Ban uncertain about credibility of Gaza probes - Summary

New York/Jerusalem/Gaza - Secretary General Ban-ki Moon said Friday there was still not enough evidence to indicate whether the Israelis and Palestinians were complying with United Nation demands to investigate last year's Gaza conflict. "No determination can be made on the implementation of the resolution by the parties concerned," Ban said in a report to the UN General Assembly.

Israel argued Friday that the military probes it was conducting into the conflict were credible, but a Gaza-based rights group charged they did "not in any way" meet the UN's demands for an independent inquiry.

The conflicting reactions came after a three-month deadline set by the General Assembly, for Israel and the radical Islamist Hamas movement to investigate allegations that they committed war crimes in the war, ended Friday.

"The secretary-general remains personally moved by the plight of all civilians harmed during the Gaza conflict," a UN spokesperson said in New York. "He was at the forefront of the efforts to stop the fighting in Gaza ... He has consistently called for credible domestic investigations, and did so again in this report."

The content of the secretary-general's report would only be made public after it has been distributed to UN member states.

The establishment of independent, credible probes into the allegations is one of the recommendations made in the UN Human Rights Council report by South African judge Richard Goldstone.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israel was "satisfied" with Ban's report, which he said "reflects in a truthful manner" the Israeli document handed to him last week.

"This Israeli document fully expresses Israel's commitment to conduct independent and credible investigations that live up to the standards of international law," said Palmor.

He insisted that Israel, during its three-week offensive, had respected international norms "despite the difficult fighting conditions" opposite Hamas militants. Israel's first duty was "to protect the well-being and security of its citizens," he said.

Israel has so far only had its own Army investigate the allegations made against it. It has not set up a government-appointed commission of inquiry, independent of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as demanded by the Goldstone report.

Israel would now be looking at how Ban's evaluation would be received by UN member states, before making its final decision on whether it would establish such an independent commission of inquiry.

It has rejected the Goldstone report as "biased" and "prejudged."

But the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) charged the probes by the Israeli military prosecutor were "inappropriate and legally inadequate."

It said that of 450 incidents of violations reported by it alone, the Israeli military was investigating "only" 150. Of those, it said, only 36 were criminal investigations, seven of which had already been closed for "lack of evidence."

So far, only two officers and one soldier was found to have made mistakes, it said, adding that in general, the finding of all probes held so far was that Israel acted "in accordance with the law."

The group said it was "surprised" at Ban's reported evaluation that it was too early to judge the Israeli probes, and "shocked and appalled" at "this lack of responsibility."

As UN Secretary-General, Ban had the duty to ensure accountability for perpetrators of war crimes, it said.

Hamas, for its part, is said to have submitted its report to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, but it was unclear how that report would be considered, because the international body deals only with the Palestinian Authority.

Israel launched its three-week offensive last year in response to rocket and mortar attacks from Hamas-ruled Gaza at its south.

Some 1,400 Palestinians, many of them civilians, were killed in its massive shelling from the air, sea and ground of Hamas targets in the densely-populated strip.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/307771,ban-uncertain-about-credibility-of-gaza-probes--summary.html.