Häkämies asks Israel for clarification of Gaza events

No changes yet in export policy for war materiel

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Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies (Nat. Coalition Party) feels that it is important that suspicions of human rights violations in the recent Gaza war should be investigated.
      Häkämies took up the conflict in his discussions with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem on Monday.
      “I raised the question about information that had come out in public in recent days and asked for their comments and explanations”, Häkämies said.
      An Israeli military academy passed on a report last week concerning accounts by soldiers in which they described violations of human rights and the killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip in December and January.
      Barak repeated to Häkämies the view that he had expressed previously that he takes a serious view of the allegations, and that the cases would be looked into.
      The United Nations and numerous human rights organisations have called on Israel to account for its actions in the 22-day war. Palestinian human rights organisations say that of about 1,400 dead, more than 900 were civilians. Israel says that the claims of the proportion of civilians and Hamas fighters among the dead was exaggerated.
     
The visit by Häkämies was the first by a Finnish minister in Israel since the Gaza conflict began.
      “The trip was planned before Gaza. It is important to hear both sides”, Häkämies said.
      He described his trip as an unofficial working visit aimed at getting more information. He came to Israel from Egypt, where he held talks with the Egyptian Defence Minister as well as representatives of the Palestinian Authority.
      “If we think about Finland’s message, the first part is that the ceasefire should hold, and the second is that aid measures should move forward.”
      Members of Parliament Anne Sinnemäki (Green) and Eero Heinäluoma (SDP), who accompanied Häkämies on his visit, were flown around the south of Tel Aviv in an army helicopter. The group did not visit the Palestinian territories.
     
The Finns were also shown parts of the local defence industry.
      “Our cooperation emphasises the defence materiel side, and in it, high technology in particular. We also have some acquisitions coming, in which proposals have been made from their side."
      The Israeli political situation does not affect the export of Finnish defence materiel. Sinnemäki and Heinäluoma feel that the events in Gaza are a cause for concern.
      “The attack was very hard, and there were many civilian casualties. If people in the army shot civilians deliberately, then the situation would be serious”, Heinäluoma said.
      Sinnemäki hopes that Israel will investigate the claims of violations.
      “It is in the interest of Israel itself that the reports should be investigated, and that they should be taken seriously."
     
A clinic run by Finnchurchaid, the foreign aid organisation of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, which was hit by Israeli bombs during the Gaza War, also came up during the discussions.
      “We were told that forces of Hamas would have been in the clinic, opened fire, and that the fire was returned. They said that investigations are continuing, and that they would report on them later."


Previously in HS International Edition:
  COMMENTARY: Mournful Mideast fireworks usher in new year (3.1.2009)
  Foreign Minister Stubb calls for immediate Gaza ceasefire (5.1.2009)

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