Today, the New York Times has an editorial on the United Nations report about the “war” between Israel and Gaza last year (I put that in quotation marks, because it was less a war than it was Israel\’s reaction to the relentless bombing of its land from Gaza).
The editorial content is in rust, my comments are in blue. As always, it is up to you to decide which color is making more sense:
The United Nations report on last year\’s Gaza war is another marker of the deadly, endless struggle between Israelis and Palestinians. It found “serious violations of international humanitarian law” that “may amount to war crimes” by both Israel and the Palestinian militants during a 50-day war that killed 2,251 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians, and destroyed 18,000 homes in the Gaza Strip. How many Palestinians? How many civilians? This is unverifiable information, supplied by hamas, which is just passed along as if it were immutable truth. You can stop right here, and know the sympathies of the Times editorial board.
Both sides were faulted, but much of the criticism was placed on Israel. Omigod. The UN, comprised of 22 Arab countries and about 30% Muslim countries, aims “much of the criticism” on Israel, the one and only Jewish state in existence? What a shock. The report, by a commission of the United Nations Human Rights Council, concluded that “impunity prevails across the board” regarding the actions of Israeli forces in Gaza. That the UNHRC sees “impunity” by two sides – even though it calls Israel the major offender – is a shock. A real one. This is remarkable, given that the UNHRC is stacked with freedomless, Israel-hating countries, such as Pakistan, Qatar, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Republic. Imagine what the findings might have been if the council were restricted to countries that actually give a damn about human rights. Among other statistics, it cited 15 cases that killed 216 people, including 115 children and 50 women, in which Israelis used precision-guided weapons, yet there is little or no information to explain why residential buildings were considered legitimate military targets. NO INFORMATION???????? That is an incredible lie. How about the fully documented, fully evidenced (by the United Nations itself) hamas “strategy” of using civilians as human shields, by placing weaponry, and launching attacks, from schools, mosques…and residential buildings – while telling its civilians to ignore Israel\’s warnings that they will be bombed and stay right in the line of fire? The Palestinian militants, including Hamas, were condemned for the “inherently indiscriminate nature” of rockets and mortars fired at Israeli civilians. The report said there were more than 6,000 Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and 4,881 rockets and 1,753 mortars shot by Palestinians toward Israel between July 7 and Aug. 26. Uh….did they mention how many strikes there were by Palestinian Arabs before July 7th? Or do the reasons that Israel attacked Gaza mean nothing here? Guess what: you keep attacking someone, and eventually that someone is going to do something about it: a reality of life that the Times editorial board evidently does not begin to comprehend.
The war was the latest in a destructive cycle that will undoubtedly be repeated if leaders on both sides do not hold violators of international law accountable for their conduct, as the report recommended, and, ultimately, find a way to live in peace. Here\’s a thought. Start finding a way to live in peace by demanding that hamas renounce its charter, which states, in so many words, that it is a religious duty to vaporize all of Israel and kill every Jew, Israeli or otherwise. Funny, not one word about that. How come?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel dismissed the report as “biased” and insisted “Israel does not commit war crimes.”
His government refused to cooperate with the inquiry and issued its own report on June 11 that said that neither Israeli nor international laws were broken in several attacks that led to civilian deaths. It also made clear that no charges would be brought or action taken against those involved in the most prominent cases, including the airstrikes that killed four young cousins on a Gaza City beachfront, which drew international condemnation. Did you expect Netanyahu to agree with this kangaroo-court BS? I hope not. And have you thought about why rockets were fired near that beachfront? What was there which caused it to happen? Again, you ignore hamas\’s serial use of civilians as human shields.
The United Nations\’ report was not the first to issue criticisms. In May, the Israeli advocacy group Breaking the Silence issued a 237-page report that described the devastation inflicted by the Israel Defense Forces after they invaded Gaza, causing “massive and unprecedented harm” to the population and casting “grave doubt” on the army\’s ethics. This is a great point. A left wing Israeli group, which is vastly more sympathetic to Palestinian Arabs than Israel, is in step with the UN report. Now: tell us what Israeli-sympathetic group in Gaza decried the hamas attacks that led to this “war”. You, of course, cannot. Because there is no such group; any Gazan who did that would, in short order, be dead in the street – quite likely with the rest of his/her family. It\’s called the difference between a free society, and a freedomless, violent society governed by fear and hatred. But, then again, that is not even on the New York Times\’ radar, is it?
Hamas, which calls for Israel\’s destruction, welcomed the parts of the United Nations report that criticized Israel but ignored condemnation of its own actions. The group, which has controlled Gaza since driving the Fatah faction out in 2007, has regularly attacked Israel by shooting rockets across the border. And yet there are reports that Hamas has begun quiet talks with Israel through intermediaries to extend the truce in Gaza and ease tight restrictions that are crippling Gaza and its people. Making any deal with Hamas seems certain to further weaken the Palestinian Authority, whose moderate leaders help administer the West Bank and have been willing to negotiate peace with Israel. Nice of you guys, in the next to last paragraph of this idiotorial, to notice that hamas just might have a little special culpabality here – though, you being you, it is completely sanitized. Hamas doesn\’t call for Israel\’s destruction, hamas requires Israel\’s destruction and the death of all Jews, as a religious duty. Have any of you ever read the hamas charter? Here\’s a link. Read it and, finally, know what you\’re talking about. One other thing: when will you stop calling Palestinian Authority leaders “moderates”? They are every bit as committed to vaporizing Israel as hamas. And you damn well know it.
The report is expected to serve as the basis for a fuller investigation into possible war crimes by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. It is unrealistic to expect Hamas, which the United States and other countries consider a terrorist group, to comply with international law or police itself. But Israel has a duty, and should have the desire, to adjust its military policies to avoid civilian casualties and hold those who failed to do so accountable. Absent some kind of peace agreement with the Palestinians, another war in Gaza seems inevitable. What a classic ending. hamas is a terrorist group so it is unrealistic to expect anything from them. But Israel has a duty to adhere to all rules, against an entity that follows no rules. Hey, why not? Who cares how many Israelis will die in the process? They\’re mostly Jews, so that\’s ok. Just make peace with people who are specifically, in writing and through their actions, committed to there being no peace. Easy as pie.
There it is. Your call.
