Since then, the Red Cross has noted improvements, even praising Israel for trying to avoid civilian casualties and provide humanitarian assistance in a briefing for Europeans in Tel Aviv, according to a European diplomat who attended the briefing.
Pierre Wettach, head of the organization in Israel and the Palestinian territories, said of the Israel Defense Forces in an interview: “I believe there is a true concern on the part of the I.D.F. to address these things, which are extremely complicated to organize.”
(Thanx, Gavin)
Personal musings on Israel, Jewish matters, history and how they all affect each other
Pages
▼
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Israeli Way of Waging War (NYT)
Steven Erlanger tries to figure out how bad we've been. One of his chief sources is Jessica Montell, head of B'tselem, and one of those Israelis who really doesn't like us. In spite of which, his findings are, from our perspective, totally reasonable. They're not perfect - it's a war, not a picnic - but I can live with them and keep my head high.
The photos accompanying the online story (together with the headline) give the casual viewer the impression that Israel must have committed war crimes.
ReplyDeleteThis story is NOT being given any publicity, of course, since it is not anti-Israel. But it's important and needs to be spread over the Internet.
ReplyDeleteSince then, the Red Cross has noted improvements, even praising Israel for trying to avoid civilian casualties and provide humanitarian assistance in a briefing for Europeans in Tel Aviv [...]
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that anyone would expect there to be civilian casualties during a briefing in Tel Aviv. But if that's what they suspect, good and well. If they set the bar low it will be easier to please them.
The following AP news item discusses Gaza in relation to other urban warfare of the last few decades. It seems to be a reasonably well thought-out article, though it does not cover everything.
ReplyDeleteGaza battles show `nasty' face of urban combat (Brian Murphy, AP)
-Zvi