NGO: ISRAELI GOVERNMENT “DODGING CRIMINALISATION OF WAR CRIMES”

Gaza, 21Dzulhijjah 1436/5 October 2015 (MINA) – The Israeli government has been accused of “dodging the criminalisation of war crimes” and failing to bring the military’s internal investigation process in line with international law, following the publication of a government panel report.

The Ciechanover Commission was appointed to “review and implement the recommendations made by the Turkel Commission on Israel’s mechanisms for examining and investigating complaints and claims of violations of the laws of armed conflict according to international law.”

The Turkel Commission was established to investigate the 2010 attack on a Gaza-bound flotilla, and in 2013, it published a series of recommendations for the government and army. Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

According to Israeli NGO Yesh Din’s analysis, however, the Ciechanover Commission report “completely fails to fulfil its purpose, and most of the recommendations it contains remain general rather than practical and functional.”

Specifically, the government panel “eschewed the recommendations made by the Turkel Commission on one central aspect, namely the need to bring the legal situation in Israel on par with the standards of international law on the criminalization of war crimes and the responsibility of commanders and civilian superiors.”

The NGO concludes that “there are still no prospects for improvement in Israel’s investigation and examination mechanism or for legislative measures that would bring Israel in line with its obligations under international law.”

Yesh Din also notes that the long wait for the report’s publication and its final recommendations suggest that the process was intended to “create the false impression that the investigation and examination mechanism is undergoing improvements and continue to grant impunity to members of the security forces and civilian superiors who violate the laws of war under international law.”

In June, Israel’s Foreign Ministry published a report on the 2014 Gaza war, aimed at pre-empting criticism from the United Nations Human Rights Council report. The report stated that Israel had already implemented some of Turkel’s recommendations – though according to a report in The Jerusalem Post at the time, only 6 of 18 recommendations had been fully implemented.

Yesh Din, in its own words, focuses “on the extent of Israel’s implementation of its duty to protect the Palestinian civilians under its armed forces’ occupation.” (T/P002/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)