12 nov 2019
IDF tanks heading to the Gaza border Tuesday video
Israeli army bolsters Gaza border presence, says Iron Dome has intercepted dozens of rockets; Islamic Jihad rules out truce mediation 'while martrys' blood is not yet dry' after Israel kills group's commander in predawn airstrike
The IDF said Tuesday evening that 190 rockets had been fired from Gaza since the morning hours, after the targeted killing of Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Atta in a predawn airstrike in Gaza City.
The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted dozens of rockets, the army said, with a success rate of around 90%. More than half of the rockets landed in open areas, according to the IDF.
The killing sparked a massive barrage of rocket fire on Israeli towns and cities in the south and as far as Tel Aviv in the center of the country.
The IDF was bolstering its forces in the Gaza Division on Tuesday evening, deploying tank convoys and armored vehicles to the border as rocket fire continued.
Hamas warned Israel on Tuesday evening against escalating its strikes on Gaza .
"Israel is the one who has committed a crime and the world sees it," Hamas said.
"If the cycle of aggression is expanded, the resistance will have many options."
The IDF also said Tuesday evening that its aircraft had attacked two terrorist operatives of Islamic Jihad in the northern Gaza Strip as they were preparing to launch rockets.
A volley of rockets was then fired at the Sderot area, with Iron Dome intercepting at least one rocket.
Education Ministry director Shmuel Abuav told Ynet that as things stand, there will be no studies in educational institutions from Tel Aviv southwards on Wednesday, but a final decision will be made after a situation assessment and depending on developments in the coming hours.
The IDF said Tuesday afternoon it had launched multiple strikes on Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip after failing to calm the situation.
The IDF said its tanks had fired on three Islamic Jihad military positions in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Tuesday afternoon for a security briefing with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, who headed the military during the 2014 war in Gaza.
Netanyahu met earlier with the security cabinet, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi and Shin Bet Director Nadav Argaman.
At least 160 rockets were launched at southern and central Israel from Gaza after the strike that killed Abu al-Atta. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted at least 60 rockets, but a handful scored direct hits on houses, businesses and even a central highway.
Israel shuttered all educational institutions in the center and the south of the country and told people who were not in essential professions to remain home or near a bomb shelter.
In Netivot, a home suffered a direct injury; no injuries were reported. Earlier in the day, a house on Sderot also sustained a direct strike, but no injuries were reported there either.
Despite Israeli declarations that "quiet will be met with quiet," Islamic Jihad on Tuesday dismissed the possibility of immediate ceasefire negotiations.
"It is too early to talk about mediation or communication,' the group said. "The martyrs' blood is not yet dry. The factions will not allow Netanyahu to use this crime for Israeli political purposes."
Islamic Jihad's leader in Gaza Khaled al-Batsh said: "The campaign against Israel is ongoing. We will not allow it to change the rules of our military conflict. We have no choice but confrontation and nothing will prevent us from responding to this assassination."
Hamas added: "The resistance has begun to respond and is united. The factions are meeting in the Gaza Strip.
"The enemy will be surprised by Palestinian resistance capabilities. The resistance will have the last word and it is its duty to respond to Israel's attacks."
Israeli army bolsters Gaza border presence, says Iron Dome has intercepted dozens of rockets; Islamic Jihad rules out truce mediation 'while martrys' blood is not yet dry' after Israel kills group's commander in predawn airstrike
The IDF said Tuesday evening that 190 rockets had been fired from Gaza since the morning hours, after the targeted killing of Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Atta in a predawn airstrike in Gaza City.
The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted dozens of rockets, the army said, with a success rate of around 90%. More than half of the rockets landed in open areas, according to the IDF.
The killing sparked a massive barrage of rocket fire on Israeli towns and cities in the south and as far as Tel Aviv in the center of the country.
The IDF was bolstering its forces in the Gaza Division on Tuesday evening, deploying tank convoys and armored vehicles to the border as rocket fire continued.
Hamas warned Israel on Tuesday evening against escalating its strikes on Gaza .
"Israel is the one who has committed a crime and the world sees it," Hamas said.
"If the cycle of aggression is expanded, the resistance will have many options."
The IDF also said Tuesday evening that its aircraft had attacked two terrorist operatives of Islamic Jihad in the northern Gaza Strip as they were preparing to launch rockets.
A volley of rockets was then fired at the Sderot area, with Iron Dome intercepting at least one rocket.
Education Ministry director Shmuel Abuav told Ynet that as things stand, there will be no studies in educational institutions from Tel Aviv southwards on Wednesday, but a final decision will be made after a situation assessment and depending on developments in the coming hours.
The IDF said Tuesday afternoon it had launched multiple strikes on Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip after failing to calm the situation.
The IDF said its tanks had fired on three Islamic Jihad military positions in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Tuesday afternoon for a security briefing with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, who headed the military during the 2014 war in Gaza.
Netanyahu met earlier with the security cabinet, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi and Shin Bet Director Nadav Argaman.
At least 160 rockets were launched at southern and central Israel from Gaza after the strike that killed Abu al-Atta. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted at least 60 rockets, but a handful scored direct hits on houses, businesses and even a central highway.
Israel shuttered all educational institutions in the center and the south of the country and told people who were not in essential professions to remain home or near a bomb shelter.
In Netivot, a home suffered a direct injury; no injuries were reported. Earlier in the day, a house on Sderot also sustained a direct strike, but no injuries were reported there either.
Despite Israeli declarations that "quiet will be met with quiet," Islamic Jihad on Tuesday dismissed the possibility of immediate ceasefire negotiations.
"It is too early to talk about mediation or communication,' the group said. "The martyrs' blood is not yet dry. The factions will not allow Netanyahu to use this crime for Israeli political purposes."
Islamic Jihad's leader in Gaza Khaled al-Batsh said: "The campaign against Israel is ongoing. We will not allow it to change the rules of our military conflict. We have no choice but confrontation and nothing will prevent us from responding to this assassination."
Hamas added: "The resistance has begun to respond and is united. The factions are meeting in the Gaza Strip.
"The enemy will be surprised by Palestinian resistance capabilities. The resistance will have the last word and it is its duty to respond to Israel's attacks."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi speak from the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday
PM says operation to eliminate 'ticking bomb' Baha Abu al-Atta approved 10 days ago, carried out with maximum success and minimum collateral damage; Netanyahu and Kochavi both urge Israelis to heed Home Front Command instructions
Israel does not want an escalation of violence after the IDF killed an Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said Tuesday, but warned the country was prepared for such a scenario and would even use further targeted killings to protect itself.
Kochavi was speaking alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Shin Bet Director Nadav Argman said Tuesday after the three emerged from an hours-long security cabinet meeting at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
"We are preparing air, naval and ground defenses as well as for continued fighting. If we must, we will also move to targeted killings," Kochavi said.
"Baha Abu al-Atta was the senior commander of Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. He was the man responsible for most of the attacks that emanated from the Gaza Strip during the past year and even before," he said.
"He was responsible for sniper fire and shooting attacks, he was responsible for dozens of rocket strikes.
"He was responsible for the rocket fire 10 days ago and the rocket fire two days before Remembrance Day and a further long string of attacks.
"He was the man who greatly undermined security and stability in the south of the country - especially in the communities bordering the Gaza Strip. He was the man who took every action to sabotage attempts to calm the situation with Hamas."
Abu al-Atta was killed along with his wife in a surgical IDF strike on a house in Gaza City at around 4am Tuesday morning. Islamic Jihad and Hamas both vowed retribution for the strike.
The response came soon after, with dozens of rockets being fired at communities across southern and central Israel.
At least 29 people were treated for shock and minor injuries sustained as they ran for their bomb shelters. Two people were lightly hurt by shrapnel.
Flanked by Kochavi and Argaman, the prime minister said the operation to kill Abu al-Atta was unanimously approved by the cabinet 10 days ago and was jointly carried out with "maximum success" by the IDF and the Shin Bet.
According to Netanyahu, Abu al-Atta "was in the midst of planning further attacks. He was a ticking bomb."
He said that the IDF and the Shin Bet "identified a unique window of opportunity... with maximum success and minimal collateral damage."
The prime minister also said that Israel jad no wish to see an escalation in Gaza, but that the country would "do whatever it takes to protect ourselves."
Netanyahu urged Israelis to follow the instructions of the IDF Home Front Command.
PM says operation to eliminate 'ticking bomb' Baha Abu al-Atta approved 10 days ago, carried out with maximum success and minimum collateral damage; Netanyahu and Kochavi both urge Israelis to heed Home Front Command instructions
Israel does not want an escalation of violence after the IDF killed an Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said Tuesday, but warned the country was prepared for such a scenario and would even use further targeted killings to protect itself.
Kochavi was speaking alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Shin Bet Director Nadav Argman said Tuesday after the three emerged from an hours-long security cabinet meeting at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
"We are preparing air, naval and ground defenses as well as for continued fighting. If we must, we will also move to targeted killings," Kochavi said.
"Baha Abu al-Atta was the senior commander of Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. He was the man responsible for most of the attacks that emanated from the Gaza Strip during the past year and even before," he said.
"He was responsible for sniper fire and shooting attacks, he was responsible for dozens of rocket strikes.
"He was responsible for the rocket fire 10 days ago and the rocket fire two days before Remembrance Day and a further long string of attacks.
"He was the man who greatly undermined security and stability in the south of the country - especially in the communities bordering the Gaza Strip. He was the man who took every action to sabotage attempts to calm the situation with Hamas."
Abu al-Atta was killed along with his wife in a surgical IDF strike on a house in Gaza City at around 4am Tuesday morning. Islamic Jihad and Hamas both vowed retribution for the strike.
The response came soon after, with dozens of rockets being fired at communities across southern and central Israel.
At least 29 people were treated for shock and minor injuries sustained as they ran for their bomb shelters. Two people were lightly hurt by shrapnel.
Flanked by Kochavi and Argaman, the prime minister said the operation to kill Abu al-Atta was unanimously approved by the cabinet 10 days ago and was jointly carried out with "maximum success" by the IDF and the Shin Bet.
According to Netanyahu, Abu al-Atta "was in the midst of planning further attacks. He was a ticking bomb."
He said that the IDF and the Shin Bet "identified a unique window of opportunity... with maximum success and minimal collateral damage."
The prime minister also said that Israel jad no wish to see an escalation in Gaza, but that the country would "do whatever it takes to protect ourselves."
Netanyahu urged Israelis to follow the instructions of the IDF Home Front Command.
After being targeted by Israeli missiles, the Independent Commission for Human Rights in Palestine (IHCR), issued a statement denouncing the military escalation, and calling for an international investigation at the highest level.
At approximately 09:50 AM on Tuesday, 12 November 2019, the headquarters of the Independent Commission in the Gaza Strip, which occupies the fifth, sixth and seventh floors of a multi-story building near the Palestinian Legislative Council in the center of Gaza City, was targeted by Israeli missiles.
Mr. Bahjat Al-Helu, ICHR’s Coordinator of the Awareness and Training Unit in the Gaza Strip, was slightly injured.
It was a fortunate coincidence that the colleagues on the targeted floor just left the place a few minutes prior the shelling to participate in a meeting on the seventh floor, otherwise, they would have been directly hit.
The Independent Commission for Human Rights condemns the attacks on its offices in Gaza City and calls upon the international community to take urgent action to stop the aggression carried out by the occupying power since the early morning of today, Tuesday.
The Israeli army targeted the house of Baha’ Abu Al-Ata in the neighborhood of Al-Sheja’eya in Gaza, assassinated him and his wife, and wounded his children.
Furthermore, ICHR calls for stopping Israeli war crimes and spare civilians a high humanitarian cost in light of the deterioration of the Gaza Strip in its economic and social conditions.
It also considers targeting human rights institutions requires an urgent international intervention and investigation at the highest level. (ICHR) will continue its work in the service of human rights and expose Israeli crimes and will continue to follow up on the bombing of its headquarters with the relevant international and judicial bodies.
Also Tuesday:
Updated: Army Kills Five Palestinians, Injures 25, In Gaza
Israeli Missiles Kill A Third Palestinian In Gaza
Israeli Air Force Kills Two, Injures Nine, In Damascus
At approximately 09:50 AM on Tuesday, 12 November 2019, the headquarters of the Independent Commission in the Gaza Strip, which occupies the fifth, sixth and seventh floors of a multi-story building near the Palestinian Legislative Council in the center of Gaza City, was targeted by Israeli missiles.
Mr. Bahjat Al-Helu, ICHR’s Coordinator of the Awareness and Training Unit in the Gaza Strip, was slightly injured.
It was a fortunate coincidence that the colleagues on the targeted floor just left the place a few minutes prior the shelling to participate in a meeting on the seventh floor, otherwise, they would have been directly hit.
The Independent Commission for Human Rights condemns the attacks on its offices in Gaza City and calls upon the international community to take urgent action to stop the aggression carried out by the occupying power since the early morning of today, Tuesday.
The Israeli army targeted the house of Baha’ Abu Al-Ata in the neighborhood of Al-Sheja’eya in Gaza, assassinated him and his wife, and wounded his children.
Furthermore, ICHR calls for stopping Israeli war crimes and spare civilians a high humanitarian cost in light of the deterioration of the Gaza Strip in its economic and social conditions.
It also considers targeting human rights institutions requires an urgent international intervention and investigation at the highest level. (ICHR) will continue its work in the service of human rights and expose Israeli crimes and will continue to follow up on the bombing of its headquarters with the relevant international and judicial bodies.
Also Tuesday:
Updated: Army Kills Five Palestinians, Injures 25, In Gaza
Israeli Missiles Kill A Third Palestinian In Gaza
Israeli Air Force Kills Two, Injures Nine, In Damascus
The Palestinian ministry of education announced all schools will be closed on Tuesday morning in the Gaza Strip because of the Israeli military escalation.
The Israeli occupation army at dawn Tuesday launched a deadly aerial attack on Gaza, killing a senior Islamic Jihad commander and his wife.
Later, the Israeli army announced the closure of all the crossings with Gaza and the reduction of the fishing zone.
The Israeli occupation army at dawn Tuesday launched a deadly aerial attack on Gaza, killing a senior Islamic Jihad commander and his wife.
Later, the Israeli army announced the closure of all the crossings with Gaza and the reduction of the fishing zone.
Hours after assassinating a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad, who was killed along with his wife, the Israeli army continued firing missiles into several areas of the coastal region, causing excessive property damage.
Media sources said the army fired a missile into an apartment in a residential building in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, west of Gaza city, causing serious damage.
They added that the army also fired missiles into a site in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, in addition to several missiles into farmlands in central Gaza Strip, and east of Gaza city.
The latest escalation came shortly after Israel assassinated a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad, identified as Baha’ Abu al-‘Ata, 42, and his wife, Asma’ Abu all-Ata, in addition to wounding their siblings, Salim, Mohammad, Lian, and Fatima az-Zahra’, and their neighbor Hanan Hallas.
The Israeli missiles also caused damage to a school, run by the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) near the home of the assassinated Islamic Jihad leader, the Quds News Network has reported.
A state of emergency was declared in the Gaza Strip; all schools have been closed, and all hospitals declared readiness for a possible massive Israeli offensive on the coastal region, while the Israeli army closed border terminals.
It is worth mentioning that the Israel army fired missiles into the home of Akram al-Ajjouri, a senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in Syria, killing his son Moath, and wounding his granddaughter. The strike also led to the death of Abdullah Yousef Hasan, and the injury of eight other civilians.
Media sources said the army fired a missile into an apartment in a residential building in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, west of Gaza city, causing serious damage.
They added that the army also fired missiles into a site in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, in addition to several missiles into farmlands in central Gaza Strip, and east of Gaza city.
The latest escalation came shortly after Israel assassinated a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad, identified as Baha’ Abu al-‘Ata, 42, and his wife, Asma’ Abu all-Ata, in addition to wounding their siblings, Salim, Mohammad, Lian, and Fatima az-Zahra’, and their neighbor Hanan Hallas.
The Israeli missiles also caused damage to a school, run by the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) near the home of the assassinated Islamic Jihad leader, the Quds News Network has reported.
A state of emergency was declared in the Gaza Strip; all schools have been closed, and all hospitals declared readiness for a possible massive Israeli offensive on the coastal region, while the Israeli army closed border terminals.
It is worth mentioning that the Israel army fired missiles into the home of Akram al-Ajjouri, a senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in Syria, killing his son Moath, and wounding his granddaughter. The strike also led to the death of Abdullah Yousef Hasan, and the injury of eight other civilians.
It has been a week of appalling abuses committed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank – little different from the other 2,670 weeks endured by Palestinians since the occupation began in 1967.
The difference this past week was that several entirely unexceptional human rights violations that had been caught on film went viral on social media.
One shows a Palestinian father in the West Bank city of Hebron leading his son by the hand to kindergarten. The pair are stopped by two heavily armed soldiers, there to help enforce the rule of a few hundred illegal Jewish settlers over the city’s Palestinian population.
The soldiers scream at the father, repeatedly and violently push him and then grab his throat as they accuse his small son of throwing stones. As the father tries to shield his son from the frightening confrontation, one soldier pulls out his rifle and sticks it in the father’s face.
It is a minor incident by the standards of Israel’s long-running belligerent occupation. But it powerfully symbolises the unpredictable, humiliating, terrifying and sometimes deadly experiences faced daily by millions of Palestinians.
A video of another such incident emerged last week. A Palestinian man is ordered to leave an area by an armed Israeli policewoman. He turns and walks slowly away, his hands in the air. Moments later she shoots a sponge-tipped bullet into his back. He falls to the ground, writhing in agony.
It is unclear whether the man was being used for target practice or simply for entertainment.
The reason such abuses are so commonplace is that they are almost never investigated – and even less often are those responsible punished.
It is not simply that Israeli soldiers become inured to the suffering they inflict on Palestinians daily. It is the soldiers’ very duty to crush the Palestinians’ will for freedom, to leave them utterly hopeless. That is what is required of an army policing a population permanently under occupation.
The message is only underscored by the impunity the soldiers enjoy. Whatever they do, they have the backing not only of their commanders but of the government and courts.
Just that point was underlined late last month. An unnamed Israeli army sniper was convicted of shooting dead a 14-year-old boy in Gaza last year. The Palestinian child had been participating in one of the weekly protests at the perimeter fence.
Such trials and convictions are a great rarity. Despite damning evidence showing that Uthman Hillis was shot in the chest with a live round while posing no threat, the court sentenced the sniper to the equivalent of a month’s community service.
In Israel’s warped scales of justice, the cost of a Palestinian child’s life amounts to no more than a month of extra kitchen duties for his killer.
But the overwhelming majority of the 220 Palestinian deaths at the Gaza fence over the past 20 months will never be investigated. Nor will the wounding of tens of thousands more Palestinians, many of them now permanently disabled.
There is an equally disturbing trend. The Israeli public have become so used to seeing YouTube videos of soldiers – their sons and daughters – abuse Palestinians that they now automatically come to the soldiers’ defence, however egregious the abuses.
The video of the father and son threatened in Hebron elicited few denunciations. Most Israelis rallied behind the soldiers. Amos Harel, a military analyst for the liberal Haaretz newspaper, observed that an “irreversible process” was under way among Israelis: “The soldiers are pure and any criticism of them is completely forbidden.”
When the Israeli state offers impunity to its soldiers, the only deterrence is the knowledge that such abuses are being monitored and recorded for posterity – and that one day these soldiers may face real accountability, in a trial for war crimes.
But Israel is working hard to shut down those doing the investigating – human rights groups.
For many years Israel has been denying United Nations monitors – including international law experts like Richard Falk and Michael Lynk – entry to the occupied territories in a blatant bid to stymie their human rights work.
Last week Human Rights Watch, headquartered in New York, also felt the backlash. The Israeli supreme court approved the deportation of Omar Shakir, its Israel-Palestine director.
Before his appointment by HRW, Shakir had called for a boycott of the businesses in illegal Jewish settlements. The judges accepted the state’s argument: he broke Israeli legislation that treats Israel and the settlements as indistinguishable and forbids support for any kind of boycott.
But Shakir rightly understands that the main reason Israel needs soldiers in the West Bank – and has kept them there oppressing Palestinians for more than half a century – is to protect settlers who were sent there in violation of international law.
The collective punishment of Palestinians, such as restrictions on movement and the theft of resources, was inevitable the moment Israel moved the first settlers into the West Bank. That is precisely why it is a war crime for a state to transfer its population into occupied territory.
But Shakir had no hope of a fair hearing. One of the three judges in his case, Noam Sohlberg, is himself just such a lawbreaker. He lives in Alon Shvut, a settlement near Hebron.
Israel’s treatment of Shakir is part of a pattern. In recent days other human rights groups have faced the brunt of Israel’s vindictiveness.
Laith Abu Zeyad, a Palestinian field worker for Amnesty International, was recently issued a travel ban, denying him the right to attend a relative’s funeral in Jordan. Earlier he was refused the right to accompany his mother for chemotherapy in occupied East Jerusalem.
And last week Arif Daraghmeh, a Palestinian field worker for B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, was seized at a checkpoint and questioned about his photographing of the army’s handling of Palestinian protests. Daraghmeh had to be taken to hospital after being forced to wait in the sun.
It is a sign of Israel’s overweening confidence in its own impunity that it so openly violates the rights of those whose job it is to monitor human rights.
Palestinians, meanwhile, are rapidly losing the very last voices prepared to stand up and defend them against the systematic abuses associated with Israel’s occupation. Unless reversed, the outcome is preordained: the rule of the settlers and soldiers will grow ever more ruthless, the repression ever more ugly.
The difference this past week was that several entirely unexceptional human rights violations that had been caught on film went viral on social media.
One shows a Palestinian father in the West Bank city of Hebron leading his son by the hand to kindergarten. The pair are stopped by two heavily armed soldiers, there to help enforce the rule of a few hundred illegal Jewish settlers over the city’s Palestinian population.
The soldiers scream at the father, repeatedly and violently push him and then grab his throat as they accuse his small son of throwing stones. As the father tries to shield his son from the frightening confrontation, one soldier pulls out his rifle and sticks it in the father’s face.
It is a minor incident by the standards of Israel’s long-running belligerent occupation. But it powerfully symbolises the unpredictable, humiliating, terrifying and sometimes deadly experiences faced daily by millions of Palestinians.
A video of another such incident emerged last week. A Palestinian man is ordered to leave an area by an armed Israeli policewoman. He turns and walks slowly away, his hands in the air. Moments later she shoots a sponge-tipped bullet into his back. He falls to the ground, writhing in agony.
It is unclear whether the man was being used for target practice or simply for entertainment.
The reason such abuses are so commonplace is that they are almost never investigated – and even less often are those responsible punished.
It is not simply that Israeli soldiers become inured to the suffering they inflict on Palestinians daily. It is the soldiers’ very duty to crush the Palestinians’ will for freedom, to leave them utterly hopeless. That is what is required of an army policing a population permanently under occupation.
The message is only underscored by the impunity the soldiers enjoy. Whatever they do, they have the backing not only of their commanders but of the government and courts.
Just that point was underlined late last month. An unnamed Israeli army sniper was convicted of shooting dead a 14-year-old boy in Gaza last year. The Palestinian child had been participating in one of the weekly protests at the perimeter fence.
Such trials and convictions are a great rarity. Despite damning evidence showing that Uthman Hillis was shot in the chest with a live round while posing no threat, the court sentenced the sniper to the equivalent of a month’s community service.
In Israel’s warped scales of justice, the cost of a Palestinian child’s life amounts to no more than a month of extra kitchen duties for his killer.
But the overwhelming majority of the 220 Palestinian deaths at the Gaza fence over the past 20 months will never be investigated. Nor will the wounding of tens of thousands more Palestinians, many of them now permanently disabled.
There is an equally disturbing trend. The Israeli public have become so used to seeing YouTube videos of soldiers – their sons and daughters – abuse Palestinians that they now automatically come to the soldiers’ defence, however egregious the abuses.
The video of the father and son threatened in Hebron elicited few denunciations. Most Israelis rallied behind the soldiers. Amos Harel, a military analyst for the liberal Haaretz newspaper, observed that an “irreversible process” was under way among Israelis: “The soldiers are pure and any criticism of them is completely forbidden.”
When the Israeli state offers impunity to its soldiers, the only deterrence is the knowledge that such abuses are being monitored and recorded for posterity – and that one day these soldiers may face real accountability, in a trial for war crimes.
But Israel is working hard to shut down those doing the investigating – human rights groups.
For many years Israel has been denying United Nations monitors – including international law experts like Richard Falk and Michael Lynk – entry to the occupied territories in a blatant bid to stymie their human rights work.
Last week Human Rights Watch, headquartered in New York, also felt the backlash. The Israeli supreme court approved the deportation of Omar Shakir, its Israel-Palestine director.
Before his appointment by HRW, Shakir had called for a boycott of the businesses in illegal Jewish settlements. The judges accepted the state’s argument: he broke Israeli legislation that treats Israel and the settlements as indistinguishable and forbids support for any kind of boycott.
But Shakir rightly understands that the main reason Israel needs soldiers in the West Bank – and has kept them there oppressing Palestinians for more than half a century – is to protect settlers who were sent there in violation of international law.
The collective punishment of Palestinians, such as restrictions on movement and the theft of resources, was inevitable the moment Israel moved the first settlers into the West Bank. That is precisely why it is a war crime for a state to transfer its population into occupied territory.
But Shakir had no hope of a fair hearing. One of the three judges in his case, Noam Sohlberg, is himself just such a lawbreaker. He lives in Alon Shvut, a settlement near Hebron.
Israel’s treatment of Shakir is part of a pattern. In recent days other human rights groups have faced the brunt of Israel’s vindictiveness.
Laith Abu Zeyad, a Palestinian field worker for Amnesty International, was recently issued a travel ban, denying him the right to attend a relative’s funeral in Jordan. Earlier he was refused the right to accompany his mother for chemotherapy in occupied East Jerusalem.
And last week Arif Daraghmeh, a Palestinian field worker for B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, was seized at a checkpoint and questioned about his photographing of the army’s handling of Palestinian protests. Daraghmeh had to be taken to hospital after being forced to wait in the sun.
It is a sign of Israel’s overweening confidence in its own impunity that it so openly violates the rights of those whose job it is to monitor human rights.
Palestinians, meanwhile, are rapidly losing the very last voices prepared to stand up and defend them against the systematic abuses associated with Israel’s occupation. Unless reversed, the outcome is preordained: the rule of the settlers and soldiers will grow ever more ruthless, the repression ever more ugly.
