At the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak will call on his colleagues to raise their hands in support of his plan to ensure the government stands firmly behind all IDF soldiers and officers who may face criminal charges as a result of a momentum underway in Europe and possibly elsewhere, seeking to charge IDF personnel with war crimes.
 
Barak explains the government bears total responsibility, having sent soldiers and officers to “defend its citizens” and as such, will provide moral and legal assistance to any and all requiring it.
 
Justice Minister Daniel Friedman will convene a team this week, composed of experts in international law, to begin examining the situation.
 
Friedman stated that it is indeed difficult with an enemy such as Hamas, which uses civilians as shields, but added one only need to compare the actions of the IDF to any other army and one will see exactly to what extent the IDF attempts to avoid injury to civilians.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)