Palestinian killed on Gaza border
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
July 20, 2009 - 12:00am

One Palestinian was killed and two were injured in incidents on the Israel-Gaza border on Sunday, Israeli officials and Palestinian medics have said. The man died in hospital in Israel after he was shot while approaching the border fence. The Israeli military said he did not heed warning shots. Separately, two Palestinians were hurt by Israeli tank fire, Gaza medics said. Israel's military said troops returned fire after a border patrol was targeted with a rocket-propelled grenade. But a pro-Hamas website said militants had been retaliating against Israeli fire.

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Yet more proof
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
July 16, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli soldiers have given testimony that in some cases the Israeli army made use of Palestinian human shields in its war on Gaza in January. The accounts, from an Israeli human rights group, provide yet more proof, if more is needed, that Israel stood in grave contravention of the laws regulating combat behaviour and should be charged with war crimes.

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Editorial: Brazen testimony
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) July 16, 2009 - 12:00am

The world saw for itself how — for 22 days — the densely populated Gaza ghetto was bombarded by Israeli forces killing 1,400 Palestinians and injuring thousands more. But the Israelis have always claimed that the stark images flashed around the world were Palestinian propaganda and did not represent what was really happening. On Wednesday, however, came a report drawing on testimony from some of the soldiers who took part in the Gaza operation — and it proves that the Israeli government statements are lies.

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Don't escape reality
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Dana Golan - (Opinion) July 16, 2009 - 12:00am

The easiest thing is to claim that the testimonies of soldiers who took part in Operation Cast Lead are based on rumors, represent “rotten apples,” and were possibly even elicited from people posing as soldiers. Such response requires no more than recycling the previous reactions to such testimonials, which reflect the slippery slope our military establishment finds itself in.

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Israel should answer for Gaza war crimes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
(Editorial) July 16, 2009 - 12:00am

The Israeli assault on Gaza in January was an outrage against humanity. Israeli frustration and fury with Hamas led to the government allowing the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to break its own rules and commit a wide variety of war crimes in an effort to punish the entire population and reduce Gaza to rubble.

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Soldiers say received orders to shoot first, worry later in Gaza war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 15, 2009 - 12:00am

A number of IDF soldiers who took part in Israel's recent Gaza offensive say they were urged by commanders to shoot first and worry later about sorting out civilians from combatants. Accordingly, they say, the force went into Gaza with guns blazing. In print and video testimony published on Wednesday by the activist group Breaking the Silence, the 30 soldiers say the army's imperative was to minimize its own casualties to ensure Israeli public support for the operation.

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Barak: Criticism of IDF should be directed at me
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - July 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday criticized an Israeli human rights organization for publishing an Israel Defense Forces soldier's testimony that troops used Palestinians as human shields during Operation Cast Lead last January, despite a 2005 High Court ruling outlawing the practice.

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Israel soldiers speak out on Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
July 15, 2009 - 12:00am

A group of soldiers who took part in Israel's assault in Gaza say widespread abuses were committed against civilians under "permissive" rules of engagement. The troops said they had been urged to fire on any building or person that seemed suspicious and said Palestinians were sometimes used as human shields. Breaking the Silence, a campaign group made up of Israeli soldiers, gathered anonymous accounts from 26 soldiers. Israel denies breaking the laws of war and dismissed the report as hearsay.

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UN Gaza inquiry wraps up hearings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
July 8, 2009 - 12:00am

A UN war crimes investigator has said testimonies about the recent conflict in Gaza have been "difficult to hear" as four days of public hearings ended. Richard Goldstone said his four member team had been shaken by the extent of the destruction in Gaza. Witnesses from Gaza, Israel and the West Bank gave testimony in public hearings in Gaza and Geneva. Israel has refused to co-operate, accusing the UN Human Rights Council of bias against it.

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Israel to compensate U.N. for Gaza property damage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Gabriela Baczynska - July 3, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel has pledged to pay compensation for material damage it caused by shelling U.N. property during its Gaza offensive more than six months ago, a U.N. official said Friday. A U.N. inquiry said in May that Israel's armed forces damaged U.N. property on seven occasions during the December-January offensive, including an incident involving a U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school in Jabalia. UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd said in Warsaw that Israel had indicated it would pay compensation for where U.N. buildings had been destroyed.

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