Criminal charges against IDF personnel has Israelis wondering if Goldstone was right

Edward Sanders of the LA Times has an interesting article looking at the small number of indictments of IDF soldiers for crimes they committed in Gaza.

Even though the Israeli courts' moves are pathetic and cosmetic, Sanders shows how a growing number in Israel are beginning to leave their self-imposed reality distortion field - as more come to admit that perhaps Goldstone was 'on the right track after all' in his UN report on the war.

You would have thought 1,400 dead, overwhelmingly civilians, may have been enough to raise the blinkers from the eyes of at least some Israelis. Well perhaps the minority of Israelis who have had enough of their government racist oppression of Palestinians is growing.

Reporting from Jerusalem — A short but growing list of criminal indictments and disciplinary actions stemming from Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip 18 months ago is raising a prospect that many Israelis are likely to find unsettling: that the controversial Goldstone report might have been on the right track after all.
The conclusion last year by the United Nations-appointed panel that Israel committed war crimes, targeted civilians and used disproportionate force sent shockwaves through Israel. The facts and findings were dismissed by the government as deeply flawed, and panel chairman Richard Goldstone, a Jewish jurist from South Africa, was reviled in Israel as a traitor and even anti-Semitic...

... "The military is finding out that some of what Goldstone said is true, even though no one wants to admit it," said Gershon Baskin, a political consultant and former Labor Party advisor. "This should indicate that there needs to be deeper investigation."

The most serious criminal investigation still pending involves the Samouni family. During battles in January 2009, more than 100 members of the family were reportedly ordered by soldiers to gather in a house that was later attacked by Israeli bombs. As many as 30 people died, including women and children. more

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