IDF chief: Troops' Gaza testimonies are completely unfounded
Last update - 22:19 05/04/2009
By Haaretz Service
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi on Sunday dismissed as "completely unfounded" accounts by Israeli soldiers of wrongdoings in the recent offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
"It greatly disturbed me, and everyone, the 'testimonies' of soldiers that have been published about inappropriate acts and the apparently intentional harming of the civilian population," Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi wrote in a letter to IDF soldiers to mark the upcoming Jewish holiday of Pesach.
"These testimonies have been fully examined and investigated by the Military Police and Military Advocate's Office, and have been found, to my joy, to be completely unfounded and lacking in any evidential basis."
Haaretz published last month accounts by soldiers who fought in Operation Cast Lead saying that Israeli forces killed Palestinian civilians under permissive rules of engagement and intentionally destroyed their property.
The soldiers' testimonies were picked up by other Israeli news outlets and media across the world, sparking a controversy as the troops seemed to confirm Palestinian accounts of IDF behavior during the campaign.
In the letter, Ashkenazi said it was Hamas that hurt Gaza's civilians.
"Our enemies turned their own people into human shields and hostages and chose to launch fire and death from their houses, schools, hospitals and mosques, and forced upon us a war zone packed with civilians," he wrote.
He added that Israel had only embarked on the campaign after a long period of restraint in the face of cross-border attacks by Hamas and other militant groups in the Gaza Strip.
Last week, Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit instructed the Military Police Investigation unit to close the inquiry into the soldiers' accounts of alleged misconduct.
He said it was unfortunate that the soldiers, who discussed their Gaza experiences in private on Feb. 13 at a military academy session which was later leaked verbatim to the media, had been careless about accuracy.
