The IDF on Tuesday announced it is prohibiting the publication of the identification of the battalion commanders who took part in Operation Cast Lead in a step to protect them from being targeted in suits brought to international courts against Israel.
While the IDF spokesman permitted the media access to the battalion commanders on Tuesday, a new directive compels the media to remove their names from captions and to distort their features so they are not recognized from photos in the media.
Army legal officials fear that statements made by the officers in interviews may eventually be turned against them in a court of law, therefore arriving at the decision to ban the media interviews.
During a visit to the south on Tuesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told officers “The government will stand behind you like a wall, to defend against any charges of alleged immoral actions.”
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
3 Responses
Is there any organized campaign to have war crimes lawsuits against hamas leaders and against Iranian leaders as well- They instigate their people and Gazans to kill inncocent people all the time and in Gaza Hamas hides behind civilians and in residential areas like mosques and hospitals and schools etc-
Well does who want judge Israel for war crimes, they should be facing war crimes them self ,it never because of them Israel has received rockets for eight years.
A more effective response would be to announce that Israel will treat any country involved in such lawsits as a hostile country. It will not grant visas to its citizens unless they are determined to be pro-zionists. Israel could announce that such harassment makes its impossible to have commercial relations, and accordingly they won’t enforce contracts or property rights, including patents.
Israel’s secular elites view these seriously because they want Israel to become part of the European Union.
One should remember that under Roman law systems, once anyone files a criminal complaint, the investigating magistrate is usually required to start proceedings. This is unlike the situation in the US where the police and the prosecutor have the option to decide whether to take matters seriously.