'Israel' withholding IOF October 7 testimonies from US investigators
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The US has barred soldiers from testifying to US investigators out of concern of being implicated in war crime violations.
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IOF soldiers and tanks gather in a field near Kibbutz Be'eri on October 14, 2023. (AFP)
"Israel" refused to allow US investigators to gather testimonies from the occupation's military forces (IOF) regarding October 7 in fear of being tried for war crimes, Israeli newspaper Hapeles reported Thursday, adding that investigators collected eyewitness accounts from settlers who experienced the event.
As part of a collaboration between Tel Aviv and Washington to file indictments against high-ranking Hamas officials in the US courts for the October 7 operation, the Israeli police's Lahav 433 crime unit allowed the collection of testimonies as evidence against the Palestinian Resistance, according to Haredi.
However, Motti Levy, the state attorney and head of Lahav, did not share any of the testimonies gathered from the approximately 700 soldiers interviewed.
The testimony collections were part of an Israeli investigation. However, the testimonies were not provided to the US due to fears that they would be used as evidence to prosecute IOF soldiers in the US and the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, Haredi reported.
Israeli deputy legal advisor to the government, Gil Limon, traveled to the US two months ago to meet with Levy as part of the investigation.
The state attorney was criticized by the occupation's police on Wednesday for failing to file charges against Hamas leaders in "Israel" like the US, according to the KAN public broadcaster.
US charges Hamas leaders over Operation Al-Aqsa Flood
The US Justice Department took an unsurprising action on Wednesday by charging prominent Palestinian Resistance figures, notably new Hamas Political Bureau chief, Yahya Sinwar, with a hefty array of charges—conspiracy to support a "foreign terrorist organization that resulted in death, conspiracy to murder US nationals, and conspiracy to finance terrorism."
The DOJ has also added Iran and Hezbollah to the list for allegedly providing Hamas with cash, rockets, and other military supplies.
"Israel" has committed atrocities in Gaza, and the ICC is anticipated to file arrest warrants for its leaders for genocide in the Strip.
The complaint was initially filed under seal in February to allow time for the US to attempt to apprehend then-Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and other defendants. However, it was unsealed on Tuesday following Haniyeh's "death" in July and other regional developments that reduced the necessity for confidentiality, according to the Justice Department.
It is worth noting that "Israel" assassinated Haniyeh by an airstrike on his residence in Tehran.
“The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’ operations,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a video statement. “These actions will not be our last.”
The charges also target other Hamas leaders, including Marwan Issa, the deputy head of Hamas' armed wing in Gaza, Khaled Mashaal, a former leader of Hamas and Haniyeh's deputy currently residing in Doha, Mohammad Deif, the military leader of Hamas, and Ali Baraka, who manages Hamas' external relations from Lebanon.
