A top Israeli army official denied statements made by members of the Israeli military that soldiers had committed war crimes in the offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi discounted allegations raised in February that Israeli soldiers had violated the laws of war regarding actions against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
“We were all, myself included, disturbed by the ‘testimonies’ attributed to soldiers regarding inappropriate actions and the ostensible intentional harm visited upon the civilian population,”he said in statements published by The Jerusalem Post.
Graduates of the Oranim-Yitzhak Rabin Pre-Military Academy claimed in February that soldiers had violated the military code of ethics in what the Israelis call Operation Cast Lead.
The reports, published in various outlets, claim soldiers shot and killed noncombatants and encouraged families to evacuate to defined no-entry zones.
A source to the Post said the allegations of shooting civilians and the no-entry zone violations were based on rumors and false reports.
Several human rights groups had also claimed earlier that Israel had committed war crimes in its use of white phosphorus against civilians during the siege on Gaza.
