DM Barak slams criticism of IDF conduct/'IDF used Palestinians as human shields'

    The IDF allegedly forced Palestinians to serve as "human shields" during searches of homes in the Gaza Strip, according to soldier testimonies that will be released to the public Wednesday in a new report accusing the army of war crimes during Operation Cast Lead, JPost reported. Defense Minister Ehud Barak says that if anyone has criticism or reservations over IDF operations, they must direct them to him as the state of Israel's defense minister and to the Israeli government. Barak ‏said that criticism directed at the IDF by one organization or another is inappropriate and is directed at the wrong place. The IDF is one of the most ethical armies in the world, Barak said, and acts in accordance with the highest moral code.
The defense minister was reacting to an activist group's report claiming that troops used reckless force against Palestinian civilians during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. In testimonies collected by the organization "Breaking the Silence," soldiers described demolishing homes for no reason and using firepower beyond what was necessary given the relatively light resistance they encountered. None of the soldiers were identified. In response to the report, the army questioned its veracity and accused the group of defaming and slandering the IDF and its commanders. The army said it regrets the fact that yet another human rights organization is presenting to Israel and the world a report based on anonymous and general testimonies without investigating their details or credibility. The report was compiled by Breaking the Silence, an organization established several years ago by IDF veterans to collect testimonies of soldiers who have participated in operations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The full report was provided exclusively to a Hebrew-language newspaper. The report contains a number of testimonies from anonymous soldiers about different operations in the Gaza Strip. In one testimony, a soldier from the Golani Brigade's elite Egoz Unit claimed that the IDF had used a Palestinian as a human shield during a raid on a home in the Gaza Strip. The soldier told the organization that troops had sent the Palestinian into a home where the IDF believed terrorists were hiding. In another testimony, a soldier from the Paratroop Brigade claimed that soldiers had opened fire indiscriminately at Palestinian civilians during a raid on a Gaza home. The soldier said one civilian had been killed. The IDF Spokesman said in response to the report that it was regretful that a human rights organization such as Breaking the Silence had again issued a report that contained anonymous testimonies without checking their veracity and without allowing the IDF, with minimal decency, the opportunity to review the findings prior to publication.(09,03)