Who is guilty in Israel?

Haaretz runs opinions no U.S. newspaper would dare print: No one is guilty in Israel - Haaretz - Israel News.

Nineteen inhabitants of Beit Hanun were killed with malice aforethought. ...Someone who throws burning matches into a forest can't claim he didn't mean to set it on fire, and anyone who bombards residential neighborhoods with artillery can't claim he didn't mean to kill innocent inhabitants.

Therefore it takes considerable gall and cynicism to dare to claim that the Israel Defense Forces did not intend to kill inhabitants of Beit Hanun. Even if there was a glitch in the balancing of the aiming mechanism or in a component of the radar, a mistake in the input of the data or a human error, the overwhelming, crucial, shocking fact is that the IDF bombards helpless civilians. Even shells that are supposedly aimed 200 meters from houses, into "open areas," are intended to kill, and they do kill. In this respect, nothing new happened on Wednesday morning in Gaza: The IDF has been behaving like this for months now.

But this isn't just a matter of "the IDF," "the government" or "Israel" bearing the responsibility. It must be said explicitly: The blame rests directly on people who hold official positions, flesh-and-blood human beings, and they must pay the price of their criminal responsibility for needless killing.

And how about this:

The Defense Forces are not only killing Arabs for no reason, they are also directly endangering Israel's security, disgracing it in the world and embroiling it again and again.

Read the rest, including his condemnation of the killing and destruction in Lebanon.

As long as people like Gideon Levy write such things inside Israel, I hold on to the hope that humanity will prevail.

Hat tip to The War in Context.

Comments

[alom]

In lebanon you will not see such an article..every article will blame israel for their masscares and ignored from their own guilty..because arabs never wrong, the world is always wrong.

[Lior]

Israel has left Gaza. They evacuated 8000 Israelis by force and demolished all Israeli houses and public buildings. One can think - "now that Israel has left Gaza, the Gazans can rebuild their state and start building an independant economy".
Well, guess what?
Instead of having rebuilding the Gazan went on destroying.
Every day, yes EVERY day, the gazans launch rocket attacks on the southern towns of Israel (not settlements), deliberately attacking civilians. Most of the attacks come from the Beit Hanun area.

What would you do when you neighbours fire rocket attack at you house?

I feel sorry for every innocent person who gets hurt, but the Israel incursion into the Gaza strip was invited by those who fire rockets at Israeli civilians.

You seem to forget that.
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[Name]

It is the ARABS who "throws burning matches into a forest can't claim he didn't mean to set it on fire"

Israel should give 24 hours for the Hanunian to leave and then bomb Beit Hanun.

Only pressure on the Arab population can stop the rocket attacks.

[Leila]

Yeah, that pressure on those Arabs in Hizbullah really worked for you guys, didn't it?

Sorry, this thinking of yours hasn't worked, won't work and isn't working.

Diplomacy, diplomacy, diplomacy. And follow international law! No War Crimes!

[Name]

Leila,
We need to be consistent for it to work. Hamas considering a unity gov, why? Yes, it is that pressure you claim not working.

In Lebanon, Nasrallah cant promise Hotel owners a quiet summer anymore. No one trusts him.

You should tell Arabs that war crimes are not working for them anymore.

With more Kassams Gazans will find themselves in Sinai. (not a bad place actually).

[Stephen Frug]

Thanks (as always!) for posting this.