The Turkel Commission's declaration that the Israel Defense Forces must investigate war crime allegations even during combat situations was welcomed by Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem on Wednesday.
Following the release of the second part of findings by the Turkel Commission, which was established after nine people were killed in an IDF operation to halt a convoy of boats from Turkey in May 2010 that aimed to breach an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, B'Tselem said in a statement that the commissions declarations made "several significant decisions" to improve law enforcement in military-related situations.
B'Tselem identified three significant findings of the commission; the first, the panel's declaration that the IDF has the duty to investigate violations of the law even in combat situations.
Second, the NGO welcomed the commission’s recommendation to establish a civilian body in the Ministry of Justice to oversee the legal advice of the Military Advocate General Corps.
B'Tselem also applauded the recommendation for personal criminal responsibility to be applied to commanders and to government officials for the actions and offense of their subordinates and for cover-ups.
Relevant to the work of B'Tselem, the organization said the filming of all interrorgations was an important recommendation.
B’Tselem called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to adopt the conclusions of the commission he appointed and implement them.
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