UNDERSTANDING
THE GOLDSTONE REPORT

Israel's response to the Goldstone Report, which came out in January, had the following response to the claims about the destruction of the El-Bader Flour Mill:

 

(3) El-Bader flour mill119

 

163. With respect to the allegation of deliberate targeting of the el-Bader flour mill, the IDF

conducted a command investigation, which gathered evidence from numerous sources,

including relevant commanders and officers and ground and aerial forces. In addition, the

investigator received information from the Israeli CLA, which was in direct contact with

the owner of el-Bader flour mill, Mr. Rashad Hamada. The command investigation

included several findings, which are delineated below.

From the Open Letter by Ricki Hollander of CAMERA. Note, Goldstone refuses to respond.

 

Questions regarding the al Bader flour mill and denying sustenance to civilians

 

At the debate, you mentioned the damage to a flour mill in Gaza (the al Bader flour mill) as one of the incidents that convinced you that civilians were intentionally targeted. The Report is more specific, stating that the mill was attacked "for the purposes of denying sustenance to the civilian population" – which it charges may constitute "a war crime."

A) How can you reconcile this imputed motive with Israel's act of transferring 14,208 tons of flour into Gaza during the war – an average of 618 tons/day which is not only significantly more flour than the 220 metric tons the Al Bader mill could have produced in a day; but well over the 450 tons/day that the UN and the World Food Programme says Gaza needs?

Clearly if Israel's intention was to deny flour to Palestinian civilians, it would not have facilitated the import of almost triple the amount produced by the mill that was damaged.