Kerry has left Israel, for consultations in Cairo. He’ll be back,
undoubtedly. But it’s nice to know he’s not here.
~~~~~~~~~~
The FAA ban on US airlines flying in and out of Ben Gurion has been
lifted. They say it’s because they have been
“working with its US government counterparts to assess the security situation in
Israel and carefully reviewing both significant new information and measures the
Government of Israel is taking to mitigate potential risks to civil aviation,"
Yea, right. They were simply called out on this decision and backed
off.
~~~~~~~~~~
And I suspect that the forthright and public response of Senator Ted Cruz
(R-TX) may have had something to do with it. The Senator wanted to know
whether the decision to ban flights amounted to an economic boycott of Israel,
expressed himself dubious about the exact timing of that decision, and posed
five specific questions. Among those questions: Why, if the issue is
safety, was Israel singled out when flights are permitted into Pakistan,
Afghanistan and Yemen?
When a state department spokesperson called the questions “offensive and
ridiculous,” he countered that, “Serious questions were asked about the nature
of a decision that handed Hamas a public relations victory...the only thing
‘ridiculous’ is the state department’s response to basic questions.”
In his full statement – which you can see here: http://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1593
- he declared that “Ben Gurion has rightly earned
the reputation as one of the safest airports in the world due to the aggressive
security measures implemented by the Israeli government.”
(Emphasis added)
He then said he would hold up the approval of state department diplomatic
nominees until he got answers to his questions.
It’s important to recognize that we do have good friends in the American
government (if not in the executive branch).
Credit: AP
~~~~~~~~~~
As to the need to take out all of Hamas’s tunnels...
Chief of Staff Benny Gantz made a statement yesterday when he visited
soldiers on the front lines:
"we must stick to the targets for which we entered
[Gaza] and continue our maneuvers as long as it takes."
~~~~~~~~~~
And then there was an interview late in the day yesterday given by member
of the Security Cabinet Finance Minister Yair Lapid (head of Yesh Atid).
It perhaps has added significance because he’s center-left and until recent days
talked a great deal about “peace.” Said Lapid (emphasis added):
“...the objectives of the operation needed to be met
‘before they talk to us about a ceasefire.’“Lapid defined the objectives as cleansing ‘Gaza of its terrorist tunnels and delivering a significant blow to Hamas’s rocket infrastructure.’
“Even amid all the talk of a ceasefire, Lapid said the government was telling IDF to ‘go, achieve your objectives.’”
~~~~~~~~~~
While Communications Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) who is a member of the
Security Cabinet, said today that we are not seeking a ceasefire at present – we
must complete our ground offensive first, something he estimates will take
another week or two. After that, he said, if Hamas is still launching
rockets, we may have to go further, and find Hamas leadership “hiding in their
holes.”
As I wrote yesterday, “Hold on, hold on!” If this remains the policy
of the government, we will be OK.
~~~~~~~~~~
I share here an article put out from The Investigative Project on
Terrorism, headed by Steve Emerson.
It raises some serious questions regarding the identification of all of
Hamas’s tunnels. It’s pointless to talk about taking them all out if they
haven’t all been identified. Additionally, it raises troubling questions
about whether the US necessarily shares all of its information on the tunnels
with Israel and whether Israel is utilizing all possible hi tech equipment for
identifying tunnels deep underground. (Please be assured, Israel is
aware of this equipment.)
According to Emerson, US officials believe that Israel is underestimating
the number of tunnels. American information on this has been acquired
via satellites equipped with special high resolution
infrared detection technology.
And then we have this information:
“It is believed that the construction of the more
advanced Palestinian tunnels began right after the 2012 cease-fire agreement,
when Israel agreed to lift restrictions for humanitarian aid, including large
quantities of steel and concrete," he [Emerson] said, adding that the agreement
to lift the blockade was overseen by Hillary Clinton.
“...the tunnels are quite sophisticated, with
water, sewage, and lighting allowing for months-long stays.” (Emphasis
added)
~~~~~~~~~~
Much is being made these days of a shift in international opinion that
reflects a greater acknowledgement of the nature of Hamas. There is some shift,
true (and I’ll explore this further in a coming post), but I think it would be
foolish to rely upon this in any significant way.
The EU Foreign Affairs Council released a statement with regard to the Gaza
war two days ago. And it has been pointed out that the EU foreign
ministers for the first time said: ”All terrorist
groups in Gaza must disarm.” (Emphasis added)
Yes, good. But it also said:
”The EU condemns the loss of hundreds of civilian
lives, among them many women and children. While recognizing Israel's legitimate
right to defend itself against any attacks, the EU underlines that the
Israeli military operation must be proportionate and in line with international
humanitarian law.” (Emphasis added)
So there we are. A “balanced” assessment that levels fallacious
charges against Israel.
~~~~~~~~~~
Here, as elsewhere, the concept of “proportionate” is either misunderstood
or deliberately distorted.
International law defines proportionality in the context of legitimate
military goals.
If there is a military necessity – e.g., striking a launcher – then it is
considered legitimate to act even if there may be civilians injured or
killed.
As Col. Richard Kemp - former commander of British forces in Afghanistan -
explained in a talk he delivered here in Jerusalem just this evening, the
question of proportionality comes in with regard to how much is force is
required to achieve that legitimate goal. If the force used is not
excessive, then even if there are civilians hit, it is proportionate.
What would be “disproportionate” would be an intentional attack directed
against civilians or an attack launched on a military objective in the knowledge
that the incidental civilian injuries would be clearly excessive in relation to
the anticipated military advantage.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ambassador Alan Baker, an international lawyer, in a new piece for JCPA,
also addresses these issues. He writes (emphasis added):
“International law recognizes Israel’s right to
defend itself, whether by the conventional international right of self-defense
as set out in the UN Charter or by the international customary right to
self-defense.
“Accusations that Israel is collectively punishing
the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip have no basis. Israel’s military
actions are solely directed to one strategic and tactical purpose, not to punish
the population, but to halt the indiscriminate rocket fire and terror
infiltration into Israel’s sovereign territory.
“The allegation leveled against Israel that
it uses disproportionate force, is a misreading of the international rules of
proportionality in armed conflict which are intended to regulate the extent of
force needed in relation to the military challenge anticipated.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of proportionate force...
A topic that I must mention here (and will return to in considerably more
detail soon) is the prospect of a “Goldstone II,” which we are now facing.
Remember the Goldstone Report? Libelous accusations regarding Israel’s “war
crimes” committed during Operation Cast Lead (at the beginning of 2009) were
leveled at us in this major report. It followed an “investigation” that
was headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, as mandated by the UN Human Relations
Council.
I mention it here because that same UN Human Rights Council, which is
consistently and notoriously anti-Israel, has now voted to appoint an
“international commission of inquiry” to look at Israeli actions in “the
Palestinian territories” and most specifically Gaza.
Only the US voted against this. While 29 countries approved it and 17
nations – including those considered allies, such as the UK, Germany and France
- abstained.
Israel has called this action a “travesty.” A statement from the prime
minister’s office said, “This investigation by a kangaroo court is a foregone
conclusion.”
Indeed. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has already
come out with a statement that, “There seems a strong possibility that
international humanitarian law has been violated in a manner that could amount
to war crimes.”
This is not at all unexpected. It was at a seminar discussing this
issue that I heard Col. Kemp speak tonight.
~~~~~~~~~~
The battle with Hamas inside of Gaza continues. The count of young
soldiers we have lost is now 32.
~~~~~~~~~~
In a ceremony in the Knesset that was very low key because of the war, Ruby
(Reuven) Rivlin was sworn in as president of Israel today, succeeding Shimon
Peres His term of office is seven years.
After reciting the Shehechiyanu prayer, he said: “With this prayer, in awe and humility, on your behalf and at
your command, I come to faithfully fulfill my role as tenth president of the
State of Israel.”
Credit:
Philly.com
~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~
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