The only reason why Israel is getting away with these obvious violations of international humanitarian law is because the have the financial-military support [billions of our tax dollars a year - as much as we spend on SNAP (food stamps) per year] and, therefore, tacit general support of the United States. The toll on civilians has raised United Nations’ concerns of the Israeli use of disproportionate force in Gaza in violation of international humanitarian law. But the use of disproportionate force and the targeting of civilian infrastructure isn’t a new or surprising tactic for Israel. In fact, it’s a primary strategy according to Gabi Siboni, head of the Military and Strategic Affairs program at the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel. This strategy has a well-documented history in Gaza. With the emergence of hostilities, “the IDF will need to act immediately, decisively, and with force that is disproportionate to the enemys actions and the threat it poses,” Siboni wrote. The military response should aim “to inflict enough damage and punishment to require lengthy and immense reconstruction efforts.” This strategy is playing out now in Gaza, just as it did some six years ago during an earlier Israeli assault on Gaza, Operation Cast Lead. Now as then, Israel insisted that it wasn’t targeting civilians, but rather conducting a precision operation of self-defense. Yet after the fact, numerous international human rights groups came to very different conclusions. A 2009 UN investigation (PDF) determined that Operation Cast Lead was not about self-defense, as Israel claimed, but was “directed at the people of Gaza as a whole, in furtherance of an overall and continuing policy aimed at punishing the Gaza population.” (1883-1884) The investigation concluded that Israeli forces carried out wanton destruction of property, and food and sanitation infrastructure. This included (PDF) the ruin of more than 3000 homes, one of the lagoons at Gaza’s water treatment plant, sewage pipes and water wells, rooftop water tanks, a UN compound, Gaza’s only operating flour mill, agricultural land, chicken farms and a cement factory. The investigation reached the overall conclusion that the destruction of this infrastructure served no military purpose but likely constituted attacks designed to increase the level of suffering among Gaza’s civilian population. This is known as collective punishment, and it is illegal under international humanitarian law. Now, as it did then, Israel is hitting Gaza’s civilian infrastructure. Israeli forces recently shelled El Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital, the only hospital of its kind in Gaza, causing its staff to evacuate all patients. Sixteen health-care facilities have been damaged, the homes of nearly 1900 families have been destroyed or are uninhabitable and nearly 50,000 people have sought shelter in UN facilities. Meanwhile half of Gaza’s sewage treatment systems are no longer operating and hundreds of thousands of people are without water — the International Committee of the Red Cross recently warned of an impending and severe water shortage. Much of the widespread destruction can be attributed to Israel adopting a policy of treating the entire Hamas-run infrastructure in Gaza, including its civilian components, as legitimate military targets. During Operation Cast Lead Israeli Defense Forces targeted police academies, the Ministry of Justice and Palestinian Legislative buildings. This time, Israel is targeting the homes of people it believes belong to armed groups, but without offering proof of their use for military purposes. Israel has tried to downplay the controversy around its attacks on Palestinian homes by drawing attention to its use of leaflets, “roof knock” dummy missiles and telephone calls as a warning to residents of an imminent attack. Israel says this limits civilian casualties by giving Palestinians an opportunity to evacuate before its military forces launch airstrikes. Israel used similar methods during Operation Cast Lead, but these methods have been criticized by human rights groups, and an earlier UN investigation found these warnings problematic because of their lack of clarity, or because they often directed Palestinians to unsafe areas.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 17:17:16 +0000
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