getting Away With Murder" - HRW
Katherine Stapp

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=29188

NEW YORK, Jun 22 (IPS) - Israeli soldiers have killed
an average of more than one Palestinian civilian per
day since the current intifada uprising began in 2000,
but only a handful of cases have even been
investigated, according to a new Human Rights Watch
(HRW) report.

Between Sep. 29, 2000, and Nov. 30, 2004, more than
1,600 Palestinians not involved in hostilities,
including at least 500 children, were killed by
Israeli security forces, and thousands more were
seriously injured, says the 126-page report released
Wednesday, titled "Promoting Impunity: The Israeli
Military's Failure to Investigate Wrongdoing".

"Most of Israel's investigations of civilian
casualties have been a sham," said Sarah Leah Whitson,
HRW's Middle East director. "The government's failure
to investigate the deaths of innocent civilians has
created an atmosphere that encourages soldiers to
think they can literally get away with murder."

In a statement responding to the report, the Israeli
Defence Forces (IDF) denied that it has fostered a
culture of impunity. "All allegations claiming that
innocents or terrorists had been killed as a result of
the [military] opening fire in violation of official
rules of engagement are thoroughly and seriously
examined," the IDF said.

However, as of May 2004, the Israeli military
disclosed to HRW that it had conducted investigations
into only 74 alleged cases of unlawful use of lethal
force - involving fewer than five percent of the
civilian deaths recorded.

This relatively small number reflected a new policy
announced in September 2000, under which the military
stopped routinely investigating civilian deaths
because it argued that the situation was "approaching
armed conflict," and therefore investigations would be
limited to "exceptional cases." It did not specify
what the criteria for such cases would be.

And when the IDF declines or refuses to investigate,
there are no alternative forms of accountability
because the West Bank and Gaza Strip are ruled under
military law, the report notes.

To date, there have been a total of 19 indictments and
six convictions, according to Israeli human rights
groups. Two soldiers were convicted for manslaughter,
two for causing grave harm, and two for illegal use of
a weapon.

The longest prison sentence, handed down to a soldier
who shot an unarmed Palestinian man in the southern
Gaza town of Rafah in October 2003, was 20 months.
Most of the convictions have drawn penalties less
severe than those given for petty theft, HRW says.

For example, a soldier convicted in the negligent
killing of a 16-year-old Palestinian last year was
demoted and sentenced to two months in jail, while the
same court system handed down a sentence of six months
to a defendant who had stolen a mobile phone,
cigarette lighter and 500 dollars cash.

Among the most egregious cases, the group cites an
Oct. 5, 2004, incident in which Givati Brigade
soldiers shot a 13-year-old Gaza schoolgirl. An
internal IDF debriefing immediately afterwards found
that the company commander had "not acted
unethically."

Fellow soldiers then released a communications tape to
the media showing that another soldier had warned the
commander that the victim was "a little girl." The
tape recorded the commander saying, "Anything that's
mobile, that moves in the zone, even if it's a
three-year-old, needs to be killed." He also
reportedly states that he "confirmed the kill" by
firing at the girl's body at close range.

The IDF then opened an investigation and brought a
five-count indictment against the commander, but the
charges did not include murder or manslaughter, HRW
reports. The commander's trial is currently ongoing.

According to HRW, many of the deaths and injuries have
occurred in situations that clearly did not amount to
"armed conflict".

"Even when Israeli soldiers have killed and maimed
civilians in law enforcement situations, the military
has failed to meet its obligation to investigate,"
Whitson said.

By contrast, all civilian deaths and injuries in the
1988-1993 Palestinian uprising were investigated,
although the quality of the investigations was "often
poor", according to the report.

HRW said that the main problem was a military justice
system, dubbed "operational investigations", that does
not seek or consider testimony from victims or
non-military witnesses, instead relying on debriefing
soldiers to determine whether a military police
investigation is warranted.

The IDF insists that the questioning sessions "allow
soldiers to express themselves under conditions of
confidentiality, and are therefore effective and
reliable tools that can be used to determine what
transpired during the event."

But HRW said the government is obligated under
international human rights treaties to investigate all
serious abuses, and urged it to create an independent
body to hear complaints of wrongdoing by Israeli
soldiers and other security forces.

"While rapid 'operational investigations' may serve a
useful military purpose, the Israeli military should
stop using them as a pretext to avoid serious and
impartial inquiries," said Whitson.

The report was issued as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon and Palestine Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
met in Jerusalem Tuesday for the first time since they
agreed to a truce in February. However, it appeared
little of substance was achieved beyond the recent
commitment by Israel that it would demolish 1,600
homes built by Israeli settlers in Gaza. (END/2005)
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