Yesh Din slams Israel for not having a war crime charge for IDF

Israel charges its soldiers with "regular crimes" like murder, manslaughter or attack instead of war crime charges.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
IDF troops survey golan heights 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
IDF troops survey golan heights 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Yesh Din submitted a report on Tuesday slamming Israel, and specifically the IDF military courts, for not having available a crime specifically defined as a war crime for any IDF soldier who might violate the laws of war.
The report noted that many countries have specifically created a war crime charge to bring to bear against their own soldiers in the event that their soldiers violate the laws of war.
In contrast, Yesh Din said that Israel charges its soldiers with "regular crimes" like murder, manslaughter or attack if its soldiers violate the laws of war, and has not even formally defined any actions as a war crime, to have the possibility of charging its soldiers with such a crime if relevant.
The government sponsored Turkel Commission Report II on how well Israel investigates itself for war crimes' allegations and related issues also recommended drafting legislation to officially define what actions are a war crime under Israeli law, rather than sufficing with "regular" charges.