On 26 August 2025, AOAV’s Executive Director, Iain Overton, appeared on BBC News to discuss the organisation’s latest findings on Israel’s military accountability mechanisms. The interview followed AOAV’s investigation into 52 publicly reported Israeli military probes into alleged violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza and the West Bank between October 2023 and June 2025.
The research revealed a worrying picture. Of those 52 cases, 88% were either still under review with no public update or quietly closed with no finding of wrongdoing. Just one case, less than 2%, led to a criminal sentence. In that instance, an IDF reservist was convicted for abusing blindfolded prisoners, forcing them to bark like dogs. By contrast, in dozens of other incidents where civilians were killed or humanitarian staff were struck, no meaningful accountability followed.
In the BBC interview, Overton described what AOAV’s review uncovered as “a predictable and very sad pattern.” He noted that public promises of investigation often coincided with international media scrutiny, particularly after incidents where journalists or aid workers were killed. Yet as the news cycle moved on, those same investigations seemed to dissolve into silence.
Asked about recent Israeli statements, such as claims that certain strikes targeted Hamas surveillance equipment, Overton cautioned against taking these explanations at face value.
“There always seems to be a justification,” he said, stressing that the IDF’s internal mechanisms were opaque and lacked transparency. He drew parallels to the UN’s 2008 Goldstone Report, which accused Israel of having investigative systems designed more to shield wrongdoing than to uncover it.
Of more than 1,300 people reported killed and nearly 1,900 injured across the 52 incidents, the overwhelming majority of cases remain unresolved. For the victims’ families, justice is absent. For the IDF, accountability appears more performance than principle.
You can watch the full BBC News interview with Dr Iain Overton below:
AOAV will continue to track these cases, pressing for genuine transparency and accountability in line with international law.
Without meaningful reform, Israel’s current system of self-investigation risks being seen less as a pursuit of justice than as political theatre, shielding those responsible for harm from the consequences of their actions.
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