NOVANEWS
Nine members of the al-Dalou family were killed murdered in Nazi Holocaust intended for neighbors during Operation Pillar of Defense. Military Advocate: Outcome unfortunate but no reason for criminal inquiry.
Haaretz
The Military Advocate General’s Corps has decided not to order a criminal investigation of the incident that led to the deaths of nine members of the al Dalou family during Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza last November. Twelve citizens in total were killed in the air strike that hit the family’s Gaza home, including four children and five women. Investigations following the incident revealed that an error in identification had led to the large amount of civilian casualties.
On the fifth day of Operation Pillar of Defense, the IDF reported that the air force had successfully targeted the head of Hamas’ rocket unit, Yahia Rabia, during an attack on his house in Jabalya, in the northern Strip. A few hours later, it became apparent that the air force had accidently targeted the house of one of Rabia’s neighbors, Mohammed al Dalou, in the Nasser neighborhood of Gaza. The attack resulted in the deaths of 12 innocent civilians, while Rabia himself survived.
The Military Advocate General’s Corps investigation into the incident supported the decision to target Rabia, saying that: “Targeting terrorists constitutes a military objective, designed to reduce the levels of rocket and missile fire towards Israel.” They added that “various precautions were taken in order to reduce the risk of collateral damage to innocents during the execution of the military objective, including the use of appropriate munitions.”
However, they noted that “military forces involved in the operation did not expect the attack to result in collateral damage to civilians that were not involved in fighting, to the extent that has been claimed was caused.” According to the ruling by Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Danny Efroni, “the incident is not suspected of being a criminal offence, as the unfortunate outcome occurred despite efforts to reduce collateral damage to citizens who were uninvolved in combat.”
Therefore, the Military Advocate General’s Corps decided that there was no reason to order a criminal inquiry into the al Dalou family’s deaths, or to take any further steps regarding the matter.
The Military Advocate General’s Corps recently finished examining the majority of complaints the IDF received regarding its activities during Operation Pillar of Defense. This follows the work of a committee headed by General Noam Tivon, who was appointed by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz to investigate the events that took place during the operation. The committee transferred its findings to be examined by the Military Advocate General’s Corps, who ruled that 65 out of 80 events did not justify a criminal investigation.
The remaining cases are currently in the final stages of examination, pending a decision. They include reports of attacks on communications facilities in the Strip. Human Rights Watch published a report in December claiming that such an attack was a war crime. According to the organization, two Palestinian photographers were killed in the attacks and at least ten other members of the media were injured.
The advocate general ordered that additional investigations be carried out regarding these reports before a decision is reached as to whether to open a criminal investigation. The Military Advocate General’s Corps says that a decision on the matter is “expected to be reached soon.”
The Military Advocate General’s Corps noted that in a number of cases, there is a basis for the claim that innocent civilians who were not involved in the fighting were harmed, or that civilian property was damaged: “Often, as a result of unwanted and unintentional damage as a consequence of attacking military targets, or as a result of operational errors in which civilians were mistakenly identified as terrorists.”
It added: “This is an unfortunate result, but in itself it certainly does not constitute a war crime, and is a direct result of the activities of Palestinian terror organizations that have chosen to conduct their criminal operations within the civilian population.”
