Speedy Verdicts

Israel has finished its investigation into alleged misconduct in Gaza:

"In a press release issued Monday the army said that Brig. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit instructed the Military Police Investigation unit to close the case after a preliminary investigation into the testimonies revealed that they 'were based on hearsay and not first-hand experience.'

"'There is no other army in the world that is as introspective as the IDF, that scrutinizes its conduct in such a genuine and serious way after an operation," Barak continued. "I'm happy these as the results [of the investigation], and that once again our claim that the IDF is the most moral army in the world - top commanders and low-ranking soldiers alike - has proved truthful.'"

What self-congratulatory rubbish. There was no real investigation of the significant number of claims about what happened in Gaza, only a desire to bracket certain testimony as imperfect and a fear of following where it might lead.