Comptroller to probe cabinet’s decisions during Gaza op

Shas MK Amnon Cohen, the chairman of the State Control Committee, on Wednesday ordered State Comptroller Yosef Shapira to investigate the decisions of the government and the security cabinet during the period leading up to and during Operation Protective Edge, specifically with regard to a series of Hamas-built tunnels stretching from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory.

During the land operation in Gaza, the IDF destroyed over 30 tunnels dug by Hamas under the border with Israel. Fighters used the tunnels to infiltrate into Israel on a number of occasions, killing 11 Israeli soldiers. During a committee hearing Wednesday, Cohen alleged that the members of cabinet were fully aware of the tunnel threat well before the operation was launched.

Cohen stressed that the IDF, as well as the rest of Israel’s security establishment, had dealt with the tunnels professionally and effectively once it was decided to take action against Hamas in the Strip.

He further instructed the comptroller to look into allegations that cabinet members had leaked secret information to the press throughout the military offensive, Army Radio reported.

The committee’s orders come following an announcement by Shapira last month that he would launch a full-scale investigation into the military and political leadership’s handling of the 50-day-long operation in the Palestinian enclave. According to a statement from his office, Shapira’s decision was triggered by claims that Israel violated international law in the month-long military campaign in the Gaza Strip. In addition, there were claims that Israel did not monitor IDF activities in keeping with international law, the statement said.

The investigation will also examine home front preparedness, the Home Front Command’s activities during the campaign, treatment of Israelis in the conflict zones and official efforts at public advocacy during the operation.

During Wednesday’s hearing, the comptroller announced that he was preparing a special report on the operation, adding that the document would be published in a few months’ time.

The committee is expected to hold another hearing in a few days, with the participation of representatives from the Shin Bet security service as well as executives from Israeli military industries.

The 50-day Gaza war between Israel and Hamas-led terrorists ended on August 26 after more than 2,100 Palestinians were killed, most of them civilians, according to Gaza-based medical sources. Israel, however, maintains that as many as 1,000 killed were fighters and contends that Hamas is largely responsible for civilian casualties due to its tactics of firing from populated areas and alleged use of human shields.

The United Nations and international rights groups have condemned Israel for numerous attacks, and the Palestinians have threatened Israel with action at the International Criminal Court over war crimes allegations. Hamas, for its part, signed a proposal for Palestinians to join the body, potentially opening itself up to investigation as well.

Jerusalem has indicated it will likely not cooperate with a United Nations Human Rights Council probe into possible war crimes during the conflict. Israel has declared the impending investigation unlikely to be fair and unbiased. Last month, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Israel should refuse to cooperate with the panel to avoid giving it any legitimacy.

AFP, Ilan Ben Zion and Stuart Winer contributed to this report.