|
Trending Topics
|
Source: https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/08/14/laws_of_armed_conflict_in_gaza_113719.html
Laws of Armed Conflict in Gaza
(RealClearDefense) Lt.-Gen. (ret.) John Toolan - In recent months, Hamas has debuted new tactics like indiscriminate airborne incendiaries and interspersing terror cells in crowds of civilians attempting to infiltrate Israel. Hamas attacks Israel and violates the laws of armed conflict by forcing the deaths of civilians to trigger heated condemnations of Israel. The "Great March of Return" involved Hamas encouraging thousands of Gazans to storm and potentially break through Israel's border fence en masse. Hamas implanted its military operatives within the onrushing crowds, effectively using civilians as human shields. Hamas paid rewards to those wounded, and large payouts to families of those killed. Israel will survive misperceptions and ill-informed reporting, though at the cost of increased and unnecessary pressure from the outside world to terminate lawful operations in self-defense. But sadly the same prospects for survival will not apply for Arab civilians unless perspectives on the radical differences in how Israel and its adversaries operate become dramatically more objective. The writer is former Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific.