Gideon Levy on Yoav Gallant:
From the “neighbor procedure” of using people as human shields, which is a gross violation of a High Court ruling, a public scandal in itself; to the spirit of words uttered by a commander who is quoted by a number of the soldiers as saying that was preferable to harm bystanders than to hesitate in hurting the enemy. “If you are not sure, shoot,” one of the soldiers quoted him as saying. The soldier added, “The firepower was insane … In urban warfare, everyone is an enemy. There is no difference between innocent civilians and enemies.”
It is for this that Gallant is responsible. He orchestrated a war in which there were almost no instances of combat, all the while inculcating an awful attitude within the IDF, one that says it is permissible for us to do anything: to drop thousands of bombs, shells, and missiles in addition to phosphorus shells and flechettes; to kill whole families and to sow destruction on a horrific scale while considering it all a success.
“They didn’t set a goal for us,” one of the combat soldiers said in the report, which recounts the destruction the soldiers wreaked just for its own sake. “I don’t know what the objective of the war was.”
Six months have passed since the end of the Gaza war. My assessment at the time seems more valid than ever. Besides generating a huge amount of death and destruction, the war had zero impact on the political dynamics of the region. Israel and the US will still have to deal with Hamas one way or another. If change is coming it is only because of this: while Israel remains the mad dog, Master Obama seems to be yanking on the leash…
Tags: Israeli Army, War Crimes