by JNS and Israel Hayom Staff
Retired U.S. Lt. Col. Geoffrey S. Corn, retired British commander Col. Richard Kemp accuse U.N. Human Rights Council of promoting false claims and warn diplomats, member states that biased report will further incentivize Hamas' exploitation of Gazans.
Col. Richard Kemp Photo: Yoni Reif, Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies
In
testimony delivered at the United Nations on Monday morning, retired
U.S. Lt. Col. Geoffrey S. Corn and renowned retired British commander
Col. Richard Kemp refuted a U.N. Human Rights Council report that
accuses Israeli soldiers of "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity"
on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip.
Joining a panel of four experts hosted by
independent human rights group U.N. Watch, Corn and Kemp accused the
Commission of Inquiry of promoting false claims in its report, and
warned diplomats and member states that the biased report will only
further incentivize Hamas' exploitation of Gazans and increase the
chance of other illicit armed groups enlisting against Israel, the
United States and its allies in the future.
Simultaneously in the morning plenary
session, the U.N. Human Rights Council called on the U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights "to manage the dossiers on alleged
perpetrators [IDF soldiers], to be provided to … the International
Criminal Court."
Several member states welcomed the UNHRC
report, including some of the most serious human rights abusers – Saudi
Arabia, Syria, Venezuela, Iraq, Russia and Pakistan.
Providing testimony on the report, Corn – a
former U.S. Army senior law of war adviser, author and research
professor – presented findings from a Jewish Institute for National
Security of America report, written by top former commanders of the U.S.
Army, and responded to structural, legal and operational fallacies in
the UNHRC hearing.
"By omitting from the UNHRC inquiry reports
the use of human shields by Hamas, the report incentivizes these terror
tactics in the future, and the risk posed to the civilian population of
Gaza is exacerbated. If we are really concerned about mitigating harm
done to civilians, we should be condemning Hamas's actions and this
report," he said.
Kemp, a national security expert, author
and former commander of British forces in Afghanistan who testified
before the UNHRC investigation in December and has visited the Gaza
border himself, agreed.
"The United Nations has played directly
into Hamas's hand, and the UNHRC is but an instrument of Hamas
terrorism. This report, as well as countries that vote for it, encourage
Hamas towards further terrorism in the future," he said, adding that
his personal testimony to the commission of inquiry had been completely
ignored in the production of the report.
Also providing testimony were Einat Wilf,
co-author of "The War of Return" and an expert on the Palestinian
narrative of the "right of return," and Joe Truzman, a researcher,
investigative journalist and editor for the "GroundBrief" Middle East
newsletter.
Wilf explained that understanding the
Palestinian marchers' motivation for rioting on the Gaza border was
crucial in order to properly understand the Israeli response.
"Those who come to the border marching in
the name of the so-called 'right of return' are not rioting against
Israel's blockade, but rather, are coming to destroy Israel. This needs
to be understood clearly as a declaration of war and nothing less than
that," she explained. "The Israeli response cannot be understood if this
is not understood."
Truzman presented evidence exposing a
number of false accusations as well as the omission of key facts in the
UNHRC Commission of Inquiry, including evidence that five of the
"victims of IDF gunfire" named by the inquiry were actually members of
terrorist groups, including Hamas in Gaza.
"At least five militants killed at the
March of Return are mentioned in the COI report, without reference to
their militant background. Some children in [the] COI report were
members of militant groups. Contrary to [the] COI report, Palestinians
present during 'March of Return' demonstrations and riots were armed.
Such militant activity is still present within Palestinian border
units," said Truzman.
Following the testimony, hundreds gathered to take part in a "Rally for Equal Rights" to protest the UNHRC's unprecedented assault on Israel
that saw the organization present several reports accusing Israel of
war crimes. The rally was organized by a coalition of 24 organizations
that oppose anti-Semitism and anti-Israel prejudice.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2019/03/19/us-british-military-experts-refute-un-report-accusing-idf-of-war-crimes/
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