Olmert vows legal defense of Israel's actions in Gaza
His remarks countered calls for a war-crimes inquiry. He denounced critics of the mission.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday defended his country's 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip and pledged to defend the military against international calls for an investigation of potential war crimes.
"The soldiers and commanders who were sent on missions in Gaza must know that they are safe from various tribunals and that the State of Israel will assist them on this issue and defend them," Olmert said before his weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
In comments released by the government, he condemned the "moral acrobatics" of critics who are "trying to turn the attacker into the attacked and vice-versa." He said a specialized government team led by Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann would coordinate a legal defense if necessary.
Global activists and some governments have called for an inquiry into allegations that Israeli soldiers employed disproportionate force and used white phosphorus munitions in residential areas.
Amnesty International has called Israel's use of white phosphorus "indiscriminate" and a war crime.
Israeli officials have insisted that soldiers went out of their way to avoid civilian casualties and accuse Hamas fighters of using Palestinian civilians as shields while firing rockets at Israeli communities.
"I do not know of any military that is more moral, fair and sensitive to civilians' lives," Olmert said yesterday.
The Israeli military launched its assault Dec. 27 with the stated goal of ending years of rocket attacks by Gazan militants against a widening swath of southern Israel. About 1,300 Palestinians were killed and 5,300 wounded; material and economic damage is estimated at nearly $2 billion. Thirteen Israelis - three civilians from Gazan rockets and 10 soldiers - died during the conflict.
In Gaza, daily signs of a return to comparative normality continued to appear. Garbage trucks took to the streets for the first time Saturday night.
More than 4,000 children returned to classes Saturday in public schools and those run by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. But administrators said they wouldn't resume normal studies right away, instead focusing on counseling and what one Ministry of Education official called "morale-boosting activities."
The cease-fires declared a week ago by Israel and the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, appeared to be holding. But anxiety that the attacks could resume still ran high among Gazans.
Panic swept through the southern border town of Rafah yesterday amid rumors that Israel would begin bombing the smuggling tunnels that extend into Egypt.
Representatives from Hamas; its rival, Fatah; and other Palestinian factions continue to gather in Cairo for Egyptian-brokered national reconciliation talks. The meetings also will focus on maintaining and extending the cease-fire. Hamas officials have stated that they were open to a longer-term truce with Israel, provided it included a full reopening of Gaza's borders.
President Obama's newly appointed envoy to the Middle East was scheduled to arrive in Jerusalem this week for his first official visit, Reuters and Bloomberg news services reported.
Former Sen. George J. Mitchell will seek to breathe new life into U.S.-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. Talks toward the establishment of an independent Palestinian state have shown no apparent progress over the last year despite a push by the Bush administration.