Alleged investigation

de Lior Yavne

"Out of all the complaints received by Israel's Military Police Criminal Investigations Division (MPCID) and Military Advocate General's Corps of criminal offenses allegedly committed by soldiers against Palestinian civilians and their property in the West Bank, only 3.5 percent ultimately led to indictments. In other words, complaints made to military law enforcement bodies regarding offenses by Israeli soldiers have a 96.5 percent chance of being dismissed without indictments being filed against the suspected soldiers. This report attempts to examine the reasons for this phenomenon. The report's findings are based upon the monitoring of the military law enforcement agencies' handling of 192 separate complaints filed in the past few years by Palestinians concerning attacks on them and their property by Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) solders, the review of dozens of MCPID files and additional information provided by the IDF in response to requests by Yesh Din. Alongside a review of the predominant professional failures in the work of the military law enforcement agencies, the report also shows the effect of the investigatory policy the IDF has enforced since September 2000, which undermines the chance of conducting proper investigations into offenses allegedly committed by IDF soldiers during operational activities. Finally, the report presents recommendations to correct the main flaws identified by this research"--Provided by publisher.