The deaths of Zomi Frankcom and her World Central Kitchen colleagues were a terrible tragedy. Israel acknowledged from the outset that serious operational failures led to their deaths, dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others. We continue to stand with Zomi’s family and friends in honouring her life and extraordinary humanitarian service.
The investigation released this week is the latest stage of a lengthy process of examination and accountability. The Military Advocate General has concluded that, while serious failures occurred, the evidence did not establish reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct.
Importantly, these findings are broadly consistent with those of the Australian Government’s own Special Adviser, former Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin. After reviewing the unedited UAV footage and Israel’s investigation, Binskin found that the WCK convoy was not knowingly or deliberately targeted and that Israel’s investigation and response were timely and appropriate.
Binskin also examined the successive strikes on the three WCK vehicles. He found that the second and third strikes followed a serious failure to conduct the required fresh identification process. He concluded that the disciplinary action taken against the officers involved was timely and appeared appropriate to the circumstances.
There should be no hesitation in investigating possible wrongdoing by Israeli forces. Indeed, the same military justice process has now ordered criminal investigations into two other grave incidents in Gaza where the evidence was considered to warrant them.
Israel should provide the fullest possible explanation of its findings in the WCK case, including to the Australian Government and Zomi’s family. But accountability must ultimately follow the evidence. A tragic and unacceptable operational failure is not, without evidence establishing the necessary elements, necessarily a criminal act.
Senator Wong is right that democracies should hold themselves to higher standards. Those standards include investigating failures transparently, holding people accountable where appropriate, and pursuing criminal proceedings where the evidence warrants them. They also require that decisions about criminal responsibility are made according to the evidence and the law.
The fact that Israel has investigated these incidents, acknowledged serious failures, imposed disciplinary consequences and opened criminal investigations in other cases demonstrates an accountability process that should be allowed to do its work.