IDF TO INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS OF CRIMINAL CONDUCT BY ITS FORCES DURING OPERATION CAST LEAD Date: 2009 July 30, 15:45 (Thursday) Canonical ID: 09TELAVIV1694_a Original Classification: CONFIDENTIAL From: Israel Tel Aviv To: Israel Jerusalem | Secretary of State 26 SOLDIERS WHO WERE THERE 2. (C) The allegations of criminal conduct by various organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the International Red Cross have been persistent since the conclusion of "Cast Lead" in January 2009. Individual Palestinians also testified to IDF abuses such as looting, beatings, vandalism of property and the use of the local population as human shields. But by far the strongest reverbration in Israel was that created by the Israeli organization "Breaking the Silence", which collected testimony from 26 unnamed IDF soldiers. All of the soldiers had been involved in Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, and testified to instances where Gazans were used as human shields, incendiary phosphorous shells were fired over civilian population areas, and other examples of excessive firepower that caused unnecessary fatalities and destruction of property. ...ENTER THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL 5. (C) A long-standing joke in the Israeli military relates to the need for an attorney as an essential component of the combat soldiers assault equipment. On the even of Operation Cast Lead, the media put out the word that the plan of attack had been so carefully worked out that it would take the troops through the treacherous minefields of international law, a promise that now seems overly optimistic. The Goldstone Comission, the International Red Cross, and Human Rights Watch are all demanding accountability on Israel's part fo the 1400 Palestinians killed -- according to Palestinian claims -- and the enormous damage to civilian property int he Gaza Strip. The case of the IDF Spokesman versus "Breaking the Silence" might indicate, however, that in the Israeli context, the most effective pressure comes from home. ... SOURCE - WIKILEAKS - HERE. |
Anyone that wants to read the rest of the cable can do so at the WikiLeaks link - here.
This is freaking me out a bit.
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