How to bury accusations of Israeli war crimes seems high on the agenda for Washington and Tel Aviv, writes Khalid Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem Accustomed to committing war crimes without accountability, mainly thanks to unrestricted backing from its guardian-ally the United States, Israel has reacted angrily to the adoption by the UN Human Rights Council of the Goldstone Commission report. The report, prepared by South African Judge Richard Goldstone, accused Israel of knowingly and deliberately committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during its winter blitz on the Gaza Strip. As many as 1400 Palestinians, including more than 350 children, were killed in the 22-day campaign in which state-of-the-art weapons were used ruthlessly against civilian targets. Thousands of other civilians were injured, maimed or badly burnt, and thousands of buildings, including residential homes and mosques, were partially or completely destroyed by aerial bombardment. Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu vowed to "de-legitimise the legitimacy" of the Goldstone Report, calling the report a "modern blood libel". Netanyahu also vowed to strive to get the report vetoed, presumably by the US, at the UN Security council. Netanyahu is likely to warn the Obama administration that failing to block the Goldstone Report would mean definitive paralysis of the already forlorn peace process. Other Israeli leaders and officials resorted to old and stale charges of anti-Semitism, ignoring decades of Israeli state terror against civilians both in occupied Palestine and in neighbouring Arab countries. Israeli spokespersons don't deny that many innocent Palestinians were killed in the Gaza campaign, but they do argue that Israel is not the only country that has committed war crimes, and that whatever Israel did in Gaza 10 months ago pales in comparison to what the US has done in Iraq and Afghanistan, and what Russia did in Chechnya. One Israeli writer argued that he wouldn't object to sending Israeli soldiers and officers to The Hague to be prosecuted for war crimes if and when American, Russian soldiers and other Western soldiers and officers accused of comparable crimes were sent there first. "After all, we are not the only war criminals in this world, and it is unacceptable that we are singled out for condemnation and prosecution." "It is possible that at the end of the process it would be necessary to put US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway on trial for their role in committing severe war crimes that didn't distinguish between civilians and combatants," wrote Ari Shavit recently in the Haaretz newspaper. This posture, which is mainly based on disingenuous denials, stonewalling, diversionary tactics and deflecting blame towards Hamas, is unlikely to help Israel much in the international arena. Turkey, Israel's erstwhile ally in the Middle East, has warned the Jewish state that from now on Israeli-Turkish relations will be influenced by Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people. Last week, Turkey excluded Israel from an aerial military drill that was to take place over the Turkish city of Konya. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan has been at the forefront of international criticism of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza. This week, he reminded Israel that the Turkish public didn't like what Israel was doing to the Palestinians and that he couldn't ignore the feelings of his people. Nonetheless, it remains uncertain if and how the Goldstone Report will affect Israeli behaviour towards the Palestinians. The Israeli army as well as paramilitary Jewish settlers in the West Bank routinely commit serious crimes against innocent Palestinians. These crimes, which include cold-blooded murder, house demolitions and deliberate destruction of property, have been meticulously documented by human rights organisations operating in the occupied territories. Due the subservience of the Israeli justice system to the military establishment, these crimes have never been fully or effectively investigated. Nonetheless, it is possible that should the international community act upon the Goldstone Report, Israel would be forced to contemplate "amending" its brutal policy towards the Palestinian people. Israel claims that the rules and regulations governing Israeli army operations in the occupied territories are sufficiently transparent and fair. However, Palestinian leaders, as well as most human rights observers, dismiss these claims as clear lies. "They do have some vague rules, but they don't obey their own rules and when murderous crimes are perpetrated the killers are always given the benefit of the doubt. This explains the fact that thousands of innocent Palestinians have been deliberately killed by the Israeli army and no serious investigation into these crimes has been carried out," said Hasan Khreisha, former deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Khreisha told Al-Ahram Weekly that Israel would only contemplate altering its criminal behaviour toward the Palestinians the moment Israeli war criminals are dragged to The Hague to stand trial for their murderous acts. He added that it would be a mockery of justice to entrust the task of investigating Israeli war crimes in Gaza to the Israeli government or an Israeli commission of inquiry. "This would be like entrusting the Gestapo to investigate crimes committed by the Wehrmacht. Israel is a criminal state and most Israeli leaders and government operatives are themselves war criminals. Hence, it is totally unacceptable that Israel be allowed to investigate itself. We need a credible third party to establish the truth about what Israel did in Gaza," he said. The Israeli media reported that the Israeli Ministry of Justice would make suggestions on how to deal with the legal ramifications of the Goldstone Report. Haaretz reported that Israel's Western allies are pressing for a credible investigation in lieu of the International Criminal Court getting involved, or Israel's allies particularly the US having to publicly veto moves to censure Israel at the Security Council. Meanwhile, some Israeli circles are now saying that the Israeli government was wrong to refuse to cooperate with Judge Goldstone. "We should submit our position, our arguments, and not stay away," said former Israeli Ambassador to Germany Avi Primor.
