Israel was negligent to the point of recklessness in Gaza operation, UN Inquiry reports
Marian Houk
May 06, 2009
The United Nations Board of Inquiry which looked at Israeli military strikes that caused deaths, injuries, and damage at nine UN installations in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead (27 December to 18 January) was "to develop a clear record of the facts".
This is what both UN Secretary General BAN Ki-Moon and the U.S. State Department said.
Among the facts that the Board of Inquiry reported were these:
The Israeli military attack on the main UNRWA compound in Gaza City on 15 January with high explosive artillery shells and projectiles containing white-phosphorus-impregnated wedges – despite the presence of UN staff and hundreds of Palestinian civilians who were fleeing the fighting outside -- was "grossly negligent, amounting to recklessness", according to a summary of the findings released Tuesday in New York.
Even worse, the Board of Inquiry said, because it happened just two days later, after Israeli officials promised to investigate to avoid a repetition of the attack on the main UNWRA compound, the IDF fired smoke projectiles containing white phosphorus near the UNRWA school in Beit Lahiya where thousands of terrified Palestinians had sought protection. The firing started at 06:40 a.m. on 17 January, and killed two young children, ages 5 and 7, and seriously injured their mother and cousin. This, the Board of Inquiry determined, was "highly negligent and amounted to a reckless disregard for the lives and safety of those sheltering at the school".
Whatever precautions the IDF took "were clearly inadequate in relation to the use of an extremely dangerous substance in a populated urban area", the Board stated.
The Board of Inquiry was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, and it looked into nine separate Israeli attacks that hit UN installations during the three-week Operation Cast Lead in Gaza from 27 December to 18 January.
Hundreds of Palestinians had sought refuge in the main UNRWA compound on 15 January – in part because, as the Board of Inquiry noted, the Israeli Defense Forces had informed civilians they should head into the city center, where the compound was located, to avoid fighting. The IDF firing came closer and closer to the compound for over two hours, and there were multiple frantic calls from senior UNRWA officials to IDF contacts to try to stop what eventually did happen, direct hits on the compound, injuring one UNRWA worker and two of the hundreds of people who had sought shelter there. Only preventive actions taken at risk to their lives by two UNRWA staff members avoided what would have been a catastrophic explosion if fuel trucks next to large fuel storage tanks had been hit. Millions of dollars worth of relief supplies went up in flames from the white phosphorus, and burned for days.
The Board of Inquiry looked at attacks on other UNRWA schools, and one UNRWA health center, earlier in January. In one case, three young men (aged 25, 24, and 19) were killed by an Israeli missile fired from the air at UNRWA´s Asma elementary school in Gaza City, which was opened as a shelter on 5 January, although the IDF was not notified of this until 6 January. The UN Board of Inquiry "considered the possibility that the three young men were engaged or about to engage in military activity. It concluded that, on balance, it is more probable that they were going out to use the toilets in the school compound". Here, "The Board concluded that the IDF carried out a direct and intentional strike in to United Nations premises", and it found that "the Government of Israel is therefore responsible for the deaths of the three young men who were sheltering at the school and damage to the premises caused by its actions".
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has on its website an argument that "it is not unreasonable to assume" that most young men in their 20s "are also members of Hamas or other terrorist organizations". This can still be found on the MFA website here.
The Board of Inquiry reported in its findings that the IDF Gaza Commander had confirmed at a meeting with UNRWA officials that the IDF had not found munitions in UNRWA schools. And the Board itself concluded that "no military activity was carried out from within United Nations premises in any of the incidents".
The Board stressed, however, that it remained "extremely concerned by the initial statements made by the IDF and other spokespersons of the Government of Israel in two cases" — (1) that "Hamas had fired from the main UNRWA compound in Gaza City before it was hit by IDF artillery" fire, and (2) that "the IDF was responding to Hamas mortar fire from within the UNRWA Jabalia school". The Board found that these allegations "were untrue, [and] were continued to be made after it ought to have been known that they were untrue, and were not adequately withdrawn and publicly regretted". Yet, the Board said, the allegations that there had been firing from the Jabalia school remained on the website of the Israeli MFA at the time of the writing of its report.
The Washington Post reported that the Board "called on Israel to publicly retract assertions that Palestinians had fired from within the premises of a U.N.-run school and a U.N. relief office. Israeli officials said they had already done so in their military inquiry". This report can be read in full here.
Haaretz reported that "Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday denied claims made by a United Nations panel of inquiry that Israel Defense Forces troops fired intentionally at UN facilities in the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead … Barak has asked that United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon be given a copy of the internal IDF investigation into Cast Lead, according to the Defense Ministry. The army´s investigation included assessments of incidents in which IDF troops or aircraft fired on UN facilities in the Gaza Strip. The internal investigation proves irrefutably that the IDF did not intentionally fire at those facilities, the Defense Ministry said".
It is curious that the IDF internal investigation was not turned over to the UN Board of Inquiry earlier.
In fact, one of the Board´s recommendations was to pursue the promise made by Israel´s previous Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to UN Secretary-General Ban, that the report of the Israeli inquiry into incidents affecting United Nations premises would be turned over to the UN.
Even before the release of the summary of the Board of Inquiry´s report, the Israeli government mobilized to counter and criticize the findings, which were leaked to the largest-selling Israeli newspaper, the Hebrew-language Yediot Ahronot.
Its English-language website, YNet, later reported that "Israel´s great disappointment with the report was largely due to its sincere cooperation with the board of inquiry. ´When we saw the summary of the report we were appalled´, one official told Ynet. ´It was written as if they didn´t listen, didn´t understand, maybe didn´t want to understand´."
UNSG BAN Ki-Moon later told journalists at UNHQ/NY that "The Government of Israel has informed me that it has reservations and objections to elements of the summary. At the same time, I am pleased that the Israeli Government has agreed to meet United Nations officials to address some of the Board´s recommendations, in so far as it relates to Israel".
However, the Board noted that the IDF had previously given assurances and recognized the need to strengthen arrangements and to improve coordination mechanisms – but that this hadn´t previously been enough. Attacks happened after apologies for previous attacks, and after promises to take all precautions to prevent any repeat.
The full report of the Board of Inquiry (184 pages long, with 200 appendices and annexes) is still being treated — by the UN, at least — as highly confidential.
Only a 27-page summary was transmitted to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, and later to journalists. The summary was prepared by the UN Secretariat, and not by the Board of Inquiry, but UNSG BAN stated that "this summary is a faithful and objective reflection of the Board´s full report".
The summary was accompanied by a letter from UN Secretary-General BAN Ki-Moon, that appears to have been designed to soothe immediate Israeli fears and concerns, and which reportedly incorporated certain points expressly requested by the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister who had flown to New York on Monday to press his government´s case.
But, the UN chief said he wanted "to categorically reject any impression, any word, called 'watered down'. I told you that this Board of Inquiry is independent. I respect the complete independence of this report. You may ask all our senior advisors who have been working on this. I do not have any authority to edit or change any wording on this conclusion and recommendations. You should have no doubt about that".
In remarks at a press conference in New York, BAN told journalists that "this report is an internal document. It contains information [coming from the Israeli government, presumably] shared with the Board in strict confidence. It also contains information whose disclosure could prejudice the security or proper conduct of the UN´s operations. For this reason, the Secretariat is releasing a summary of the Report for the purposes of sharing its findings with the Security Council and other bodies".
One of the main criticisms in the Board of Inquiry report is an echo of what many human rights and international law specialists had said previously – that the IDF had failed to provide safe areas for civilians who were desperately trying to flee the attacks.
The Board of Inquiry also looked into damage at the compound belonging to the UN Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace (UNSCO) in downtown Gaza City after an IAF airstrike on the Presidential guest house directly adjacent, on 29 December. The Board of Inquiry said that Israel had issued no warning of this attack, and had not fulfilled its obligation to assure the inviolability of the United Nations premises and property. The damages at the UNSCO compound are estimated to be some three-quarters of a million dollars.
The Board also noted that the IDF did give certain warnings to civilians in advance of attacks – but that "the ability of civilians in Gaza to respond to these warnings by moving to safety was greatly limited".
The Board of Inquiry observed drily that "Warnings stated that the IDF ´will hit and destroy any building or site containing ammunition and weapons´, but in many cases … civilians could not be expected to be aware that particular buildings were in fact used for such purposes or that the IDF might believe them to be so used".
And, the Board of Inquiry "noted, further, that most warnings did not make any reference to when a particular area would be attacked or were not specific to a location at all, stating simply the intent to ´act against any movements and elements conducting terrorist activities against the residents of the State of Israel´– and, therefore, "given the blanket non-specific warnings, the widespread attacks in all population centres, and the fact that the civilian population was prevented from leaving the Gaza Strip, civilians increasingly responded to general warnings and ongoing attacks by seeking refuge within UNRWA premises, on the assumption that United Nations premises would be immune from attacks".
At the U.S. State Dept Briefing on Tuesday (5 May), spokesman Robert Wood said in answer to a journalist´s question: "We would just note the Secretary General´s reminder that this board of inquiry, for one, is not a court of law. It is not a judiciary body. Also, I think in his cover letter, he reminded everyone that the mission of this board of inquiry was to develop a clear record of the facts. And, in fact, I believe he noted that two of the board´s recommendations were basically outside the terms of reference that applied to the board. So, you know, one of the things that we have said from the beginning is that these types of inquiries need – they need to refrain from politicization, and we still believe that to be important. So we´ll need a little bit more time. We just, as I said, received the report and we´ll take a look at it".
UN Secretary-General Ban told journalists, in a convoluted phrase, that "As to those matters that did not fall within the Board´s terms of reference, it is not my intention to establish any further Inquiry. I intend to address any other incidents relating to UN personnel on a case by case basis, and through dialogue with the Government of Israel". He told journalists: "I intend to seek reparation or reimbursement of loss and damage incurred by the United Nations". That is also a recommendation of the Board of Inquiry.
UNRWA suffered losses and damages due to IDF military actions during Operation Cast Lead of some $10.4 million dollars, the Board of Inquiry estimated.
And, a World Food Program warehouse was damaged by a "not-industrially-manufactured" rocket fired by a Palestinian militant organization, "most likely Hamas", the report stated. Such rockets "are indiscriminate weapons, and when fired from Gaza, their use implied a willingness or intention to cause loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects in Israel, and that they also carried significant [similar] risks … in Gaza itself".
Israel's State President Shimon Peres, who was at the UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday to meet with the UN Secretary-General, told journalists after the meeting that that the Board of Inquiry report is a "problem".
It's not the Secretary-General's fault, Peres said, but "We think it's outrageous [the Board of Inquiry report]. We will never accept it. We don't think we have to apologize because we have the right to defend the lives of our children and women."
Speaking informally with journalists at a stake-out in the UN Secretariat building after his meeting with BAN Ki-Moon, Peres complained that instead of just looking at the damage to UN installations, the Board of Inquiry "decided to look at the whole situation in Gaza".
"We don't accept one word of what the Board wrote ... they were unfair. They were one-sided", Peres said.
A journalist asked why Israel is so upset about the report, Peres replied: "We are outraged because they didn't mention Hamas", Peres said. If the Hamas wouldn't shoot, there wouldn't be any problem, he indicated.
Peres asked rhetorically: "What about the 4,000 rockets coming from Gaza?"
He said "If those gentlemen [the Board of Inquiry] can't stop the shooting, they shouldn't be judges", Peres said of the members of the UN Board of Inquiry.
In response to another question from a journalist, Peres said: "About the white phosphorus, we checked it. We don't think we overstepped the international rules. It wasn't aimed at people. It was aimed to warn people". He added that "250,000 telephone calls were made to warn people" to leave places that were about to be hit.
Would Israel acknowledge that its accusations of fire coming from UNRWA schools were untrue? Peres said there were accusations against Israel that were untrue, too. "We don't want to cover up anything. If there were mistakes, we should correct them", he said.
Peres also said: "I admit that we made some mistakes, but I don't know of any war where mistakes weren't made. We did not want to kill a single civilian, but war is terrible and our soldiers too were killed by IDF fire. Did we kill our soldiers on purpose? Of course not".
What should be done is to stop a war from happening in the first place, Peres said.
In response to a question from a journalist, Peres said that the issue of compensation to the UN is "under consideration", and he added that the government has appointed a committee to handle it, and that there should be an answer soon.
The UNSG's spokesperson told journalists at the UN's regular daily briefing on Wednesday that BAN Ki-Moon "is currently reviewing its recommendations" of his Board of Inquiry's report.
And, U.S. State Department spokesperson Robert Wood said "we´ll need a little bit more time. We just, as I said, received the report and we´ll take a look at it".
This is what both UN Secretary General BAN Ki-Moon and the U.S. State Department said.
Among the facts that the Board of Inquiry reported were these:
The Israeli military attack on the main UNRWA compound in Gaza City on 15 January with high explosive artillery shells and projectiles containing white-phosphorus-impregnated wedges – despite the presence of UN staff and hundreds of Palestinian civilians who were fleeing the fighting outside -- was "grossly negligent, amounting to recklessness", according to a summary of the findings released Tuesday in New York.
Even worse, the Board of Inquiry said, because it happened just two days later, after Israeli officials promised to investigate to avoid a repetition of the attack on the main UNWRA compound, the IDF fired smoke projectiles containing white phosphorus near the UNRWA school in Beit Lahiya where thousands of terrified Palestinians had sought protection. The firing started at 06:40 a.m. on 17 January, and killed two young children, ages 5 and 7, and seriously injured their mother and cousin. This, the Board of Inquiry determined, was "highly negligent and amounted to a reckless disregard for the lives and safety of those sheltering at the school".
Whatever precautions the IDF took "were clearly inadequate in relation to the use of an extremely dangerous substance in a populated urban area", the Board stated.
The Board of Inquiry was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, and it looked into nine separate Israeli attacks that hit UN installations during the three-week Operation Cast Lead in Gaza from 27 December to 18 January.
Hundreds of Palestinians had sought refuge in the main UNRWA compound on 15 January – in part because, as the Board of Inquiry noted, the Israeli Defense Forces had informed civilians they should head into the city center, where the compound was located, to avoid fighting. The IDF firing came closer and closer to the compound for over two hours, and there were multiple frantic calls from senior UNRWA officials to IDF contacts to try to stop what eventually did happen, direct hits on the compound, injuring one UNRWA worker and two of the hundreds of people who had sought shelter there. Only preventive actions taken at risk to their lives by two UNRWA staff members avoided what would have been a catastrophic explosion if fuel trucks next to large fuel storage tanks had been hit. Millions of dollars worth of relief supplies went up in flames from the white phosphorus, and burned for days.
The Board of Inquiry looked at attacks on other UNRWA schools, and one UNRWA health center, earlier in January. In one case, three young men (aged 25, 24, and 19) were killed by an Israeli missile fired from the air at UNRWA´s Asma elementary school in Gaza City, which was opened as a shelter on 5 January, although the IDF was not notified of this until 6 January. The UN Board of Inquiry "considered the possibility that the three young men were engaged or about to engage in military activity. It concluded that, on balance, it is more probable that they were going out to use the toilets in the school compound". Here, "The Board concluded that the IDF carried out a direct and intentional strike in to United Nations premises", and it found that "the Government of Israel is therefore responsible for the deaths of the three young men who were sheltering at the school and damage to the premises caused by its actions".
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has on its website an argument that "it is not unreasonable to assume" that most young men in their 20s "are also members of Hamas or other terrorist organizations". This can still be found on the MFA website here.
The Board of Inquiry reported in its findings that the IDF Gaza Commander had confirmed at a meeting with UNRWA officials that the IDF had not found munitions in UNRWA schools. And the Board itself concluded that "no military activity was carried out from within United Nations premises in any of the incidents".
The Board stressed, however, that it remained "extremely concerned by the initial statements made by the IDF and other spokespersons of the Government of Israel in two cases" — (1) that "Hamas had fired from the main UNRWA compound in Gaza City before it was hit by IDF artillery" fire, and (2) that "the IDF was responding to Hamas mortar fire from within the UNRWA Jabalia school". The Board found that these allegations "were untrue, [and] were continued to be made after it ought to have been known that they were untrue, and were not adequately withdrawn and publicly regretted". Yet, the Board said, the allegations that there had been firing from the Jabalia school remained on the website of the Israeli MFA at the time of the writing of its report.
The Washington Post reported that the Board "called on Israel to publicly retract assertions that Palestinians had fired from within the premises of a U.N.-run school and a U.N. relief office. Israeli officials said they had already done so in their military inquiry". This report can be read in full here.
Haaretz reported that "Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday denied claims made by a United Nations panel of inquiry that Israel Defense Forces troops fired intentionally at UN facilities in the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead … Barak has asked that United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon be given a copy of the internal IDF investigation into Cast Lead, according to the Defense Ministry. The army´s investigation included assessments of incidents in which IDF troops or aircraft fired on UN facilities in the Gaza Strip. The internal investigation proves irrefutably that the IDF did not intentionally fire at those facilities, the Defense Ministry said".
It is curious that the IDF internal investigation was not turned over to the UN Board of Inquiry earlier.
In fact, one of the Board´s recommendations was to pursue the promise made by Israel´s previous Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to UN Secretary-General Ban, that the report of the Israeli inquiry into incidents affecting United Nations premises would be turned over to the UN.
Even before the release of the summary of the Board of Inquiry´s report, the Israeli government mobilized to counter and criticize the findings, which were leaked to the largest-selling Israeli newspaper, the Hebrew-language Yediot Ahronot.
Its English-language website, YNet, later reported that "Israel´s great disappointment with the report was largely due to its sincere cooperation with the board of inquiry. ´When we saw the summary of the report we were appalled´, one official told Ynet. ´It was written as if they didn´t listen, didn´t understand, maybe didn´t want to understand´."
UNSG BAN Ki-Moon later told journalists at UNHQ/NY that "The Government of Israel has informed me that it has reservations and objections to elements of the summary. At the same time, I am pleased that the Israeli Government has agreed to meet United Nations officials to address some of the Board´s recommendations, in so far as it relates to Israel".
However, the Board noted that the IDF had previously given assurances and recognized the need to strengthen arrangements and to improve coordination mechanisms – but that this hadn´t previously been enough. Attacks happened after apologies for previous attacks, and after promises to take all precautions to prevent any repeat.
The full report of the Board of Inquiry (184 pages long, with 200 appendices and annexes) is still being treated — by the UN, at least — as highly confidential.
Only a 27-page summary was transmitted to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, and later to journalists. The summary was prepared by the UN Secretariat, and not by the Board of Inquiry, but UNSG BAN stated that "this summary is a faithful and objective reflection of the Board´s full report".
The summary was accompanied by a letter from UN Secretary-General BAN Ki-Moon, that appears to have been designed to soothe immediate Israeli fears and concerns, and which reportedly incorporated certain points expressly requested by the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister who had flown to New York on Monday to press his government´s case.
But, the UN chief said he wanted "to categorically reject any impression, any word, called 'watered down'. I told you that this Board of Inquiry is independent. I respect the complete independence of this report. You may ask all our senior advisors who have been working on this. I do not have any authority to edit or change any wording on this conclusion and recommendations. You should have no doubt about that".
In remarks at a press conference in New York, BAN told journalists that "this report is an internal document. It contains information [coming from the Israeli government, presumably] shared with the Board in strict confidence. It also contains information whose disclosure could prejudice the security or proper conduct of the UN´s operations. For this reason, the Secretariat is releasing a summary of the Report for the purposes of sharing its findings with the Security Council and other bodies".
One of the main criticisms in the Board of Inquiry report is an echo of what many human rights and international law specialists had said previously – that the IDF had failed to provide safe areas for civilians who were desperately trying to flee the attacks.
The Board of Inquiry also looked into damage at the compound belonging to the UN Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace (UNSCO) in downtown Gaza City after an IAF airstrike on the Presidential guest house directly adjacent, on 29 December. The Board of Inquiry said that Israel had issued no warning of this attack, and had not fulfilled its obligation to assure the inviolability of the United Nations premises and property. The damages at the UNSCO compound are estimated to be some three-quarters of a million dollars.
The Board also noted that the IDF did give certain warnings to civilians in advance of attacks – but that "the ability of civilians in Gaza to respond to these warnings by moving to safety was greatly limited".
The Board of Inquiry observed drily that "Warnings stated that the IDF ´will hit and destroy any building or site containing ammunition and weapons´, but in many cases … civilians could not be expected to be aware that particular buildings were in fact used for such purposes or that the IDF might believe them to be so used".
And, the Board of Inquiry "noted, further, that most warnings did not make any reference to when a particular area would be attacked or were not specific to a location at all, stating simply the intent to ´act against any movements and elements conducting terrorist activities against the residents of the State of Israel´– and, therefore, "given the blanket non-specific warnings, the widespread attacks in all population centres, and the fact that the civilian population was prevented from leaving the Gaza Strip, civilians increasingly responded to general warnings and ongoing attacks by seeking refuge within UNRWA premises, on the assumption that United Nations premises would be immune from attacks".
At the U.S. State Dept Briefing on Tuesday (5 May), spokesman Robert Wood said in answer to a journalist´s question: "We would just note the Secretary General´s reminder that this board of inquiry, for one, is not a court of law. It is not a judiciary body. Also, I think in his cover letter, he reminded everyone that the mission of this board of inquiry was to develop a clear record of the facts. And, in fact, I believe he noted that two of the board´s recommendations were basically outside the terms of reference that applied to the board. So, you know, one of the things that we have said from the beginning is that these types of inquiries need – they need to refrain from politicization, and we still believe that to be important. So we´ll need a little bit more time. We just, as I said, received the report and we´ll take a look at it".
UN Secretary-General Ban told journalists, in a convoluted phrase, that "As to those matters that did not fall within the Board´s terms of reference, it is not my intention to establish any further Inquiry. I intend to address any other incidents relating to UN personnel on a case by case basis, and through dialogue with the Government of Israel". He told journalists: "I intend to seek reparation or reimbursement of loss and damage incurred by the United Nations". That is also a recommendation of the Board of Inquiry.
UNRWA suffered losses and damages due to IDF military actions during Operation Cast Lead of some $10.4 million dollars, the Board of Inquiry estimated.
And, a World Food Program warehouse was damaged by a "not-industrially-manufactured" rocket fired by a Palestinian militant organization, "most likely Hamas", the report stated. Such rockets "are indiscriminate weapons, and when fired from Gaza, their use implied a willingness or intention to cause loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects in Israel, and that they also carried significant [similar] risks … in Gaza itself".
Israel's State President Shimon Peres, who was at the UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday to meet with the UN Secretary-General, told journalists after the meeting that that the Board of Inquiry report is a "problem".
It's not the Secretary-General's fault, Peres said, but "We think it's outrageous [the Board of Inquiry report]. We will never accept it. We don't think we have to apologize because we have the right to defend the lives of our children and women."
Speaking informally with journalists at a stake-out in the UN Secretariat building after his meeting with BAN Ki-Moon, Peres complained that instead of just looking at the damage to UN installations, the Board of Inquiry "decided to look at the whole situation in Gaza".
"We don't accept one word of what the Board wrote ... they were unfair. They were one-sided", Peres said.
A journalist asked why Israel is so upset about the report, Peres replied: "We are outraged because they didn't mention Hamas", Peres said. If the Hamas wouldn't shoot, there wouldn't be any problem, he indicated.
Peres asked rhetorically: "What about the 4,000 rockets coming from Gaza?"
He said "If those gentlemen [the Board of Inquiry] can't stop the shooting, they shouldn't be judges", Peres said of the members of the UN Board of Inquiry.
In response to another question from a journalist, Peres said: "About the white phosphorus, we checked it. We don't think we overstepped the international rules. It wasn't aimed at people. It was aimed to warn people". He added that "250,000 telephone calls were made to warn people" to leave places that were about to be hit.
Would Israel acknowledge that its accusations of fire coming from UNRWA schools were untrue? Peres said there were accusations against Israel that were untrue, too. "We don't want to cover up anything. If there were mistakes, we should correct them", he said.
Peres also said: "I admit that we made some mistakes, but I don't know of any war where mistakes weren't made. We did not want to kill a single civilian, but war is terrible and our soldiers too were killed by IDF fire. Did we kill our soldiers on purpose? Of course not".
What should be done is to stop a war from happening in the first place, Peres said.
In response to a question from a journalist, Peres said that the issue of compensation to the UN is "under consideration", and he added that the government has appointed a committee to handle it, and that there should be an answer soon.
The UNSG's spokesperson told journalists at the UN's regular daily briefing on Wednesday that BAN Ki-Moon "is currently reviewing its recommendations" of his Board of Inquiry's report.
And, U.S. State Department spokesperson Robert Wood said "we´ll need a little bit more time. We just, as I said, received the report and we´ll take a look at it".