Human Rights Watch White Flag Report

When A White Flag Becomes A Target!

"The Israeli military is stonewalling in the face of evidence that its soldiers killed civilians waving white flags in areas it controlled and where there were no Palestinian fighters. These cases need thorough, independent investigations."

~Joe Stork (Deputy Director) Human Rights Watch (Middle East)~

Human Rights Watch has released the latest in serious damning reports on human rights violations during the 22 Day war in Gaza. Each report has scrutinised various accusations of IDF troops flouting international human rights interventions including White Phosphorous use, Israeli drone attacks, indiscriminate Israeli fire and Hamas rocket attacks into Israel.


Their 6th report (63-pages) entitled, "White Flag Deaths: Killings of Palestinian
Civilians during Operation Cast Lead”, alleging blatant disregard to rules of engagement during Israel’s recent 22 Day Invasion of the Gaza Strip. Yet again this report alludes to the perpetration of potential war crimes upon innocent Palestinian civilians.


Their previous 5 reports along with those compiled by the International Red Cross and Amnesty International, have been discounted by Israeli authorities as being pro-Palestinian. However, ‘Breaking the Silence’, an Israeli organisation produced a report based upon the testimonies from front line Israeli troops actively involved during the 22 Day bombardment. The intricacies of their findings and how they correlated to those of those of the fore mentioned human rights organisations have already been examined by the Rebels Yell in two previous posts ‘Breaking The Silence’[Part 1] and [Part 2].  In a bid to stem this wave of negative criticism Israel released their own counter report called "The Operation in Gaza - Legal and Factual Aspects," which the Rebels Yell also scrutinised here . It is suffice to say that the central recurrent theme of all these human rights reports has been the allegation of IDF troops war crimes against residents of the Gaza Strip.

This meticulous document explicitly probes into 11 civilian fatalities during Operation Cast Lead where innocent Palestinians were gunned down whilst waving white flags. In all cases examined the civilians were explicitly attempting to distinguish themselves from combatants in the war torn enclave. During the course of the Human Rights Watch investigations the Israel Defense Force (IDF) refused numerous invitations to meet with the organisation to discuss these allegations and failed to reply to written requests presented to them regarding the incidents.

If the allegations are substantiated then 11 Palestinian civilians included 5 women and 4 children were shot in cold blood by Israeli Defense Force (IDF) personnel as they tried to flee the hostilities. Human Rights Watch has urged the Israeli authorities to perform scrutinising and authenticable internal inquiries into the alleged atrocities in order to counteract the culture of impunity that exists regarding IDF protocol during the invasion.

"White Flag Deaths: Killings of Palestinian Civilians during Operation Cast Lead," was compiled on the basis of exhaustive field work analysis of seven alleged scenes within Gaza where white flag fatalities were reported. Human Rights Watch analysis of the allegations included irrefutable examination of ballistic reports compiled for each case, documented medical evidence pertaining to each victim, and exhaustive interviewing of eye-witnesses (minimum 3 people) to the each crime scene.

Whilst these 11 Palestinian fatalities, constitute a tiny proportion of the 1,100 plus Gazan fatalities during the 22 Days of Operation: Cast Lead, it is the manner of their deaths which is highly alarming. ALL these civilian killings have one common thread linking them; They were waving internationally identifiable conflict zone SYMBOLS (WHIT FLAGS AND/OR GARMENTS) of civilian status. Significantly, Human Rights Watch also revealed that there were NO Palestinian fighters in any of the areas when the killings took place.

This latter observation strictly refutes IDF claims to the contrary that Palestinian deaths were of a direct consequence of Hamas using civilians (Human Shields) and heavily populated areas to launch counter attacks on Israeli forces. The IDF has produced alleged claims from two of their commanders that Palestinian fighters were using the disguise of white flags to protect themselves but no corroborating evidence to substantiate both claims was provided. In an attempt to legitimize their soldiers actions an IDF statement read;

"Any person who displays a white flag in this way acts illegally, does not enjoy protection from retaliatory action, and endangers nearby civilian populations."

Human Rights Watch has drawn two possible scenarios to explain IDF personnel actions during each of the incidents. The first is that irrefutable evidence exists that Israeli troops did not employ sufficient precautions to differentiate between Palestinian civilians and combatants as stipulated by the laws of war. The second scenario is in fact the deliberate targeting by IDF personnel of Palestinian civilians which under international constitutes a WAR CRIME.

This WAR CRIME allegation can be substantiated by one particular incident investigated of the crime scene by Human Rights Watch. It took place in eastern Jabalya (07/01/09) and involved 5 members (2 women and 3 girls) of the Khalid ‘Abd Rabbo family. As they stood waving their white flags outside their house an IDF soldier opened fire instantly slaying two of the young girls (aged 2 and 7 respectively) and wounding the third along with their grandmother.

The grandmother in question testified to Human Rights Watch; "We spent seven to nine minutes waving the flags, and our faces were looking at them [the soldiers],.................."And suddenly they opened fire and the girls fell to the ground."

The Human Rights Watch report also reveals that in five of the seven incidents that unarmed civilians visibly brandishing white flags, were shot by IDF whilst attempting to escape from conflict areas.

One particular incident (13/01/09) is the day time shooting by an IDF soldier of two Palestinian women as they walked down a straight road in full view whilst holding a white flag after being ordered by Israeli personnel to leave the vicinity. As they compliantly left the hostile zone, Rawiya al-Najjar (47) who was carrying the white flag was shot dead and her relative, Jasmin al-Najjar (23), was wounded. Israeli soldiers who had commandeered a Palestinian house 230 yards further down the road had speciously failed to fire any warning shots to dissuade the oncoming women.

On July 29th, faced with increased international condemnation, Israeli military officials claimed to be actively conducting "field investigations” into five white flag related shootings perpetrated by their soldiers during Operation: Cast Lead. Of the five cases purported to be under Israeli scrutiny at least 2 (‘Abd Rabbo and al-Najjar cases) were also included in the Human Rights Watch report. However, as of the August 10th there has been no official approach to either family by IDF personnel involved in their internal investigations.

Consequently, Human Rights Watch has called for a full impartial investigation into the alleged incidents by an international body to counter act an endemic culture of impunity which exists with the Israeli military structure. Their Middle East Deputy Director Joe Stork claimed;

"The Israel Defense Forces have for years permitted a pervasive culture of impunity regarding unlawful Palestinian deaths...................Field investigations may serve a useful military purpose, but they are inadequate to determine whether a soldier violated the laws of war, and serve as a pretext that a serious investigation is taking place."

The human rights watch dog has also appealed to UN member states to implement a specific apparatus to accurately assess how both Israel and Hamas undertake their own inquiries into alleged breaches of laws-of-war by their combatants.

"White Flag Deaths: Killings of Palestinian Civilians during Operation Cast Lead” can be read in its’ entirety here

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Breaking the Silence on 22 Day War [Pt.2]

Breaking the Silence on 22 Day War [Pt.2]


“Breaking the Silence” publication of Israeli ‘Front Line’ troops testimonies further echoes and corroborates concerns posed by all humans rights organisations working in the war torn enclave of the Gaza Strip. However, despite pro-Israeli counter arguments against the validity and authenticity of some of the testimonies provided, the authors of the report are extremely well respected on the international press and diplomatic circuits. The revelations contained in their report, along with those compiled by Amnesty International, International Red Cross and Human Rights Watch, put further pressure on Israel to answer International ’War Crime’ allegations inflicted upon the Palestinian people during ‘Operation: Cast Lead’.

This non-governmental organisation’s ethos and ‘raison d'être’ is to “demand accountability regarding Israel's military actions in the Occupied territories perpetrated by us and in our name,” As regards financial aid, “Breaking the Silence” receives active funding from such reputable benefactors as; British Embassy in Tel Aviv, Dutch Embassy, the European Union and the New Israel Fund to undertake its investigative work.

Following on from my previous review, “’Breaking the Silence’ on the 22-Day War”, this article will examine the remaining two areas highlighted regarding ‘Operation: Cast Lead’. These two sections take a closer look at the claims of ‘Disproportionate Use of Force’ and the alleged indiscriminate firing of White Phosphorus shells into civilian zones.

Disproportionate Use of Force

Time and time again Israel becomes confronted with allegations and world-wide condemnation of using disproportionate force against its aggressors.  Prior to the 22-Day War Israel sought global validity for what it was going to unleash on Gaza by cloaking it’s imminent invasion as an act of "Self-Defence".  The legal mandate Israel used was Article 51 contained in the UN Charter which declares that if a country attacks you, you are entitled to take action to defend yourself.  However, this does not permit the targeting of civilians either intentionally or non-intentionally as stipulated in the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

Israel has a litany of allegations levelled against them through the years of using disproportionate force when dealing with their Middle East disputes, including;

• Their unprovoked attack on Iraq's Osirak in 1981
• Israel's seven-day bombing campaign of Lebanon in retaliation for Hezbollah rocket attacks (1993)
• The Second Lebanon War/July War (2006)
• Fresh allegations over 22-Day War (2008)

Yet again Israel is facing major allegations by international observers and world leaders for their conduct during the 22-Day War regarding the indiscriminate targeting of civilian areas by Israeli artillery. Current International condemnation is being led by The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

In attempt to stave of this criticism, the IDF command defended their use of excessive retaliatory force in built up civilian areas of Gaza by claiming that Hamas were using such areas (including schools and offices) to launch rocket attacks on their positions and that their troops were merely acting purely in self-defence. However, one soldier’s testimony claims to completely refute the claim that Israeli fire upon Palestinian civilian premises was solely reactionary in defence of their positions.

Q: Were there house demolitions in your area?

A: All the time. Houses were demolished everywhere. You see clearly that these houses had been fired at with tremendous power. We didn’t see a single house that remained intact, beginning with such scenes as you saw photographed – a house totally shattered or a house with a huge hole in it or many bullet hits on it. We didn’t see a single house that was not hit. The entire infrastructure, tracks, fields, roads – was in total ruin. The D-9 had gone over everything, building up the tank positions and preparing the routes. Nothing much was left in our designated area. It looked awful, like in those World War II films where nothing remained. A totally destroyed city. The few houses that were still inhabitable were taken by the army. The less a house was damaged, all the more chances were it would be entered by soldiers to spend the day or night. As I said, there were lots of abandoned, miserable animals. 

Q: During your week inside the tank position were there still D-9s demolishing houses around and entering neighborhoods across from you?

A: All the time. Definitely. During the week we were there, almost daily, armored infantry would go into a house, this was not D-9s. It was armored infantry since they suspected the houses to be booby-trapped – they blasted the houses. They would open a hole in order to enter the house not through the regular entry door. There were constant blasts, and the D-9s would expand the tank positions and routes. Corps of Engineers was engaged there nonstop, with houses containing no one. It was funny because at some point someone said – I don’t quite remember who, I think our deputy commander or the company commander himself – that our company is supposed to be more active, assigned to do more. So, really, houses were entered where no one was present, and anyway those houses were monitored and I, personally, never saw anyone in there, perhaps the commanders did find a reason to enter them. I didn’t see the reason to enter houses in an empty area where we were monitoring the houses nonstop. Still houses were entered and damage was done to property, for we only saw property, not one person. No obvious reason whatsoever. Perhaps they thought there were weapons inside. I didn’t see any reason for this activity, but it was ongoing, all the time.

However, for any observer who is not akin to the technically advanced weaponry at IDF disposal should not be fooled into the misconception that all this pure wanton destruction could be blamed on afew misguided shells should pay close attention to this next extract. It explains the preciseness of a new mortar device (120mm Mortar) used on the Gaza Strip invasion by Israeli forces;

The 120mm Mortar (a type of mortar shell fired by the IDF in Gaza) is a relatively new system which Giv'ati does not yet possess.

What was the old one like?

The old one had wheels to turn. It takes half an hour to get a shell out. In the new system the computer does the whole calibration process. I have a map, an aerial photo. A code map. I am given a reference point. I click it into the computer. It's a touch screen. I have a keyboard. I click the reference point. It shows me where it is on the map. I press, the mortar is aimed and my subordinate simply fires.

How accurate is it?
Highly accurate. 95-100%

Deployment of White Phosphorus Munitions

White Phosphorus (WP), known as ‘Willy Pete’, is used by military forces in war zones for signalling, screening/incendiary purposes, and destroying enemy equipment or to limiting enemy vision. It is also deployed to combat against vehicles, ammunition dumps and enemy observers. Under specific conventions of The Geneva Treaty (1980) white phosphorus use is strictly prohibited in civilian areas although no blanket ban existed under international law on its deployment as a smokescreen or for illumination. During the 22-Day War there were several physical remnants of white phosphorus deployment in civilian areas of Gaza, specifically the village of Sheikh Ajilin in western Gaza. Locals retrieved the remnants of an exploded white phosphorus mortar shell, and were identified via distinctive code markings on the outer casing. Upon impact of the mortar shell eye witnesses recalled thick dense smoke and a strong garlic-like odour synonymous with the reaction of white phosphorous with air. Furthermore as regards this specific incident, Hebrew writing on the mortar shell read “exploding smoke” — an Israeli military term for this chemical agent.

When one interviewee in the “Breaking the Silence” report was asked about firing white phosphorous mortars he recalled;

Why fire phosphorus?
Because it's fun. Cool. 

Professionally do you have phosphorus for use against such threats?
I don't know what it's used for. I was just talking about this yesterday. I don't
Understand what it's even doing in our supplies if we're not supposed to use such
ammo. It's ridiculous.

When these allegations were initially put to the IDF command, all that they would divulge is that they could neither confirm nor deny white phosphorous use due to possible conflict with specific military operations. Instead they continuously reiterated that any ammunition at the disposal of their military personnel was “within the scope of international law”. However, given the close civilian confinements of Gaza city, Human Rights Watch repeatedly appealed to Israeli forces to cease using white phosphorus mortar shells in the area. It also transpired that other civilian areas of Gaza were also hit by white phosphorus mortars including;

• Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City (15th Jan ’09),
• Firing of up to 20 phosphorus shells into the heavily built-up area around the Beit Lahiya township of Gaza,
• The main UN compound in Gaza City,
• Deployment of white phosphorus mortars in northern Israel.

During the 22 Day War, the Human Rights Watch Executive Director, Kenneth Roth, publicly said “This is a chemical compound that burns structures and burns people.................It should not be used in populated areas.” Whilst acknowledging that it could be used to protect troops on the ground he went on to say;"But it should not be used in civilian areas because there's a parallel duty to take all conceivable precautions to protect the lives of non-combatants,”

Human Rights Watch went on to produce a 71-page report in March of this year to clearly substantiate their initial allegations during the invasion. This report that the IDF "deliberately and recklessly" fired white phosphorus shells into densely populated areas of Gaza in an "indiscriminate" manner that directly resulted in the death and wounding of Palestinian civilians and the actions were tantamount to "evidence of war crimes",

The report also claimed that Israeli military personnel were fully aware of the lethal ability that artillery shells containing this agent could inflict. Furthermore, its deployment in airburst artillery shells revealed a "pattern or policy of conduct rather than incidental or accidental usage."

In addition, Human Rights Watch confirmed that such shells rained down on the Gaza’s UN compound incessantly over a two hour period despite repeated calls by UN staff to Israeli military officials to cease the bombardment. This single attack caused an estimated $10m (£6.8m) of damage whilst the resulting fires burned continuously for 12 days after the attack.

As illustrated, various elements of this entire “Breaking the Silence” report further corroborates allegations of potential 'war crimes' perpetrated by Israeli troops during the 22-Day 'Operation: 'Cast Lead'. Given this ever increasing weight of evidence from a lengthening list of observers, can we really take seriously the public assertions of the Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak that the IDF;

'Is one of the world's most moral armies and operates according to the highest moral code!'

A Translated version of the Full Report is available @ ‘Soldier’s Testimonies From Operation Cast Lead Gaza 2009’

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