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Political-Legal Theater in the 2014 Gaza War

(Strategic Assessment-Institute for National Security Studies) Gerald M. Steinberg, Anne Herzberg, and Joshua Bacon - During the 2014 Gaza war and its aftermath, dozens of NGOs claiming human rights and humanitarian aid agendas issued hundreds of statements, the vast majority targeting Israel. However, evidence shows that many NGOs operating in the fields of human rights and the laws of armed conflict (LOAC) lack any standard or methodology for conducting investigations. From the first day of combat, NGOs leveled accusations against the IDF in a manner that was generally highly emotive and exaggerated. NGO reporting relies extensively on interviews with residents of conflict zones, and these "witnesses" almost always claim that there were no combatants or military objectives anywhere in the vicinity. In addition, the legal analyses and conclusions in NGO reports are generally simplistic, misleading, and reflective of political agendas that ascribe malevolent intent to the actions of the Israeli government and the IDF. Prof. Gerald Steinberg, professor of political science and founder of the program on conflict management at Bar-Ilan University, is the president of NGO Monitor, where Anne Herzberg is the Legal Advisor and Joshua Bacon is the head of the Israel Desk.
2016-05-20 00:00:00
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