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IDF Morality in the Gaza Operation

(Jerusalem Post) Editorial - A report presented by Israel to the UN this week in response to accusations of "war crimes" in Gaza raised by the Goldstone Report clarifies the ethical dilemmas faced by the State of Israel in its fight against terrorism and the high moral standards of the IDF's rules of engagement. On January 3, 2009, a number of Palestinian civilians were killed by an IDF missile that struck near the entrance to the Al-Maqadmah mosque. An IDF investigation found that the missile strike had been directed at two terrorists observed firing Kassam rockets at Israeli cities. A number of factors combined to cause these unfortunate fatalities. There was a "ticking bomb" element. The two Kassam operatives had to be neutralized before they could launch more rockets at Israeli civilians. IDF commanders who authorized the attack did not know that the building, which had no minaret, was a mosque. Furthermore, the Israeli command did not know that a door that led into the mosque was open. It was shrapnel from the missile that killed civilians located inside. Finally, two IDF officers selected a more powerful missile than was authorized because the missile that had been approved was not immediately available and, with time running out, no Palestinian civilians could be seen in the area. Nevertheless, the officers were punished for their choice. Hamas launches rockets from inside densely populated civilian areas, intentionally and cynically using Gaza's residents as human shields. Israel is faced with difficult, split-second choices in response. America, Britain, Germany and other Western countries with forces deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan behave no differently and often with fewer moral scruples.
2010-07-23 09:22:46
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