By Ron Forthofer

  The civilian casualty toll and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon are appalling. When will we ever learn that violence only begets more violence? And, sadly, in modern warfare, innocent civilians are usually the primary victims.

Civilized norms for self defense

  During the current crisis, Israel has portrayed its military attacks as self defense. Surely, every government has the right – indeed, the responsibility – to defend its people. However, in civilized society, there must be rules delineating what is legitimate self-defense, as opposed to revenge or retribution. To that end, international conventions were formulated after WWII to help prevent a repeat of the Holocaust and other atrocities the Nazis committed in occupied Europe. Among the behaviors the world agreed upon were proportionality of response and protection of noncombatants. Moreover, collective punishment was specifically outlawed.

  Israel’s deliberate targeting of vital civilian infrastructure (e.g., power plant and distribution facilities) in Gaza has put at risk the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Imagine life with only six hours or less of electricity a day during the scorching Gaza summer. As a result of the shortage of electricity, there is a scarcity of clean drinking water, unreliable power for hospitals, a shortage of energy to power fans and the refrigeration of food, etc. The Israeli attacks clearly violate the norms established in the Geneva Conventions, and its disproportionate military actions call into question any claims of pure self-defense.

June Timeline

  It is particularly interesting to examine the timeline of events during June, culminating in the capture of the Israeli soldier by Palestinians. Examination of the timeline challenges the idea that the Israeli attacks are self-defense.

* At the beginning of June, despite numerous Israeli attacks, Hamas was still honoring a unilateral ceasefire that it had declared in February 2005.

* On June 8th, Israel assassinated a senior Hamas military leader.

* On June 9th, Israel killed a Palestinian family of eight picnicking on the Gaza Beach.

* Following this outrage, Hamas ended its truce, and Palestinians, including Hamas, fired a number of ineffectual homemade rockets towards an Israeli town, causing fear but little damage.

* Hamas offered to restore the ceasefire a week later.

* During about the first three weeks of June, Israel shelled Gaza on many occasions and its intense shelling resulted in the deaths of about 30 Palestinian civilians.

* On June 24th, Israeli commandos entered Gaza and kidnapped two Palestinian civilians; we still don’t know what has happened to these two individuals.

* On June 25th, Palestinians killed two Israeli soldiers and captured another at an Israeli military base.

* On June 27th, Hamas and Fatah announced an agreement on a plan that implicitly recognized Israel, and a spokesperson said all political groups were prepared for a mutual ceasefire with Israel.

* Later that same night, Israel began its invasion of Gaza.
  According to the media and U.S. government, the capture of the Israeli soldier started the current round of violence. Given the timeline, how can anyone believe that? This claim clearly demonstrates the racist attitudes or the incredible ignorance of these sources. These same sources also claim that the capture undermined regional stability, as if the far more devastating and provocative Israeli actions didn’t. One also wonders how anyone could possibly think that the region was stable before June 25th.

Impact of Israeli attacks  

  The barbarity of the Israeli strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure have outraged much of the world. For example, Amnesty International called them war crimes. Noted author Mario Vargas Llosa, former candidate for president in Peru and Jerusalem Prize winner in 1995, was quoted in the July 12th issue of the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz as saying he was ashamed to be Israel’s friend. He slammed Israel’s “out of proportion” operation in Gaza.

  In addition, on July 14th the Vatican issued a strong statement: “As in the past, the Holy See also condemns both the terrorist attacks on the one side and the military reprisals on the other.” The Vatican spokesperson argued that Israel’s right to self-defense “does not exempt it from respecting the norms of international law, especially as regards the protection of civilian populations. In particular, the Holy See deplores the attack on Lebanon, a free and sovereign nation.”

Why did Israel invade Gaza?

  Israel claims that its invasion of Gaza was to free its soldier and to stop the firing of home-made rockets into Israel. However many believe Israel had a greater agenda, for example, that the attack was a part of the campaign to remove the Hamas-led government. This effort began immediately after the Palestinian election, when the U.S. and Israel led a campaign to cut off aid to the Palestinians. This aid cutoff, a form of collective punishment, was intended to cause severe hardships for innocent civilians. A senior Israeli advisor spoke about the cutoff: “The idea is to put Palestinians on a diet but not make them die of hunger.” This sadistic attitude reflects Moshe Dayan’s advice – Israel should tell the Palestinian refugees in the territories “that we have no solution, that you shall continue to live like dogs, and whoever wants to can leave -- and we will see where this process leads.”

    Others point to the timing of Israel’s attack immediately after the June 27th agreement between Hamas and Fatah that offered the prospect of restarting negotiations with Israel. They claim that Israel fears negotiations because it would have to make painful concessions to reach an acceptable agreement. With its attack, Israel destroyed the chance for negotiations in the near future.

  Still others suggest that the Israeli Prime Minister and the Defense Minister, both lacking a military background, are trying to show how tough they are by giving the military wide latitude in its actions.

    Attacks are counterproductive for Israelis and Jews.

  It doesn’t matter what the reasons really are – Israel’s recent attacks have far exceeded civilized norms. Israel has destroyed its image, possibly once and for all, and turned world opinion solidly against it. Israeli actions and widespread Jewish silence about (or support for) Israeli war crimes are also creating a situation where anti-Semitism can thrive.

The U.S. response

  The lead article in the July15/16 issue of the Financial Times is titled “Syria and Iran told to rein in guerrillas.” The article said the U.S. warned Damascus and Tehran that they would be held accountable for their role in the crisis. The paper’s Middle East Editor wrote in another article that: “Israeli claims that Syria and Iran engineered the June 25 Palestinian attack and Wednesday’s Hizbollah incursion into Israel may be exaggerated.” She went on to point out that neither Hamas nor Hizbollah “are known to take orders blindly from abroad.” Given that it is the disproportionate nature of Israel’s attacks that have created the current crisis, why isn’t the headline “U.S. told to rein in Israel”? Instead the Bush administration has refused to pressure Israel to adopt a ceasefire. And on July 13th the U.S. vetoed yet another UN Security Council resolution. This resolution demanded the immediate unconditional return of the Israeli soldier; condemned the firing of rockets into Israel and the Israeli assault on Gaza; and called for the immediate Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Instead, the Bush administration “just continue[s] to ask that the Israelis exercise restraint” (whatever that means). By not actively trying to stop Israeli violations of the Geneva Conventions, the U.S. is itself guilty of violating them because signatories are obligated to ensure that the Conventions are followed.

  What can people do when their so-called leaders are unwilling to support human rights for all? One key tool that was used against apartheid in South Africa was a total boycott. Unless and until Israel faces sanctions similar to what were imposed on South Africa, Israel’s barbaric attacks on civilized norms will continue and the situation will only get worse.


An important quote about collective punishment and occupation

According to an article by Alexander Cockburn on antiwar.com, the 2001 Jerusalem Prize winner, Susan Sontag, spoke about collective punishment when she accepted her award. “I believe the doctrine of collective responsibility as a rationale for collective punishment is never justified, militarily or ethically. And I mean of course the disproportionate use of firepower against civilians, the demolition of their homes, the destruction of their orchards and groves, the deprivation of their livelihood and access to employment, to schooling, to medical services, or as a punishment for hostile military activities in the vicinity of those civilians.” She was addressing ‘normal’ Palestinian life under Israeli occupation. For some reason, the corporate media and U.S. leaders are unable to acknowledge the terror Palestinians routinely face under the collective punishment of the Israeli occupation of their lands.