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ByAronHeller The Associated Press TEL AVIV, ISRAEL The Is- raeli military said Wednes- day it has opened crimi- nal investigations into two high-profile cases involving Palestinian civilian casual- ties in this summer's Gaza war, in an apparent attempt to head off international in- vestigations into its con- duct. By investigating the kill- ing of Palestinian children on a Gaza beach and the shelling of a United Na- tions school, Israel looks to be trying to send a sig- nal that it can police itself as it faces the specter of international war crimes probes. More than 2,100 Pales- tinians, three-quarters of whom were civilians, were killed in the fighting, ac- cording to Palestinian and U.N. estimates. On the Is- raeli side, 66 soldiers and six civilians died. Israel said it went to great lengths to avoid civil- ian casualties, but the high death toll has sparked in- ternational condemnation. Several incidents in the war, including the two that Israel is now investigating, have attracted special at- tention. As fighting raged, mil- itary chief Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz ordered a committee to examine "exceptional in- cidents" that resulted in Palestinian civilian casu- alties. As a result, 44 cases are being reviewed and doz- ens more are in the pipe- line. So far, 12 cases have al- ready been examined by the military's top legal officer. The two cases cited Wednesday are the first to result in criminal investi- gations. Seven other inves- tigations were closed, and three more are awaiting a decision. Palestinians have been threatening to seek ac- cess to the International Criminal Court, a venue usually reserved for charg- ing those from countries without reputable judi- ciaries of their own. The U.N. Human Rights Coun- cil, which has a long his- tory of criticizing Israel, has appointed a commis- sion of inquiry to look into the fighting. Conducting a credible investigation of its own could be impor- tant for Israel to fend off these challenges. Following a similar mil- itary operation in 2009, a U.N. fact-finding mis- sion headed by South Af- rican jurist Richard Gold- stone found strong evidence that both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes. While Goldstone later back- tracked from his main con- clusions, the report was never changed. Israel did not cooperate with that probe, saying that its conclusions were known in advance, and it is unclear if it will cooperate with the upcoming U.N. probe either. But it has readied itself for the battle by beefing up its legal staff and preparing a detailed public relations campaign of satellite pho- tos and video clips— hoping to persuade the world that its war against Hamas was justified. As part of the effort, a senior Israeli military of- ficer detailed Wednesday the two main incidents le- gal officials had begun to pursue. The first is the July 16 strike on the beach beside a coastal road west of Gaza City that killed four boys, cousins aged 9 to 11. The second was the firing upon a U.N. school in northern Gaza on July 24 that was crowded with hundreds of Palestinians seeking ref- uge from fierce fighting and killed 14 civilians. The military already has launched three criminal in- vestigations into the poten- tial misconduct of soldiers, the official said. These re- lated to suspicions that a Palestinian woman had been shot after coordinat- ing her travel with the mili- tary, that a Palestinian man had been assaulted and threatened by soldiers and that a soldier stole money from a Palestinian home during the fighting, the of- ficial said. The official spoke on con- dition of anonymity due to Israeli military briefing guidelines. Meanwhile, EU Ambas- sador Lars Faaborg-An- dersen urged Israeli offi- cials Wednesday to reverse last month's expropria- tion of 1,000 acres of West Bank land. But he stressed that the European Union is not considering anti-Israel sanctions over the issue. HIGH-PROFILE CASES Israelimilitary opens own probe into Gaza war By Alan Scher Zagier The Associated Press BERKELEY, MO. Author- ities arrested protest- ers who were planning to block part of Interstate 70 on Wednesday near the St. Louis suburb where an un- armed black 18-year-old was fatally shot by a white police officer. Groups of protesters were gathering in the mid- dle of a road near interstate on-ramps, not far from where Michael Brown was gunned down Aug. 9. They were hoping to block ac- cess to the highway at the height of rush-hour traffic. After being warned to stay out of the street, some refused, and an Associated Press reporter saw at least 12 cuffed by police. Organizers said they expected to be arrested, and they were greeted at the protest site by police in riot gear. The Missouri State Highway Patrol and city and county police de- partments said they will "enforce the law and en- sure public safety" at the protest. There did not immedi- ately appear to be anyone giving directions or other- wise organizing the crowd of about 150 people. About 120 miles away in Jefferson City, Brown's killing briefly dominated a veto override session at the Missouri Capitol, where a state senator who repre- sents parts of Ferguson called Gov. Jay Nixon a "coward" for his initial re- sponse to Brown's death. Democratic state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a vocal critic of Nixon, said the governor "stood by and did nothing until this be- came a global story." Nixon has come under heavy criticism for his per- ceived slowness in response to the shooting and its sub- sequent looting and un- rest. Copies of Nixon's daily schedule provided upon the request of The Associated Press showed Nixon go- ing about his routine busi- ness for several days after the shooting, splitting his attention between the un- rest in Ferguson and items such as announcing grants to preschools and visiting the State Fair. Nixon has declined to second-guess his actions, saying Brown's death didn't initially appear to be the sort of situation that a gov- ernor should inject himself into. Wednesday's protest near Ferguson followed a tense meeting of the city's elected leaders Tuesday night. The city council held its first meeting since Brown was killed, hoping to use the gathering as a chance to promote community heal- ing. Instead they were met with anger and warn- ings from constituents that council members would be voted out of office. Ferguson officials have pledged to boost minority hiring in a 53-person po- lice force with just three black officers and to meet informally in city neighbor- hoods to promote a public dialogue. MISSOURI Ferguson protesters arrested near highway By Scott Smith The Associated Press FRESNO Richard Kiel, the towering actor best known for portraying steel- toothed villain Jaws in a pair of James Bond films, has died. He was 74. Kelley Sanchez, direc- tor of communications at Saint Agnes Medical Cen- ter, confirmed Wednesday that Kiel was a patient at the hospital and died. Kiel's agent, Steven Stevens, also confirmed his death. Both declined to provide further details. The 7-foot-2-inch per- former famously played the cable-chomping henchman who tussled with Roger Moore's Bond in 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me" and 1979's "Moonraker." Bond quipped of the silent baddie: "His name's Jaws. He kills people." Despite appearing in several other films and TV shows, such as "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "The Longest Yard," the role of Jaws was an iconic one Kiel could never escape. "To this day, I go out in sunglasses and a hat be- cause people will shout 'Hey, Jaws!' at me from across the street," he told the Daily Mail earlier this year. "The only way I can explain it is that he's like the Road Runner, which Coyote keeps trying to blow up, but he keeps going." Kiel's other memora- ble roles included bully- ing golf spectator Mr. Lar- son in "Happy Gilmore," le- thal Dr. Loveless's assistant Voltaire in "The Wild, Wild West" and extraterrestrial Kanamit in "The Twilight Zone." He also reprised the character of Jaws for several James Bond video games and voiced the thug Vlad in the animated Dis- ney film "Tangled." Born in Detroit, Kiel began appearing in TV shows and films in the 1960s, debuting in an ep- isode of the Western se- ries "Laramie." He pub- lished an autobiography in 2002 titled "Making It Big in the Movies." OBITUARY Ja ws ac to r fr om B on d fil ms d ie s THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Richard Kiel, the towering actor best known for portraying steel-toothed villain Jaws, has died. He was 74. By Ryan Lucas The Associated Press BEIRUT A Syrian rebel group named a new leader and military chief on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after an explo- sion killed a dozen of its senior figures in a devas- tating blow to one of the most powerful factions in the country's armed oppo- sition. The group, Ahrar al- Sham, has been among the steadiest and most effec- tive forces fighting to oust President Bashar Assad in Syria's civil war. It has also been on the front lines of a now nine-month battle in northern Syria against the extremist Islamic State group. The deaths of so many of its leaders throws Ahrar al-Sham's future into ques- tion, while also laying bare the tangled dynamics of Syria's broader anti-Assad scene just as the United States is considering inject- ing itself into the country's conflict by going after the Islamic State group. Wash- ington's efforts to crush the extremists could in- clude ramping up support for Syria's rebels. The U.S. has long looked askance at Ahrar al-Sham, considering the group too radical for Washington's tastes and too cozy with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. For that reason, the limited support Washing- ton has provided so far to rebels was not directed Ah- rar al-Sham's way. But the group managed to fuse its ultraconserva- tive religious views with a more practical political po- sition, allowing it to act as a bridge of sorts between the more moderate West- ern-backed rebel groups and hard-line factions. 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