Ahead of UNHRC report on last summer\’s conflict, defense minister takes stand in defense of IDF conduct.
Ahead of the publication of a UN Human Rights Council commission report on last summer\’s war between Israel and Hamas, Defense Minister Moshe Ya\’alon Monday defended the IDF\’s conduct.
"The criticism on the results of the operation are not consistent with the situation on the ground," he said of the military\’s Operation Protective Edge against the Palestinian Islamist organization of Hamas.
Ya\’alon was the latest Israeli official to come out against the pending UN report that is expected to be very critical of Israel\’s actions in last summer\’s Gaza offensive.
"Israel\’s policy toward Hamas is on the one hand firm and determined, and on the other hand balanced and responsible," he stressed.
Ya\’alon indicated that the latest IDF operation in Gaza had been more effective than prior Israeli offensives.
"Hamas has had difficulty growing stronger in an intensified manner as it did after Operation Cast Lead and Operation Pillar of Defense," Ya\’alon underlined.
He added that the effectiveness of the 2014 operation was also evident in that "Hamas has not initiated any terrorist acts since then."