Israel is caught between conflicting needs and goals in its
attitude to the Palestinian people. This is true of both the
political decision-makers and the security experts.
Both are trying to find the delicate balance between a
stubborn and successful battle against Palestinian terror and
avoiding causing undue suffering to the large Palestinian
population that does not participate in the terror.
On the one hand, there is the just need to fight an
uncompromising battle against the cruel terror that is used
against Israel, and the army and the security forces are
doing their best given the many constraints that they have to
operate under.
On the other hand, there is a desire to limit as much as
possible the difficulties of the many Palestinians who just
want to live their lives. This includes the day-to-day
problems they have while living under curfews and travel
restrictions, as well as the extraordinary times when an
uninvolved bystander is killed or harmed when a terrorist is
attacked.
The problem arises because the Palestinian terrorists are
entirely unconcerned about the lot of their own brethren, and
they use any easing-up in the IDF pressure on Palestinian
cities to murder innocent Israelis. Just last week Shani
Ladani Hy"d of Alush was murdered by terrorists who
slipped in and out of Tulkarm during the few hours that the
army eased the curfew so that the residents could go about
their business.
The bloodthirsty Palestinian murderers know well that their
deeds cause suffering to their own people but they believe
that it is "worth it" if they can murder innocent Jews.
International law has banned such behavior. It clearly
requires that all fighters wear special clothing (uniforms)
and take care to stay apart from non-combatants so that
targeting them, which is a legitimate act in warfare, will
not cause incidental harm to the non-combatant population.
Palestinian criminals ("fighters" according to the media)
deliberately live among civilians knowing that Israel will
have operational and political difficulties in stopping them
that way.
International law addresses that situation too, saying that
the full responsibility for non-combatant casualties and
suffering is considered to rest with the criminals who flout
law and convention by, in effect, using civilians as human
shields. They are considered responsible for the noncombatant
deaths that result from attacks targeted at them.
Unfortunately, the media does not know of this or does not
want to know of it, and when there are non-combatant deaths
or injuries they all blame Israel and not the so-called
militants who are really responsible according to established
international law.
There is no other country in the world that, when faced with
such heartless terrorism, would respond with the sensitivity
displayed by the State of Israel. The Americans bombed
targets in Bosnia and Afghanistan and there was no criticism
when they were legitimate targets. America rained bombs on
the hideouts of Osama bin Laden in the mountains of
Afghanistan even though it was well-known that the arch-
terrorist lived with his family. Hundreds -- perhaps
thousands -- of non-combatant Afghani residents were killed
by the American attacks.
