The military probes being conducted by Israel into last winter's deadly Gaza war "do not in any way" meet the international community's demand for an independent inquiry, dpa cited a Palestinian human rights group as saying today. The Israeli military probes "are inappropriate and legally inadequate," said the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. The group said it had first-hand experience of the Israeli probes because it has represented a "significant" number of the witnesses who were asked to testify. It said that of 450 incidents reported by it alone, in which soldiers allegedly violated international law, the Israeli military was investigating "only" 150. Of those, it said, only 36 were criminal investigations, seven of which had already been closed for "lack of evidence." So far, only two officers and one soldier were found to have made mistakes, it said, adding that in general, the finding of all investigations held so far was that Israel acted "in accordance with the law." The group said it was "surprised" at UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon's response to the Israeli probes. In a report he was submitting to the UN General Assembly's president Friday, Ban reportedly stated that it was too early to judge whether the Israeli probes fulfilled the standards set by the UN. "As representatives of the victims of the atrocities committed during the Israeli attacks on Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009, PCHR is shocked and appalled by this lack of responsibility," it said. "The Secretary General has the duty to ensure, through UN mechanisms, accountability for perpetrators of war crimes." It noted that a three-month deadline set by a November 5 General Assembly resolution for Israel to establish a commission of inquiry independent of its military was ending Friday.
