SherriMunnerlyn
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- Jun 11, 2012
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BTselem report delivers blow to narrative that November attack on Gaza was surgical
B'Tselem report delivers blow to narrative that November attack on Gaza was 'surgical'
Here is the discussion of Btselem about one unlawful attack.
http://www.btselem.org/download/201305_pillar_of_defense_operation_eng.pdf
Btselem issues its report on Operation Pillar Of Defense, finding Israel killed 167 Palestinians and over half of those killed were civilians. And Btselem addresses violations of international law carried out by Israel in these killings of civilians that relate to unlawful targetings of civilians under the provisions of the fourth geneva convention.
Sherri
Precise and surgical: those were the buzz words mouthed by the Israeli army and its supporters to describe the November air assault on Gaza. But a new report by the Israeli human rights group BTselem calls that narrative into question. The report reveals that over half of Palestinian casualties during Operation Pillar of Defense, the army name for the assault, were civilians. In the midst of Israels attack on Gaza last November--which began with the assassination of a Hamas leader while truce negotiations were ongoing--the army claimed it was ensuring limited harm to civilians. The IDF goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties and to minimize collateral damage, the Israeli armys official blog claimed. A November 14 explanation of the militarys activities on that day says that the IDF has precisely hit 80 more targets. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that the targets of Israeli operations are all military. Israeli strikes are conducted in a precise surgical manner.
That narrative was also pushed by supporters of Israel outside of official state channels. Writing for Foreign Policy magazine, the Washington Institute for Near East Policys Jeffrey White said: Based on the relatively low number of Palestinian casualties -- roughly 110 killed, including both civilians and fighters -- in the first six days, the strikes seem to have been relatively precise. The Institute for National Security Studies, a leading Israeli think tank with ties to the government, also propagated this narrative. In an analysis of Operation Pillar of Defense, former Israeli general Amos Yadlin wrote that the attack was characterized by a limited surgical aerial attack.
But as BTselem states, their report challenges the common perception in the Israeli public and media that the operation was surgical and caused practically no fatalities among uninvolved Palestinian civilians. The numbers say it all: according to the BTselem report, 167 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military during Operation Pillar of Defense, including at least 87 who did not take part in the hostilities, 31 of whom were minors. (United Nations figures are slightly higher: a Human Rights Council report documents that 168 Palestinians were killed by Israel, 101 of whom are civilians.) BTselem also states that over the course of the final four days of the operation, the number of Palestinians killed who did not take part in the hostilities was 4 times greater than their number during the first four days.
B'Tselem report delivers blow to narrative that November attack on Gaza was 'surgical'
Here is the discussion of Btselem about one unlawful attack.
On Sunday evening, 18 November 2012, the whole family was home. Now and then we heard explosions and airplanes flying overhead, above the refugee camp. Just before 10:00 oclock, we heard a powerful explosion that shook our house. My husband, Jalal, went up to the roof to see where the bomb had hit.
About ten minutes later, my son Hussein, who is six years old, went up to the roof to get his father. He was afraid that something would happen to him. A few minutes later, I heard a powerful explosion from the direction of the roof. The house filled with dust and smoke. I went outside. I was hysterical. I was crying and screaming. I asked Jalals brothers to come over and they came to the house. I told them that Jalal and Hussein had been on the roof. We went up to the roof and called Jalal but he didnt answer. Then I saw Jalal and Hussein. They were covered in blood. I began screaming hysterically. Jalals brothers took me out of the house and brought me to one of their houses. A few minutes later, they told me that Hussein had been killed and that Jalal was seriously wounded and on his way to the hospital. A few hours later, at around two oclock in the morning, I was told that Jalal had died too. I was in shock and couldnt stop crying.
http://www.btselem.org/download/201305_pillar_of_defense_operation_eng.pdf
Btselem issues its report on Operation Pillar Of Defense, finding Israel killed 167 Palestinians and over half of those killed were civilians. And Btselem addresses violations of international law carried out by Israel in these killings of civilians that relate to unlawful targetings of civilians under the provisions of the fourth geneva convention.
Sherri