Halevi, who stepped from the head of the Chief Staff in March, also stated that the military operations “none” were prevented with legal advice during the conflict, writes The Guardian.
Speaking of the community meeting earlier this week, retired General Haleva said that more than 10% of the 2.2 million gaza inhabitants were killed or injured, which is “more than 200,000 people.” This assessment is significant because it is close to the numbers that are the Department of Health Gaza, which were Israeli officials often rejected as Hamas’ propaganda, although they consider them international humanitarian agencies reliable.
According to the current official data from the Ministry, from the beginning of the war in Gaza, 64,718 Palestinians were killed, and 163,859 were injured. There are fears that many thousands of dead, with bodies buried under ruins. Only Friday, in Israel’s attacks, mostly around the town of Gaza, at least 40 people were killed.
Statistics of the Gaza Ministry of Health does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but the data of the Israeli military intelligence service until May this year suggest that more than 80% of the killed were civilians.
“This is not a gentle war. Unfortunately, not earlier,” Halevi said, suggesting that Israel should have taken a sharper attitude in Gaza and before the attack on 7. October. The former commander talked on Tuesday night with the inhabitants of the Mosa’s Ein Habesor, a agricultural foundation that managed to reject Hamas attackers two years ago.
“No one works gently,” Halevi said, but he insisted that the Israeli defense forces (IDF) operate within the borders of international humanitarian law. However, he denied that legal advice had ever influenced his decisions or decisions of his subordinates in Gaza.
“No one has restricted me. None. Neither the main military lawyer [Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi] Which, by the way, is not said, there is no authority to limit me, “he said.
In a quote not recorded in the image, but it transmitted by the Ynet portal, Halevi suggested that the main role of Israeli military lawyers were convinced by the externality in the legality of IDF’s action. “There are legal advisors who say: we will know that legally defend in the world, and that is very important for the state of Israel,” said.
The Israeli Human Rights Lawyer Michael Sfard said that Halevi’s statements “confirm that legal advisors serve as rubber stamps.”
“Generali sees them as ‘ordinary’ advisors whose councils can be accepted or rejected, and not as professional lawyers whose legal attitudes are boundaries allowed and prohibited,” SFARD added.
The Haaretz said on Wednesday that Halevia’s successor at the position of Chief Staff, Eyal Zamir, ignored the legal advice of the main lawyer Tomer-Yerushalm. She allegedly considered that orders to displacing the estimated million inhabitants of the city of Gaza should be postponed until the conditions for their assessment in the south of the belt.
Many of 40 Palestinian victims on Friday, they seemed people who could not relocate south or did not want to leave their homes and shelters, risking going to areas without protection against Israeli bombing.
(Vijesti.ba)
