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Israel Defends Its Gaza Inquiries in U.N. Letter

Published by on January 29, 2010

JERUSALEM — Israel sent a letter to the United Nations secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, on Friday, defending the credibility of its internal military investigation into the Israeli army’s conduct during last winter’s Gaza war. The 40-page document was the first Israeli official response to a harshly critical United Nations study called the Goldstone report and formed part of Israel’s effort to stave off accusations of war crimes.But officials in Jerusalem, who were not authorized to discuss the contents of the letter publicly, said it did not address the possibility of an independent, nonmilitary commission of inquiry, as called for by the United Nations report into the war and by many concerned parties in Israel and abroad.Confirming receipt of the Israeli document, Farhan Haq, a United Nations spokesman, said that “The secretary-general is working on his own response.” The Israeli government has been mulling the establishment of some kind of judicial investigative committee but there has been no decision yet, according to Israeli officials. While some prominent Israelis favor one, if only to counter the flood of international criticism over the Israeli assault on Hamas in Gaza, others have been staunchly opposed, including the defense minister, Ehud Barak. “All of the soldiers and officers whom we sent into battle need to know,” Mr. Barak said Friday, “that the state of Israel stands behind them, also the day after.”The report, which was published in September, accused mainly Israel, but also Hamas, which controls Gaza, of possible war crimes during the three-week war. It was researched and written by a fact-finding mission created by the Human Rights Council and led by Mr. Goldstone, a South African judge and veteran war crimes prosecutor.In November, the General Assembly’s endorsed the Goldstone report — so-named because the panel that created it was led by the long-respected international jurist Richard J. Goldstone — and asked the secretary-general to report back by Feb. 5 on Israeli and Palestinian progress in investigating their respective roles in the war.Among other things, the report accused Israel of deliberate attacks against the civilian population of Gaza and of willful destruction of civilian infrastructure, a violation of international law. Up to 1,400 Gazans were killed, including hundreds of civilians.Israel rejected the Goldstone report as biased and distorted, saying that it did not take into account Israel’s right to self-defense against continual rocket fire from Hamas-ruled Gaza. Israel says it went to extraordinary lengths to try to avoid civilian casualties. The United States has also described the report as deeply flawed.The report called for “appropriate investigations that are independent and in conformity with international standards” into what it called “serious violations” of international law.If no good-faith, independent investigations were under way within six months, the report recommended, the Security Council should refer the Gaza case to the International Criminal Court.Such action by the Security Council is considered highly unlikely, but Israel already sees the fallout of the Goldstone report and the blow to its international legitimacy as a strategic challenge.An official in Jerusalem said the letter sent on Friday was “not supposed to be a refutation” of the allegations made in the report, but an explanation of “how the Israeli justice system works.” He said it showed that the military investigation under way is reliable, independent and in accordance with international norms. But many in Israel argue that the military investigation is not enough. Israel’s outgoing attorney general, Menachem Mazuz, said Israel was at risk of “Serbianization,” even though he considered the Goldstone report biased and flawed.“Therefore I believe that Israel has a clear interest in conducting a serious, expert examination that will deal with the report and produce an opposing report,” Mr. Mazuz said in an interview published in the Haaretz newspaper on Friday. “It would be a serious mistake not to establish some sort of committee,” he said.

Neil MacFarquhar contributed reporting from the United Nations.

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Israel Defends Its Gaza Inquiries in U.N. Letter

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