TEL AVIV, March 21, 2009 (WAFA)- Israeli human rights organizations have reiterated demands that the Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz reconsiders his refusal to establish an independent investigative body to examine military proceedings during the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip, B’tselem said.

Such an investigation, said B’tselem, is critical following the revelation of soldier testimonies concerning the killing of innocent Palestinians revealed in Haaretz Israeli Daily. Many Palestinian accounts have reflected a similar picture to that revealed, triggering suspicions that these revelations represent only the tip of the iceberg, and that they are the result of norms of conduct that have taken hold throughout the army.

A letter sent by the Israeli Human Rights Organizations to the Attorney General makes clear that the government's failure to establish an independent investigation constitutes a violation of Israel's responsibilities under international law. At the same time, it is a dangerous act which illustrates cowardice in the midst of possible IDF criminal activity, behavior that increases the possibility that Israeli officers and soldiers will face trials abroad.

While the Attorney General is content with only an internal military investigation, this is not an effective strategy, the letter said, the unaccountability of internal military investigations was only reinforced by today's events in which the content of revealed soldier testimonies was not evidently known by military investigators.