Israel closes majority of military abuse cases without charges, report finds

Arab News

4 days ago

LONDON: Israel has closed 88 percent of investigations into alleged war crimes and abuses by its forces in Gaza and the West Bank without any charges or findings of wrongdoing, according to a report by conflict monitor Action on Armed Violence (AOAV).
The UK-based group reviewed 52 cases reported in English-language media between October 2023 and June 2025, involving the deaths of 1,303 Palestinians and injuries to 1,880 others, The Guardian reported on Saturday.
AOAV said only one case had resulted in a prison sentence, with just five others concluding with violations found.
The remaining 46 cases, seven of which were closed with no fault found, and 39 still unresolved, amounted to what AOAV described as a 'pattern of impunity.'
Iain Overton and Lucas Tsantzouris of AOAV said: 'The statistics suggest Israel was seeking to create a 'pattern of impunity' by failing to conclude or find no fault in the vast majority of cases involving the most severe or public accusations of wrongdoing by their forces.'
Among the unresolved cases is the February 2024 killing of at least 112 Palestinians queueing for flour in Gaza City, an airstrike that killed 45 people at a Rafah tent camp in May, and the June 1 killing of 31 civilians heading to a food distribution point in Rafah.
While the Israel Defense Forces initially called reports of the latter 'false', it later told The Guardian that the incident was 'still under review.'
The IDF said it investigates 'exceptional incidents that occurred during operational activity, in which there is a suspicion of a violation of the law,' using internal fact-finding assessments (FFA) and military police inquiries in line with domestic and international law.
According to the IDF: 'Any report … complaint or allegation that suggests misconduct by IDF forces undergoes an initial examination process, irrespective of its source.' Cases may then be passed to the FFA team to determine 'whether there is a reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct'.
Critics say the process is opaque and slow.
Human rights group Yesh Din told The Guardian that of 664 IDF inquiries linked to previous Gaza operations between 2014 and 2021, only one led to a prosecution.
In August 2024, the IDF reported the FFA had reviewed 'hundreds of incidents' related to the current Gaza war, with the military advocate general opening 74 criminal investigations.
Of those, 52 involved detainee mistreatment or death, 13 focused on looting, and others related to civilian property destruction or excessive force.
The only prison sentence to date came in February 2025, when a reservist received seven months for the aggravated abuse of bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainees at Sde Teiman detention centre.
One of the highest-profile cases involved the April 2024 airstrike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers.
While the IDF called it a 'grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification', the charity said the rapid investigation lacked credibility.
Despite public commitments, AOAV said the IDF's response has become 'more opaque and slow-moving' as civilian casualties mount.
The organization said unresolved cases still include four incidents in the past month alone in which Palestinians were killed at or near food distribution points.