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IDF closes largest war crimes probe of 2014 Gaza war
IDF CLOSES LARGEST WAR CRIMES PROBE OF 2014 GAZA WAR
Up to 70 Palestinian civilians were killed in the incident.
BY YONAH JEREMY BOB
AUGUST 15, 2018 18:45
Rocket fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel. [File]. (photo credit: REUTERS)
The IDF on Wednesday closed the largest war crimes probe into the 2014 Gaza war without criminal charges.
The incident known as "Black Friday" for the almost 70 Palestinian civilians killed on August 1, 2014 in one broad battle which also involved invoking "the Hannibal Protocol" - a special order to intensify attacks to try to thwart the capture of a soldier.
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The International Criminal Court and the UN highlighted this incident as the most important war crimes probe and the IDF's handling of it could heavily impact whether the ICC decides to delve deeper into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
During the 2014 Gaza war around 2,125 Palestinians died, around 11,000 were injured, while they launched 4,564 rockets, mortars and projectiles at Israel. 73 Israelis died, thousands were injured and Israel carried out thousands of airstrikes on Gaza.
But Black Friday was the single bloodiest incident, especially for the number of dead Palestinian civilians.
The incident began at 9:06 a.m. when Hamas violated a ceasefire by attacking three IDF soldiers, one of whom, Hadar Goldin, was believed to be still alive but kidnapped.
At 9:36 a.m., Col. Ofer Winter gave the Hannibal Protocol order to pursue the kidnappers with extra force.
By 9:47 a.m., the IDF started to unleash heavy tank fire, artillery and air power alongside a hard push forward by infantry soldiers.
200 structures in Gaza were destroyed and there were well over 1400 major strikes. The IDF said it killed 42 Hamas operatives and some of the 70 other Palestinians may also have been Hamas operatives, but admitted a large number were civilians.
Accusations against Israel have said that the IDF killed 70 Palestinians civilians with a massive show of force merely to save one kidnapped soldier and that the show of force was grossly disproportionate under the laws of war.
Essentially, the IDF closed the probe without criminal charges because it said that the operation was split into two parts and that neither, when looked at carefully as opposed to holistically, showed a violation of the rules of war.
In fact, the IDF said that the part of the IDF forces trying to block the escape of Hamas kidnappers at most killed 10 Palestinian civilians. The other 60 possible civilians, the IDF said were killed in unrelated battles between the IDF and Hamas near that area, but having more to do with the broader end of the cease fire.
For example, as the IDF and Hamas got into a series of dozens of Black Friday sub-battles, the IDF struck two buildings near the Balbisi junction where it had intelligence that Hamas had a command center.
It turned out that there were more civilians left in the area than expected (the IDF believed most civilians had fled following earlier fighting in the area), but this was not known by commanders in real time.
Human rights reports have alleged that 16 Palestinian civilians were killed in the attack, but the IDF says that since its intelligence indicated there were fewer civilians and many Hamas members, the real-time decision was legal.
The IDF also said that it could not give its typical warning to evacuate the building as this would have squandered the element of surprise.
In another Black Friday sub-incident, human rights reports indicated that civilian Asil Abu Machsan was killed by IDF fire as he and his family fled from their house near where the battle was heating up.
According to the IDF, they could not determine with any certainty how Abu Machsan had died – neither whether the IDF or Hamas killed him in a cross-fire battle, nor what the IDF killed him with if it was in fact responsible.
While this would make any criminal case difficult, the IDF said that even if it could determine that it killed Abu Machsan and how he was killed, it still would have closed the case because the area he fled through was the site of a large cross-fire with Hamas, including Hamas firing a missile on a nearby IDF position.
In the case of such a cross-fire, while the IDF said Abu Machsan’s death was tragic, it would not have violated the laws of war, which take into account some amount of collateral harm to civilians.
Turning back to the Hannibal Protocol part of the incident, the IDF admitted that, just as a March comptroller report had stated, there was a serious disconnected between the text and understanding in the field of how much force could be used versus the text and understanding back at headquarters.
Wednesday’s report also indicates that the IDF fired over 1000 artillery rounds at 31 distinct positions and over 250 rounds at 10 other distinct positions, in order to try to cut off Hamas forces from escaping with the kidnapped soldier, Hadar Goldin.
Despite that massive show of force and the gap between the more restrictive Hannibal protocol text at headquarters and the one being used in the field, the IDF legal division found that the actions of the IDF soldiers in the field did not go beyond the bounds of the laws of war.
When questioned about a September 2014 interview that key officers and soldiers involved in the Hannibal Protocol part of the incident gave, sources indicated that even if those soldiers misunderstood the spirit of the protocol, their actions had not led to the unlawful killing of civilians.
Sources redirected attention back to the fact that 60 of the approximately 70 civilians who were killed were not killed in the fighting relating to the Hannibal Protocol, but due to other broader fighting in the area with Hamas.
IDF closes largest war crimes probe of 2014 Gaza war
IDF CLOSES LARGEST WAR CRIMES PROBE OF 2014 GAZA WAR
Up to 70 Palestinian civilians were killed in the incident.
BY YONAH JEREMY BOB
AUGUST 15, 2018 18:45
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‘Unprecedented’ violence in Gaza leaves 58 Palestinians dead, thousands wounded
Rocket fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel. [File]. (photo credit: REUTERS)
The IDF on Wednesday closed the largest war crimes probe into the 2014 Gaza war without criminal charges.
The incident known as "Black Friday" for the almost 70 Palestinian civilians killed on August 1, 2014 in one broad battle which also involved invoking "the Hannibal Protocol" - a special order to intensify attacks to try to thwart the capture of a soldier.
Be the first to know - Join our Facebook page.
The International Criminal Court and the UN highlighted this incident as the most important war crimes probe and the IDF's handling of it could heavily impact whether the ICC decides to delve deeper into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
During the 2014 Gaza war around 2,125 Palestinians died, around 11,000 were injured, while they launched 4,564 rockets, mortars and projectiles at Israel. 73 Israelis died, thousands were injured and Israel carried out thousands of airstrikes on Gaza.
But Black Friday was the single bloodiest incident, especially for the number of dead Palestinian civilians.
The incident began at 9:06 a.m. when Hamas violated a ceasefire by attacking three IDF soldiers, one of whom, Hadar Goldin, was believed to be still alive but kidnapped.
At 9:36 a.m., Col. Ofer Winter gave the Hannibal Protocol order to pursue the kidnappers with extra force.
By 9:47 a.m., the IDF started to unleash heavy tank fire, artillery and air power alongside a hard push forward by infantry soldiers.
200 structures in Gaza were destroyed and there were well over 1400 major strikes. The IDF said it killed 42 Hamas operatives and some of the 70 other Palestinians may also have been Hamas operatives, but admitted a large number were civilians.
Accusations against Israel have said that the IDF killed 70 Palestinians civilians with a massive show of force merely to save one kidnapped soldier and that the show of force was grossly disproportionate under the laws of war.
Essentially, the IDF closed the probe without criminal charges because it said that the operation was split into two parts and that neither, when looked at carefully as opposed to holistically, showed a violation of the rules of war.
In fact, the IDF said that the part of the IDF forces trying to block the escape of Hamas kidnappers at most killed 10 Palestinian civilians. The other 60 possible civilians, the IDF said were killed in unrelated battles between the IDF and Hamas near that area, but having more to do with the broader end of the cease fire.
For example, as the IDF and Hamas got into a series of dozens of Black Friday sub-battles, the IDF struck two buildings near the Balbisi junction where it had intelligence that Hamas had a command center.
It turned out that there were more civilians left in the area than expected (the IDF believed most civilians had fled following earlier fighting in the area), but this was not known by commanders in real time.
Human rights reports have alleged that 16 Palestinian civilians were killed in the attack, but the IDF says that since its intelligence indicated there were fewer civilians and many Hamas members, the real-time decision was legal.
The IDF also said that it could not give its typical warning to evacuate the building as this would have squandered the element of surprise.
In another Black Friday sub-incident, human rights reports indicated that civilian Asil Abu Machsan was killed by IDF fire as he and his family fled from their house near where the battle was heating up.
According to the IDF, they could not determine with any certainty how Abu Machsan had died – neither whether the IDF or Hamas killed him in a cross-fire battle, nor what the IDF killed him with if it was in fact responsible.
While this would make any criminal case difficult, the IDF said that even if it could determine that it killed Abu Machsan and how he was killed, it still would have closed the case because the area he fled through was the site of a large cross-fire with Hamas, including Hamas firing a missile on a nearby IDF position.
In the case of such a cross-fire, while the IDF said Abu Machsan’s death was tragic, it would not have violated the laws of war, which take into account some amount of collateral harm to civilians.
Turning back to the Hannibal Protocol part of the incident, the IDF admitted that, just as a March comptroller report had stated, there was a serious disconnected between the text and understanding in the field of how much force could be used versus the text and understanding back at headquarters.
Wednesday’s report also indicates that the IDF fired over 1000 artillery rounds at 31 distinct positions and over 250 rounds at 10 other distinct positions, in order to try to cut off Hamas forces from escaping with the kidnapped soldier, Hadar Goldin.
Despite that massive show of force and the gap between the more restrictive Hannibal protocol text at headquarters and the one being used in the field, the IDF legal division found that the actions of the IDF soldiers in the field did not go beyond the bounds of the laws of war.
When questioned about a September 2014 interview that key officers and soldiers involved in the Hannibal Protocol part of the incident gave, sources indicated that even if those soldiers misunderstood the spirit of the protocol, their actions had not led to the unlawful killing of civilians.
Sources redirected attention back to the fact that 60 of the approximately 70 civilians who were killed were not killed in the fighting relating to the Hannibal Protocol, but due to other broader fighting in the area with Hamas.
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