Israeli peace activists and intellectuals have signed a petition that demands their government cooperate with the independent and external investigation into last December-January war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The signatories include prominent authors David Grossman and Amos Oz, as well as outspoken former lawmaker Yossi Sarid of the left-liberal Meretz party and 25 academics, actors, musicians and public figures. The petition comes after 30 Israeli soldiers revealed the military's lenient open-fire policies last week. The soldiers confirmed the use of white phosphorus smoke bombs in populated areas – a clear violation of international agreements – and that Israeli troops forced Palestinians to act as “human shields” during the 22-day war. The soldiers made the statements in anonymous testimonies to an Israeli anti-occupation organization, “Breaking the Silence.” According to the troops, Israel used Palestinian civilians, often neighbours, to knock on doors and check houses in which Palestinian gunmen were believed to be hiding, a practice known in the past as the “neighbour procedure.” This practice was deemed illegal by Israel's highest court, said the group's report. “We, citizens of the State of Israel, whose army is the IDF (Israel Defence Forces), demand to know the truth regarding the fighting carried out in our names, our money and at the price of danger to the lives of our loved ones,” said the text of the petition. “The military strength of Israel is meant to protect not just the lives of Israelis but also the Israeli way of life, of value to all parts of our society,” it argued. The petition also charged that the the testimonies of the 30 soldiers made the Israeli military's official stance, which said it had found not a single case in which soldiers deliberately harmed Palestinian civilians, appear “detached from reality.” Israel has repeatedly refused to cooperate with the international investigation led by South African war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone, saying his mission was mandated by the UN's Human Rights Council, which it charges is biased against it. BM
