Human Rights Watch / Garlasco Admit Israel Not Responsible (Updated)

Hat Tip: Shy Guy

Check out Adloyada on the story. She points out that the Guardian reported Garlasco was adamant that Israel was responsible for the Gaza beach incident:

You have the crater size, the shrapnel, the types of injuries, their location on the bodies. That all points to a shell dropping from the sky, not explosives under the sand," he said. "I've been to hospital and seen the injuries. The doctors say they are primarily to the head and torso. That is consistent with a shell exploding above the ground, not a mine under it."

Mr Garlasco also produced shrapnel from the site apparently marked as a 155mm shell used by the army that day.

Now HRW and Garlasco have reversed themselves and have admitted it could not contradict the IDF's exonerating findings, which is not as good as their saying "we jumped the gun, were totally incorrect, and caused Israel unwarranted aggravation and nasty press"--but we'll take it.

According to the Jerusalem Post:

Following the three-hour meeting, described by both sides as cordial and pleasant, Garlasco praised the IDF's professional investigation into the blast, which he said was most likely caused by unexploded Israeli ordnance left laying on the beach, a possibility also raised by Klifi and his team.

"We came to an agreement with General Klifi that the most likely cause [of the blast] was unexploded Israeli ordinance," Garlasco told The Jerusalem Post following the meeting. While Klifi's team did a "competent job" to rule out the possibility that the blast was caused by artillery fire, there were still, Garlasco said, a number of pieces of evidence that the IDF commission did not take into consideration.

Garlasco admits he was wrong, while at the same time he saves face. Fair enough. But the issue is still not over. Lucy Mair, head of the HRW's Jerusalem office says:

We differ when it comes to other pieces of information from other sources that don't relate to the military strike such as the timing and the type of injuries," Mair explained. "While they [the IDF] made a very good presentation, we still think there are enough unanswered questions that have not been examined by Klifi's [Maj.-Gen. Meir Klifi - head of the IDF inquiry] team…and that is why we believe there should be an independent investigation."

As pointed out in More On Gaza Beach, it is hard to see that any good can come of that. However, if there is enough pressure, based on past experience Olmert just might give in on this point.

Update:

As Soccer Dad and Shy Guy point out, the party (if there ever was one) is over. Garlasco & Co. apparently never really said that Israel is right.

The HRW has a post that says outright: Israel: Gaza Beach Investigation Ignores Evidence

The Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) investigation of the Gaza beach explosion that killed eight Palestinian civilians and wounded dozens is incomplete because it excludes important evidence, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch researchers met yesterday with Israeli Major-General Meir Kalifi, who led the internal IDF investigation, to discuss its findings. After the meeting, Human Rights Watch reiterated its call for an independent investigation into the deaths.

...Kalifi told Human Rights Watch that Palestinians “have no problem lying,” and that the IDF discounted information gathered from any Palestinian information sources in its investigation. The day after the incident, the IDF asked the official Palestinian security liaison office to provide evidence for testing, but later dismissed the evidence provided, which consisted of 155mm shrapnel, both new and old, and dirt from the beach and crater. When offered evidence collected first-hand by Human Rights Watch researchers in Gaza, the general either called it into question or declined to accept it.

I suppose that it is a small step from "cycle of violence" meme to saying that evidence from Israel and the people who kill them is of equal value.

Little Green Footballs notes:

Unbelievable. The Palestinians refused to allow the Israelis to investigate the scene at the time of the incident, and Human Rights Watch shill Marc Garlasco only got there several days afterward, giving the Palestinians more than enough time to alter the scene and plant false evidence.

LGF has another post linking to the Jerusalem Post article about how a victim of the Gaza beach exlosion who was transfered to a Tel Aviv hospital after Palestinian doctors 'worked' on her:

Niham, who regained consciousness at the hospital on Tuesday but remains in serious condition, suffered serious damage to her abdomen and upper limbs, with cuts all over her body, as a result of the surgical intervention performed on her at Shifa Hospital in Gaza, the hospital said.

...In most cases, some shrapnel remains in the victim's body and stays there for the rest of his or her life, the hospital said.

The hospital stopped short of accusing Shifa's doctors directly of removing shrapnel for no medical reason, but it did say that it had never received such a patient with all the reachable shrapnel removed.

The HRW post also makes the point:

“An investigation that refuses to look at contradictory evidence can hardly be considered credible,” said Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch. “The IDF’s partisan approach highlights the need for an independent, international investigation.”

Two points that Israel should make the next time HRW and Galasco come into town.



See also Hurray For Pallywood--At Gaza Beach (June 19)
See also More On Gaza Beach (June 20)
See also Will Israel Go To The Videotape? (June 26)

Crossposted at Israpundit

Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza and Hadil Ghalia and Marc Garlasco.