First day of IDF offensive
Photo: Reuters
One of the 'innocent' victims
Photo: Hamas website
Report: Most Hamas 'officers' killed in Gaza were terrorists
Independent research refutes Hamas' claims about number of innocent people killed during Gaza war
An independent research company revealed Sunday that 90% of the Palestinian "security personnel" killed in Gaza during the IDF offensive
there in January were members of terror organizations.
But the independent Israeli 'Orient Research Group', hired by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to investigate the identities of those killed, has released a report challenging Hamas' claim.
The IDF says 709 gunmen were killed in the fighting, of which Hamas has claimed 343 were innocent police officers.
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The report says 286 of the 343 "police officers" killed were members of terror organizations, the vast majority of them belonging to Hamas' military wings.
It also states that the official list of names provided by Hamas includes one traffic officer, who was a member of the Izz a-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and 27 members of various forces trained to battle Israel.
"The statement that Israel attacked innocent policemen was apparently rushed and made without an investigation by the organizations into the identities of the slain policemen," the report says, adding that the organizations did not wait until the publication of the IDF's report on the matter, "which relies on intelligence regarding the targets that were struck".
The report also refers to the claim that the first Air Force strike of the Gaza offensive hit a ceremony attended by members of a Hamas traffic police training course.
It says almost 88% of those present were terror operatives, many of them belonging to the al-Qassam Brigades. Altogether they numbered 78 of the 89 Hamas reported dead.
'Terrorists given security posts'
The report also goes into detail regarding the names published in Hamas' report. For example Mohammad al-Dasuki, said to have served as a "naval police officer", was also a member of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and was suspected to have been involved in a terror attack against American security guards in Gaza in October 2003.
Another victim mentioned, Khamza al-Khaledi, who was listed as a "captain of police", was also active in an al-Qaeda affiliated terror organization.
"The claims against the IDF, by which it had killed 'traffic officers' and 'innocent' officers fulfilling civilian roles, are incorrect," the report says. "The vast majority of the Palestinian 'officers' were active in the military wings of Palestinian terror organizations and warriors who underwent military training."
It adds, "The enlistment of al-Qassam Brigades operatives to official security positions allows the Hamas government to pay their wages with the government budget, thus increasing Hamas' manpower and permitting the investment of private funds in other needs such as weaponry."
