Comptroller identifies flaws in Gaza war, but gives IDF passing grade

A state comptroller review of the Israeli army’s legal handling of the 2014 Gaza war identifies a number of flaws — notably a lack of law training for officers — but largely gave the military a passing grade, noting its extensive efforts to avoid civilian casualties.

The comptroller document also identifies significant problems with the army’s Hannibal Protocol, a special order that gives troops in the field looser rules of engagement in the event a soldier is kidnapped, notably that within even the upper echelons of the military there was confusion over its exact meaning. However, the issues are largely moot as the army replaced the Hannibal Protocol with a new, supposedly clearer order in June 2016.

Over the past three and a half years since the 2014 war, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge, the State Comptroller’s Office worked with officials throughout the Israel Defense Forces, as well as in the security cabinet, Prime Minister’s Office and Justice Ministry, in order to prepare the document.

In a rare move, the 169-page report was published in both Hebrew and English.

In it, State Comptroller Yosef Shapira calls for the IDF and National Security Council to take more seriously the implications of international law and civilian casualties on military campaigns.

The army says it welcomes the findings of the report and will “earnestly study its findings and work to address the shortcomings.”

— Judah Ari Gross