Israel Matzav

2 IDF soldiers indicted for using child to open suspicious bag

Two IDF soldiers have been indicted by a military court on Thursday for ordering a child to open a bag that was suspected of being booby-trapped during Operation Cast Lead. The indictment resulted from an investigation that the IDF opened before publication of the Goldstone Report.

Two Givati Brigade infantrymen were indicted on Thursday for allegedly ordering a Palestinian boy to open bags suspected of containing bombs during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip last year.

According to the charge sheet filed by the Military Prosecutor’s Office, the two staff sergeants ordered a child to open bags that were suspected of being booby-trapped while searching a building in Tel al-Hawa, an affluent neighborhood on the south side of Gaza City.

The two soldiers came under investigation before the UN’s Goldstone Report was released last September. The probe was opened based on information in a report compiled by a special United Nations representative appointed to investigate matters involving children and armed conflict, and following a specific complaint filed by the Israeli branch of Defense for Children International.

The IDF stressed in a statement that soldiers were under strict orders to refrain from forcing Palestinian civilians to assist in military operations during Cast Lead and that the case represented a deviation from IDF regulations. A similar tactic, known as the “human shield procedure” and used by the IDF to search homes during the second intifada was forbidden for use by the High Court of Justice in 2005.

The New York Times adds:

The Israeli military prosecutor charged two staff sergeants on Thursday with instructing a 9-year-old Palestinian boy to open bags the soldiers suspected were booby-trapped, during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza just over a year ago.

The military said in a statement that “soldiers were strictly forbidden from making use of civilians for or during operational activity and specifically when it endangered the lives of the civilians.” If convicted, the soldiers, who are now in the reserves and were not named, could face up to three years in jail.

Don't worry. These indictments won't take any of the pressure off the IDF over Goldstone.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:38 AM