Since the end of the Gaza War in January 2009, Israel has stood accused of targeting civilians, rather than terrorist combatants. The Israeli Defense Force has claimed that during Operation Cast Lead it targeted only combatants in its efforts to protect its civilians from rocket attacks. It has also claimed that most of the dead were combatants and issued lists of names of many of the combatants killed and identified them as members of the specific Hamas military units. Despite unprecedented efforts to avoid civilian casualties -- including hundreds of thousands of leaflets, telephone calls and non-lethal, noise-making warning bombs -- some civilians were killed, because Hamas deliberately hid behind civilians, using them as shields, when they fired rockets at Israeli civilians.
Following the end of the Gaza War, which has essentially stopped Hamas rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, there was a great debate about the number of Gaza civilians actually killed, and the ratio of civilian to combatant deaths during this difficult military operation.
The Israel Defense Force put the total number of known combatants killed at 709 and the number of known civilian deaths at 295, with 162 (mostly men of fighting age) "unknown." Such a ratio, if true, would be far better than that achieved by any other nation in a comparable conflict. Not surprisingly, Israel's enemies initially disputed this ratio and claimed that the number of combatants killed was far lower and the number of civilians far higher. The United Nations, the Goldstone Report, various "human rights" organizations and many in the media automatically rejected Israel's documented figures, preferring the distorted numbers offered by Hamas' and other Palestinian sources.
But a statement recently made by a Hamas leader confirms that Israel was correct in claiming that approximately 700 combatants were killed.
First, a word about the context of the Hamas statement. In the aftermath of the war, Hamas has come under considerable criticism from rival terrorist groups for not doing enough to defend Gaza and for allowing so many civilian casualties. So, in a recent interview with a London paper, Al-Hayat, Fathi Hamad, Hamas' Interior Minister, responded to these criticisms as follows:
"It has been said that the people were harmed by the war, but is Hamas not part of the people? It is a fact that on the first day of the war Israel struck police headquarters and killed 250 members of Hamas and the various factions, in addition to the 200-300 operatives from the [Izz al-Din] al-Qassam Brigades. In addition, 150 security personnel were killed, and the rest were from people. (The original text of the interview in Arabic, as reprinted in the Hamas newspaper Felesteen, can be found on the website of the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. It was also reported by Agence France Presse)
This statement not only supports the Israeli numbers, but it also acknowledges what Israel has long said about the 250 policemen who were killed on the first day of combat: they were "members of Hamas and the various factions" and were indeed "combatants" by any realistic definition of that term.
Fathi Hamad's figures are in striking contrast to those originally issued by Palestinian groups which claimed that only 48 combatants were killed and that the total amounted to a mere 17 percent of all fatalities.
Because it uncritically accepted the original Hamas claims of very few combatant deaths, the Goldstone Report was able to reach its flawed conclusion that the purpose of the operation must have been to kill civilians, not combatants. This is what the Goldstone Report said:
The Mission notes that the statistics from non-governmental sources are generally consistent. Statistics alleging that fewer than one out of five persons killed in an armed conflict was a combatant...raise very serious concerns about the way Israel conducted the military operations in Gaza. The counterclaims published by the Government of Israel fall short of international law standards.
Now that the truth has been admitted by the Hamas leadership -- that as many as 700 combatants were, in fact, killed -- the Goldstone Commission is obliged to reconsider its false conclusion and correct its deeply flawed report.
Richard Goldstone himself has repeatedly said that he hoped that new evidence will prove his conclusions wrong. Well, this new evidence -- a classic admission against interest -- does just that!
The original false figures have also been submitted by the Palestinian Authority to the International Criminal Court. It too has an obligation to correct the record. It would be an outrageous miscarriage of justice for the International Criminal Court to open an investigation of a nation that, in actuality, had the best ratio of combatant to civilian deaths in any comparable war.
The admission by Fathi Hamad that Israel's figures were correct and those originally offered by Palestinian groups were false exposes the rush to judgment against Israel that has stained the so-called "human rights" community so often in the past. It is essential that this new evidence be widely circulated, which it has not been to date, and that those who condemned Israel on the basis of false allegations correct the record. Don't hold your breath! In today's distorted world of "human rights," truth takes a back seat to ideology, and false claims -- especially those that "support" radical ideologies -- persist even after they have been exposed.
Professor Alan Dershowitz's latest book is a novel, The Trials of Zion.
Here are some of the horrific crimes committed during the 22 day offensive:
1. Some 14,000 homes and apartments were destroyed. http://www.caremiddleeast.org/Linked%20pdf%20documents/Gaza%20conflict%20CARE%20Responds.pdf
2. More than 14 hospitals and medical centers were bombed and damaged, 2 clinics were destroyed, 44 other damaged. http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/they-will-not-go-down-celebrating-life-and-land-day/
3. At least 280 schools and kindergartens were damaged/ severely damaged, including 18
schools destroyed (8 government, 2 private and 8 Kindergartens). http://www.fairplayforchildren.org/pdf/1249333688.pdf
4. "According to official reports, Israel has also destroyed 35 UNRWA and governmental schools." http://english.sina.com/world/2009/0124/214041.html
5. Nearly 1,500 dead and 5,400 injured. Over 400 children killed. http://www.caremiddleeast.org/Linked%20pdf%20documents/Gaza%20conflict%20CARE%20Responds.pdf ; http://english.sina.com/world/2009/0124/214041.html
6. 107 Mosques in Gaza destroyed, 45 compeletely. http://www.qassam.ps/specialfile-254-45_mosque_completely_destroyed_and_107_mosques_that_were_damaged.htm
Former IDF soldiers speak out:
http://www.shovrimshtika.org/index_e.asp
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/15/breaking-the-silence-form_n_232991.html
Protests in Europe:
http://nevercastleadagain.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/eu-groups-mark-the-anniversary-of-the-israeli-war-on-gaza
Hamas has three distinct branches:
A political party "Change and Reform", which is supported by the majority of Palestinian voters.
A Social Welfare organization (to which it devotes 90% of its budget) which provides Education, Health, Relief, Orphanages, Fire and Police Services etc.
The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
"While the Brigades are an integral part of Hamas, they also operate independently and at times at odds with Hamas’ stated aims. The Brigades have their own website and regularly release advice of rocket and mortar attacks against Israeli interests independently of the Hamas political leadership."
- Official Australian Government document.
The statement by Fathi Hamad, referencing as it does, all of the above Hamas members, civilian and military, does not in any way conflict with the numbers given in the Goldstone report, it actually confirms it.
- Council on Foreign Relations.”
"a former US treasury official (who now works for a pro-Israeli Washington think-tank), Levitt is a number-cruncher. Using Israeli estimates, he reckons Hamas probably has an annual budget of between $70m and $90m, 80 to 85 per cent of which it spends on its political work and its extensive networks of schools, clinics and welfare organisations, while 15 to 20 per cent goes on military operations.
http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2007/05/hamas-palestinian-israel.
The Goldstone Report also accuses of attacking a crowded mosque during evening prayers (the panel rejected the contention that armed militants were inside), using flechettes (4-cm metal darts fired from missiles, planes or tanks "that penetrate straight through human bone and can cause serious, often fatal, injuries") and of using Palestinians as human shields during house searches, a "war crime under the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court."
The " 250 policemen who were killed' were civil police officers, i.e., traffic police and the like, not Hamas combatants (240 perished in airstrikes during their graduation ceremony on the first day of the assaults.) Also, the "150 security personnel" who were killed, were not Hamas combatants. The duties of both groups were confined to civilian affairs, not as combatants. Indeed, Hamas offered little resistance to the IDF invasion. And of course, it had no means to resist the white phosphorus and artillery attacks or the constant and deadly bombardment by Israel's airforce. In effect, Israel was shooting fish in a barrel.
In a report issued on 2 July 2009, Amnesty International states that “more than 3,000 homes were destroyed and some 20,000 damaged in Israeli attacks which reduced entire neighborhoods of Gaza to rubble and left an already dire economic situation in ruins. Much of the destruction was wanton and could not be justified on grounds of ‘military necessity.’" Amnesty also noted that “During Operation ‘Cast Lead’ Israeli forces made extensive use of white phosphorus, often launched from 155mm artillery shells, in residential areas (my emphasis), causing death and injuries to civilians. Homes, schools, medical facilities and UN buildings – all civilian objects – took direct hits.”
But the Gaza war was a wake-up call. I was jarred by the sight of white phosphorus exploding over Gaza – the most densely-populated place on earth. White phosphorus shells made in the USA, fired by the Israeli army. White phosphorus – the incendiary chemical weapon that burns flesh down to the bone – banned for use against people, even against soldiers. Now white phosphorous was being used against Palestinian civilians, even children. An illegal weapon. A terror weapon. Right on my TV screen – heartbreaking evidence that war crimes were being committed.
Maybe you can tell us your theory General?
Maybe There were 450 more fighters that needed killing to stop the rocket attacks?
I guess when Hamas lies about the number of it's fighters being killed you also believe their lies about civilians?
Do you not get it yet? Hamas exaggerates civilian deaths and underestimates fighter deaths for propaganda.
Goldstone has proven to be unreliable and biased.
This is what a doctor in Gaza said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3660423,00.html
The rockets had already stopped (confirmed by Israel's own Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center who reported "Hamas was careful to maintain the ceasefire").
Cast Lead was planned during the truce:
"Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for the operation over six months ago, even as Israel was beginning to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Hamas."
http://www.haaretz.com/news/disinformation-secrecy-and-lies-how-the-gaza-offensive-came-about-1.260347
"Archbishop Theodosius Hanna (Greek Orthodox Church), Monsignor Manuel Musallam (Latin Catholic) and Mr Constantine Dabbagh (Executive Director of the Middle East Council of Churches) are courageous human rights defenders and spiritual leaders from Palestine. They have just completed a tour of Ireland to raise awareness of the situation in their homeland under Israeli military occupation and the plight of the dwindling Christian community there.
"We need only one thing, to be protected by the world against the crimes of Israel," was their central message. ...
...."As for the church, Christianity in the region has been destroyed not by Muslims but by Israel. Israel destroyed the church of Palestine and the church of Jerusalem beginning in 1948. It, not Muslims, has sent Christians in the region into a diaspora.”
He told his listeners how he had seen the Israeli army target the Christian school in Gaza. "Five Hamas Ministers visited the school after it was attacked and promised they would repair the damage. Someone intended to create havoc in the area, particularly when Hamas and Fatah were clashing. When I visited the school, a Hamas minister, a Muslim, picked up the Holy Bible thrown on the ground, kissed it and put it back on the altar. He said Muslims were forbidden to do such things to the Bible. Hamas paid more than $122,000 to repair all the damage caused. "
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16503
nice source
But what of Hamas, a fundamentalist Islamic political organisation? Have Palestinian Christians experienced persecution or racism under their leadership, as Western papers insinuate?
"Our relationship with Hamas is as people of one nation," Musallam contends. "Hamas doesn't fight religious groups. Its fight is against the Israeli occupation. "
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40241
http://www.culturalcatholic.com/ChristianGaza.htm
After Israel withdrew in 2005, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas stated, "the legal status of the areas slated for evacuation has not changed."[19] Palestinian American attorney Gregory Khalil said “Israel still controls every person, every good, literally every drop of water to enter or leave the Gaza Strip. Its troops may not be there... but it still restricts the ability for the Palestinian authority to exercise control.”[22]
In his statement on the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict Richard Falk, United Nations Special Rapporteur wrote that international humanitarian law applied to Israel "in regard to the obligations of an Occupying Power and in the requirements of the laws of war."[23] In a 2009 interview on Democracy Now Christopher Gunness, spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) called Israel an occupying power. However, Meagan Buren, Senior Adviser to the pro-Israeli media group Israel Project, contested that characterization.[24]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip
You need to read the Oslo agreement which gives israel certain security rights.
In addition, Israel is at war with Hamas and it's blockage is legal.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204518504574423652321177372.html
Hamas called it's police force that merged with Hamas civilians.
It has nothing to do with history, it has to do with his biased anti Israeli stance. it also has to do with the Christine Chinkin who declared israel guilty before she had seen any evidence.
There was only one member of the commission who even had any military experience.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/14752
http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=118&x_article=1731
"More than 280 Lebanese - mostly civilians - have been killed in the conflict. "
http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/12/19/separate-and-unequal
"within Islam there are certain provisions under which lying is not simply tolerated, but actually encouraged. The book "The spirit of Islam," by the Muslim scholar, Afif A. Tabbarah was written to promote Islam. On page 247, Tabbarah stated: "Lying is not always bad, to be sure; there are times when telling a lie is more profitable and better for the general welfare, and for the settlement of conciliation among people, than telling the truth.”
Way to go, Israel!
The only reason wikileaks could be interpreted as "good" for Israel is if you believe that the wishes of Middle Eastern dictators are an accurate reflections of their populations' attitudes. The fact that Saudi Arabia wants the U.S. to attack Iran really means nothing.
A bigger, more important aspect, one that doesn't look good for the opponents of Iran, is the revelation that Riyadh is funding more terrorism than Tehran.
But back to the point, yay for colonialism!
The Goldstone report was a biased flagrant sack of lies.
Hamas underestimates fighter deaths while inflating and exaggerating civilian deaths, it's called propaganda.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rock_mort_gaza_2008.JPG
The killing of Palestinians had not:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Israelis_killed_by_Palestinians_in_Israel_and_Palestinians_killed_by_Israelis_in_Gaza_-_2008.png