Israel keen for EU to end backing for NGO

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on European governments to end backing for an Israeli army veterans group which published a study about alleged abuses by soldiers in Gaza in January.

"They are breaking their silence about the only democracy in the Middle East that has an independent legal system and an investigative press that does not cease dealing with these issues," Mr Netanyahu told press while visiting the UK on Tuesday (25 August), Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports.

"In the case of Hamas, I have not seen the same enthusiasm and the same concerted effort to break the silence over what is happening in Gaza."

The Jerusalem-based NGO, called Breaking the Silence, in June published a 113-page report based on testimonies by soldiers involved in Operation Cast Lead in January.

The Israeli assault killed around 1,400 Palestinians and attracted condemnation from the UN Human Rights Council and Human Rights Watch. It also resulted in the EU freezing a planned "upgrade" in EU-Israel relations.

The Breaking the Silence book cites Israeli soldiers as saying they used massive firepower in densely populated areas, deliberately destroyed civilian property and had scant respect for Palestinian lives.

"You see people more or less running their life routine, taking a walk, stuff like that. Definitely not terrorists. I hear from other crews that they fired at people there. Tried to kill them. The younger guys, eager to raise their score," one anonymous soldier testified.

Further testimonies back Human Rights Watch's claim that Israel fired white phosphorous into populated areas in violation of international law.

The booklet carries a small EU logo on page four and names the EU as one of its sponsors. "This booklet was produced and duplicated thanks to funding from the EU, and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation," it says.

It also thanks the UK and the Netherlands for their backing.

"Israel, like Britain, is fighting terrorism and is exercising its right to self-defense. There is no place for accusing IDF [Israeli Defence Force] officers just as no one can accuse British officers operating in Afghanistan or Iraq. Ultimately, these things will also hurt [the British]," Mr Netanyahu added in London.