In recent days, many journalists, including Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post and Ronan Farrow on MSNBC, have asked when is Israel justified in attacking crowded civilian settings in order to kill militants. Robinson:
So if you’re an Israeli commander and you know that there’s a Hamas military facility next to a medical clinic, but you’re not completely sure the militants are still there, while the clinic is likely packed with injured civilians, do you still pull the trigger?
Over a decade ago, Yonatan Shapira, then an Israeli air force pilot, bravely confronted his top commander, Lt. General Dan Halutz, over what were euphemistically called “targeted assassinations.” Israeli warplanes regularly fired missiles at Hamas leaders in Gaza, also killing innocent civilians, some of them children.
Shapira asked General Halutz, What if a Hamas leader were located in Tel Aviv? Would you order our pilots to fire there, risking Israeli bystanders? Halutz said no.
So you value Israelis over Palestinians, Yonatan responded. Get someone else to fly your aircraft.
Yonatan has a soul and a moral compass. Thanks for sharing that, James.
Nice to know that an active duty IAF had the good sense to avoid the hypocrisy endemic to the GoI.
That’s an idiotic question to ask. If Hamas leaders were in a known location in Tel Aviv they would go arrest them. Why would they drop bombs?
The better question to ask is why you locate a military facility next to a civilian clinic. Wouldn’t you want to put it in a field or isolated location?
Wow. Great question. Maybe even for US political townhall Q&As.
They showed IDF HQ on Democracy Now! yesterday. Downtown Tel Aviv. Right next to a big hospital.
US Official: Israel to pause hostilities for 12 hours tomorrow.
The dead and the bleeding civilians in Gaza are thrown a bone.
CAIRO, July 25 (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Israel will begin a 12-hour pause in Gaza hostilities starting at 7 am Israeli time (0400 GMT) on Saturday, a U.S. official said on Friday.
The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, made the comment when asked about Kerry’s earlier statement on a goodwill gesture by Netanyahu at a press conference in Cairo. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Writing by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Susan Fenton) Huffpost