BICOM

The IDF’s Military Advocate General (MAG) yesterday closed a number of cases alleging the unlawful killing of civilians during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza in 2014, where it found no wrongdoing.

The 21-page report was the fifth issued by the IDF’s legal division into allegations over Operation Protective Edge. It has investigated 360 incidents, leading to 31 criminal investigations, of which 13 have been closed and one has led to an indictment for theft. However, the MAG said yesterday that in many incidents, there was insufficient concrete evidence to establish reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct.

The cases covered in yesterday’s report include the shelling of a United Nations’ school in Rafah. The investigation found that a decision had been made to launch a low-explosive missile at three Palestinian fighters on a motorbike. By the time they made a sudden turn towards the school entrance, “it was no longer possible to divert the munition which had been fired at the motorbike”. Consequently, the report concluded that “the targeting process in question accorded with Israeli domestic law and international law requirements”.

Three other incidents in which multiple civilian casualties occurred were also covered by the report. They included allegations that seven members of the Ziyadeh family, who died in a raid on Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, had been unlawfully killed. The report said that the target “was being used as an active command and control centre by the Hamas terror organisation” and that “among the casualties were three military operatives in the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organisations”. The civilian deaths were “regrettable… but does not affect the legality of the attack”.

Yesterday’s update report stated that some investigations are ongoing, including an incident in which a civilian allegedly was abused and robbed by Israeli soldiers.

The month-long Operation Protective Edge resulted in the deaths of around 2,200 Palestinians in Gaza, including an unclear number of civilians. Seventy three Israelis were also killed during the conflict.