Israel's probe of Gaza war not impartial, HRW says
11/02/2010 06:00:00 AM GMT
UNRWA workers remove the rubble of a house in the northern Gaza Strip on Dec. 13, 2009.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Israel has failed to conduct a proper investigation of the alleged war crimes committed by its forces during the December 2008-January 2009 Gaza war.
On Sunday, Joe Stork, the deputy Middle East director for HRW, rejected Israeli claims that it has conducted credible and impartial investigations.
"An independent investigation is crucial to understand why so many (Palestinian) civilians died and to bring justice for the victims of unlawful attacks," he said.
An independent investigation is needed if Israeli perpetrators of abuse, including senior military and political officials who set policies that violated the laws of war, are to be held accountable, the New York-based group said.
In one case, a military investigation apparently missed an important piece of evidence: remains of an aerial bomb found in the Al-Badr flour mill outside Jabaliya.
Israel denied targeting the mill from the air, as alleged by the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. However, video footage obtained by HRW and released on Sunday shows the apparent remains of an Israeli MK-82 500-pound aerial bomb in the damaged mill, and UN de-miners say they defused the bomb.
Over 1,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed in Israel's 22-day aerial and ground assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on December 27, 2008.
