The Israeli’s sought to prevent any vids of their assault on the ships trying to bring ‘aid’ to gaza other than their own being viewed by the world.
As reported by the New York Times, however, one journalist on board the Mavi Marmara managed to sneak a 60 min recording out – which was posted on Youtube yesterday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwsMJmvS0AY
This is a 15 min segment of that clip.
War is a dirty business – especially ‘modern’ warfare.
Gone are the days when war was a series of set piece battles between opposing armies in the field with minimal effect on the civilian population. Now, civilians are very much in the front line (deliberately or otherwise) and suffer the consequences thereof.
The Israeli armed forces purport to minimise civilian casualties, as far as is possible, during their operations. This claim has been severely challenged in recent weeks – with allegations that the actions of some IDF members during the recent operation in Gaza departed from the high ethical standards the IDF strives to maintain and amounted to ‘War crimes’
Pictures of the death and suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the deliberate demolition/destruction of buildings and infrastructure have filled our TV screens.
While Israel has been (rightly in my view) condemned for the suffering they have inflicted on the Palestinians, are they solely to blame for the plight of the Palestinians? Do the Arab nations not also share a portion of the guilt? One writer, Nonie Darwish, argues that they do.
IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead
One squad leader said ‘he argued with his commander over the permissive rules of engagement that allowed the clearing out of houses by shooting without warning the residents beforehand . . .
‘To write ‘death to the Arabs’ on the walls, to take family pictures and spit on them, just because you can. I think this is the main thing: To understand how much the IDF has fallen in the realm of ethics, really. It’s what I’ll remember the most.”
The al-Samouni family lost 29 members during the recent Israeli attack on Gaza.
According to the family, Israeli soldiers removed the extended family from their homes and herded them in to one single house. The next day, that house was targeted by Israeli shells and missiles – killing 29 family members.
The survivors account of what happened has been partly verified by the International Red Cross and the United Nations.
Now, Mohammad Fukra, a Palestinian Israeli attorney, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the al-Samouni family suing Ehud Olmert, Israel’s outgoing prime minister, and other government officials over the deaths of their relatives – seeking $200m in damages for “criminal negligence”.
Anyone who took a simplistic view of the recent Israeli air bombardment and subsequent ground assault on Gaza, may wish to read the following linked article from The Guardian.
An analysis of the 22-day conflict in Gaza by Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, reported in the Jerusalem Post, concludes that the Isreali tactics in Gaza did not break the rules of war.
“[Israel] did deliberately use decisive force to enhance regional deterrence and demonstrate that it had restored its military edge,” the report states. “These, however, are legitimate military objectives in spite of their very real humanitarian costs.”
Last night, for the first time in three weeks, Gaza was quiet. Israel has declared a ‘unilateral’ ceasefire, but plans to leave its troops in Gaza. The announcement came after the UN reported the deaths of two children caused by Israeli tank fire on a UN school where hundreds of Palestinians had taken shelter.
Civilians shelter in UN run school
British MP, Sir Gerald Kaufman, himself a Jew, has compared the Israeli soldiers in Gaza to the Nazis.
‘My grandmother was ill in bed when the Nazis came to her home town… a German soldier shot her dead in her bed,’ he told MPs. ‘My grandmother did not die to provide cover for Israeli soldiers murdering Palestinian grandmothers in Gaza.’
