The conclusions reached by the U.N. Human Rights Council investigation into the events of Operation Protective Edge clearly demonstrate a bias against Israel in nearly every chapter of the report. But there is one component that is more conspicuously absent than anything else -- Hamas' role. The vague discussion of the real culprits behind the violations of international law, referred to in the report merely as "armed Palestinian groups," proves the authors' clear lack of objectivity. An inexperienced reader would ask: Who is behind these armed Palestinian groups? But even those of us with a little more experience understand that as long as Hamas is not explicitly named or accused of any wrongdoing, the terrorist organization bears no official blame, will not be subjected to any international scrutiny nor will it have to pay any kind of diplomatic price or sustain any damage to its image. Certainly not in a satisfactory manner. Hamas' explicit name appears in the report only a few times, mainly in quotes by Israeli officials making "allegations." But the vast majority of the references of possible Palestinian violations of international law are to ostensibly nameless "armed groups." There are a relatively small number of references to the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, but they are only identified as Hamas' armed wing in one instance, late in the report (Page 130). The reference is general and does not detail the brigade's full subordination to Hamas or Hamas' responsibility for its actions. It is clear that the authors of the report went out of their way to distinguish between the "armed groups" and create the kind of ambiguity that would allow them to avoid laying direct blame on Hamas. The only time the authors explicitly point an accusatory finger at Hamas is an incident in which 21 Palestinian collaborators were executed -- with 16 of them being pulled out of prison to be executed. But even in this incident, no direct accusations are made toward Hamas but rather toward its military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. It is also mentioned that they confessed voluntarily to having committed these acts. In a matter of fact fashion, the report also mentions that the "local authorities in Gaza" were aware that the executions were being carried out. Who are these local authorities? Could prisoners have been taken out of Hamas prisons without Hamas' official instruction to do so? Could the investigative commission, appointed to thoroughly investigate the events, simply have missed the fact that Hamas is the de-facto ruler of the Gaza Strip and that the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades and Hamas are one and the same? Could they have missed the fact that Hamas controls every aspect of life in Gaza? Would a worthy, objective investigative commission have made such efforts to avoid declaring Hamas a terrorist organization? Would it have refrained from characterizing Hamas' actions as war crimes on every count (intentionally targeting civilians, abductions, murder, engaging in combat from inside civilian facilities, executions without trial and more)- Hamas' name is not directly linked to any of these blatant violations. Is it any wonder that Hamas welcomed the report? The complete absence of direct reference to Hamas is the most conspicuous aspect of the conclusions chapter. The report makes long, detailed demands of Israel but on the Palestinian side, the committee once again betrays the mandate it has been given and directs some of its conclusions toward three bodies: the Palestinian Authority, the "authorities" in Gaza, and "armed Palestinian groups." Yifah Segal is an attorney with the Legal Forum for Israel
Where is Hamas?
מערכת ישראל היום
מערכת "ישראל היום“ מפיקה ומעדכנת תכנים חדשותיים, מבזקים ופרשנויות לאורך כל שעות היממה. התוכן נערך בקפדנות, נבדק עובדתית ומוגש לציבור מתוך האמונה שהקוראים ראויים לעיתונות טובה יותר - אמינה, אובייקטיבית ועניינית.
