Even as Palestinian officials report facts that are pretty
consistent with official Israeli reports, their general
descriptions of what is going on are flights of fantasy.
It is pretty widely accepted that there have been about 200
Palestinians killed in the current Israeli offensive and
Palestinian spokesman concede that almost all the dead are
young men in their 20s and 30s. This fact indicates that
those killed were fighters attacking Israeli soldiers.
Yet this does not stop the Palestinian spokesmen from ranting
about widespread attacks on civilians and the killing of
women and children. European leaders also accuse Israel of
waging war against the civilian Palestinian population, with
no basis in fact.
In the course of the IDF operations throughout Judea and
Samaria, fierce fighting has been taking place between IDF
forces and Palestinian terrorist fighters. Moreover, the
terrorists deliberately operate from within large Palestinian
population centers and therefore cause innocent civilians to
be drawn into the line of fire. Nonetheless the IDF is doing
all it can to prevent harming innocent civilians, with
considerable success, and to provide them with necessary
humanitarian assistance.
Given the situation they must deal with, the performance of
the Israeli army is quite amazing. When the US fought in
Afghanistan it "tolerated" the civilian casualties that it
caused when it bombed civilian installations through human or
mechanical error. Israel has so far caused much fewer
civilian deaths and injuries in a much more difficult
situation.
An IDF spokesperson denied recent claims that the IDF hinders
the movement of ambulances in combat zones. Israeli soldiers
are explicitly instructed to allow the free passage of
humanitarian assistance. It is important to note, however,
that the Palestinians have brazenly used rescue and emergency
vehicles for terrorist purposes. If the passage of patients
in Palestinian emergency vehicles is delayed, the
responsibility must be lain at the feet of those who have
transported explosives under the stretchers of sick children
in ambulances.
The IDF makes a clear distinction between Palestinian
terrorists, against whom Israel is fighting, and the
Palestinian civilian population that does not take part in
terrorist activity.
The IDF has supplied food, water, medicine and other
provisions to cities in which combat is taking place. The IDF
always facilitates the supply of humanitarian aid to the
Palestinian population by international organizations, when
circumstances allow.
The IDF allowed the delivery of 8000 liters of diesel fuel to
a hospital in Ramallah, as well as the delivery of 60 cubic
meters of oxygen to a hospital in Jenin.
In the Gaza Strip, the passage of trucks carrying essential
supplies sent by international aid organizations to the
Palestinian population was coordinated.
Despite this, Palestinian spokesmen, the world press and even
most world political leaders speak of Israeli atrocities and
attacks against civilians. It is accepted that Israel is
committing extreme acts against innocent Palestinians, and
that the only question is if this is justified by the need to
stop the suicide bombers.
In fact, Palestinian civilians are not being targeted and are
largely not being killed or hurt. The Israeli army is hunting
out and finding terrorists who deliberately operate among
innocent civilians to provoke casualties of their own. And it
is doing so with remarkably little loss to civilian life and
limb.
