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ISRAEL’S DEFENCE MINISTER has distanced himself from comments made by his military chief after Israel bombed a Gaza Strip high-rise building housing an Associated Press (AP) office and other news outlets.
In an article published on the website of Channel 12 news over the weekend, military chief of staff Lieutenant General Aviv Kohavi was quoted as saying “the building was destroyed justly” and he did not have a “gram of regret”.
The article claimed the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza used various floors of the Jalaa Tower for “significant electronic warfare” meant to disrupt Israeli air force GPS communications.
The article then said Mr Kohavi had told “a foreign source” that AP journalists drank coffee each morning in a cafeteria in the building’s entrance with Hamas electronics experts, whether they knew it or not.
The AP called the comments “ patently false,” noting “there was not even a cafeteria in the building”.
Asked about Mr Kohavi’s comments, defence minister Benny Gantz told foreign journalists the military chief was only speaking in figurative terms.
“When the chief of staff talked about it, he was trying to portray the atmosphere, not the actual aspects,” Mr Gantz said.
Mr Gantz again alleged “there was Hamas infrastructure in offices that operated from this building”.
Asked to respond to Mr Gantz’s comments, the military spokesman’s office also said Mr Kohavi’s statements were meant to be figurative.
“It was never claimed that AP journalists were knowingly interacting with Hamas personnel. On the contrary, due to the nature of Hamas’ activities, AP journalists had no means of knowing that Hamas personnel were in the building,” it said.
“The chief of the general staff explained the possible circumstances of such an encounter where the terrorist organisation Hamas embeds itself within the civilian population and uses civilian buildings for military purposes,” it said.
The Israeli army gave occupants of the building one hour to evacuate before the May 15 airstrike. No-one was injured but the high-rise was flattened into a pile of rubble.
The AP has said it had no indication of a Hamas presence in the building and was never warned of any possible presence before that day. It has called for an independent investigation and urged Israel to make public its intelligence.
Mr Gantz said Israel has shared its intelligence with the US government. But he indicated that Israel has no intention of making the information public, saying it did not want to divulge its sources.
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Yeah nobody believes you.
@Simon F: I dont believe, nor trust, either party
@alphasully: I’d trust the AP over any zionist tool
@alphasully: ah, the old “both sides” argument. In this instance, that doesn’t apply. Israel is a vile state. It carries out war crimes. They use missiles against home made bombs. Palestinians are trying to defend themselves. Israel is taking over their land and then acting the victim if they don’t willingly accept it.
@Seán C: yeah down with nuance. Let’s just go with one sided narratives.
@Simon F: The Israeli government and armed forces just spout any old sh!te and expect everyone to lap it up… People have copped on to them now.
Picture it, 30 years ago. The British army wipes out/bombs The Falls Road in Belfast & justifies it because the “terrorists” are embedded within the community.
That is as close a comparison as I can think of. Just imagine the reaction globally. Imagine how Irish America would have reacted. Would that not have swelled the ranks of the IRA to levels never seen before?
Treating political problems as security issues elongated the war here by decades, lessons not learned by Israel obviously. If these people were western christians this would not be allowed to happen.
@Peig Sayers: There are lots of Christians in Gaza(Israel and West Bank) but they are ignored as it doesn’t suit the media agenda. Israel bombed a Christian monastery. They better not tell the right with US Christians that keep paying for Israel’s bombs that are dropping on their fellow brethren’s.
We live in a World where no matter how terrible the excuse is it’s enough so long as you hold power
Stay classy lads…..
Israel will think up any excuse possible to justify their bombing campaign against the Palestinian people and government. They (Israel) dont care about Palestinian life!
@Brian Kelly: I almost laughed if the situation wasn’t so dire. That military chief is giving a real insight into the thinking at the cold front of it, the politician is talking bull
@SPQH: yeah! It’s always the same.
So “the journal” no avatars containing a Palestinian flag allowed either..
@Mr Bordello: Not so
Perhaps the Israeli military and government should recognise those that helped to liberate the Jews and also died doing so instead of having a chip on their shoulders.
What they think is just as Bad as the nazi’s.. Shame on them
@Sportmad: “As bad as the Nazis’”? what a dreadful and wilfully, uneducated, anti-Semitic comment. Its like comparing the famine to the post-booze munchies. Get some perspective. When Hamas targets civilians, women and kids, they know full well the response they will get. And they use the deaths of their own people to elicit sympathy from commentators like your good self. If you were a gay man or woman living in Gaza, you would have very different loyalties than to a terrier group.
@Paul Whitehead: anti semitic song is being used to justify murder by the Israel state and of course occupied Palaistíne
have your say