The bombing of a United Nations school yesterday had all the hallmarks of the same old excuses emanating from the Israeli army. Forty civilian dead from the raid yet the IDF insists significant fire from was coming from the area.
In the 2006 Lebanon war, when over 1000 civilians were killed, villages and civilian buildings were destroyed in their droves, where again and again it was insisted 'we were responding to enemy fire'. Now we are presented with yet another tragic example of how Arab lives have yet again become 'collateral damage'.
The UN Charter of Human Rights decrees that antagonists in a conflict much take significant measures to ensure that they distinguish between militants and civilians. Again is clearly not been the case. As in 2006, Israel may very well (although they won't) have significant questions to answer with regard to war crimes.
Robert Fisk points out in the Independent today:
"What is amazing is that so many Western leaders, so many presidents and prime ministers and, I fear, so many editors and journalists, bought the old lie; that Israelis take such great care to avoid civilian casualties. "Israel makes every possible effort to avoid civilian casualties," yet another Israeli ambassador said only hours before the Gaza massacre.
"And every president and prime minister who repeated this mendacity as an excuse to avoid a ceasefire has the blood of last night's butchery on their hands. Had George Bush had the courage to demand an immediate ceasefire 48 hours earlier, those 40 civilians, the old and the women and children, would be alive.
"What happened was not just shameful. It was a disgrace. Would war crime be too strong a description? For that is what we would call this atrocity if it had been committed by Hamas. So a war crime, I'm afraid, it was."
The killing will undoubtedly go on for a few more days or weeks until it becomes diplomatically impossible for it to continue. A select few journalists and NGOs will write reports proclaiming Israel's questionable conduct during this time. Their words will fall on deaf ears until the next conflict against Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria.....Iran.
In the 2006 Lebanon war, when over 1000 civilians were killed, villages and civilian buildings were destroyed in their droves, where again and again it was insisted 'we were responding to enemy fire'. Now we are presented with yet another tragic example of how Arab lives have yet again become 'collateral damage'.
The UN Charter of Human Rights decrees that antagonists in a conflict much take significant measures to ensure that they distinguish between militants and civilians. Again is clearly not been the case. As in 2006, Israel may very well (although they won't) have significant questions to answer with regard to war crimes.
Robert Fisk points out in the Independent today:
"What is amazing is that so many Western leaders, so many presidents and prime ministers and, I fear, so many editors and journalists, bought the old lie; that Israelis take such great care to avoid civilian casualties. "Israel makes every possible effort to avoid civilian casualties," yet another Israeli ambassador said only hours before the Gaza massacre.
"And every president and prime minister who repeated this mendacity as an excuse to avoid a ceasefire has the blood of last night's butchery on their hands. Had George Bush had the courage to demand an immediate ceasefire 48 hours earlier, those 40 civilians, the old and the women and children, would be alive.
"What happened was not just shameful. It was a disgrace. Would war crime be too strong a description? For that is what we would call this atrocity if it had been committed by Hamas. So a war crime, I'm afraid, it was."
The killing will undoubtedly go on for a few more days or weeks until it becomes diplomatically impossible for it to continue. A select few journalists and NGOs will write reports proclaiming Israel's questionable conduct during this time. Their words will fall on deaf ears until the next conflict against Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria.....Iran.
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