Legal expert defends IDF rejection of World Central Kitchen strike investigation

The IDF has decided against opening a criminal investigation into the mistaken killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers on April 1, 2024. While the IDF probe acknowledged that surveillance officials misidentified the aid workers as Hamas operatives, the Chief Military Prosecutor determined that the commanders' decisions did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct.

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They just say it's a shame that Israel hasn't brought criminal charges - they don't specify what is shameful about it.

This decision has drawn criticism, with the foreign ministers of the UK, Australia, and Canada releasing a joint statement calling the outcome "shameful." However, legal expert Dr. Brian L. Cox, a retired US Army military lawyer and senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, defended the IDF's stance. He told The Jerusalem Post that the IDF conducted a "very thorough assessment" and concluded it was not a war crime.

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From an International Humanitarian Law (IHL) perspective, this case is "really straightforward."

Cox explained that from an International Humanitarian Law perspective, the incident is "really straightforward." He stated that if the personnel involved genuinely believed they were attacking Hamas fighters and not humanitarian workers, then it does not constitute a war crime, aligning with the Law of Armed Conflict's distinction rule. He added that while militaries can prosecute for violations of use-of-force policy, this case did not meet the threshold of being "really egregious" or showing "wanton disregard."

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If the personnel involved believed they were attacking Hamas fighters, and not WCK humanitarian workers, then it wasn't a war crime. And that's just a doctrinal application of the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) distinction rule.

Despite not opening criminal investigations, the IDF did remove several officers and formally reprimanded others. Cox asserted that this outcome would be identical if a similar incident occurred within the Australian, UK, or Canadian militaries. He argued that a "double standard" is being applied to the IDF, as the expectation for criminal prosecution in this case is not present for other militaries, including those that issued the joint statement.

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Just because there was an allegation that has been leveled against Israel, the expectation is that the IDF will initiate a criminal prosecution. That expectation doesn't exist for any other military, including the three countries that signed this joint statement.