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Last update - 11:14 17/09/2009
Amira Hass / The one thing worse than denying the Gaza report
By Amira Hass, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: UN, Goldstone Gaza report 

On Friday an Israel Defense Forces soldier called to protest the publication of another story in Haaretz which in his words, tainted not only the troops' image but also his Sabbath day.

The soldier was referring to Gaza resident Zinat Samouni's account of how soldiers killed her 46-year-old husband and their 4-year-old son Ahmed - just two of the 29 people of the same family the army killed between January 4 and 5.

The soldier, who said he participated in the fighting, said he didn't believe the women's statements were true, though he did believe soldiers "scrawled stupid things on the walls, and that's really not right."
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This is a common Israeli solution - in this case, to admit to the graffiti's existence, but downplay its seriousness or view it as everyday Israeli high jinks.

Everything else can be denied. It can always be said that photographs of civilians killed were fabricated. The Palestinians' accounts can be dismissed as lies, intrigues of Hamas, embellishment or, at best, facts taken out of context since Gazans are, after all, afraid of what Hamas would do to them if they told the truth.

Jurists will argue over the meaning of international law and will suggest contradicting analyses. Politicians will justifiably note that the United States does not have commissions of inquiry thrust upon it by the United Nations. Others will say that if Judge Richard Goldstone was reliable enough to be a prosecutor in the International Criminal Court cases on Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and his Pakistani colleague Hina Jilani was fit to participate in the international investigation into Darfur, there is no reason to suddenly cast doubt on their credentials now that they are examining Israel's deeds in Gaza. The Goldstone Commission's findings are in line with what anyone who didn't shut his or her eyes and ears to witness testimony already knows.

B'Tselem, Breaking the Silence, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Haaretz and the international media - to Israelis, these have all fallen into the trash bin of the mendacious Palestinians. In the best case, they have become trapped in their own pure-hearted naivete, and in the worst, into collaborating with efforts to besmirch Israel and bolster prejudices against it. Like the Serbs of yore, we Israelis continue thinking it's the world that is wrong, and only we who are right.

Israel struck a civilian population that remains under its control, it didn't fulfill its obligation to distinguish between civilians and militants and used military force disproportionate with the tangible threat to its own civilians. Air Force drones and helicopters fired deadly missiles at civilians, many of them children; the Tank Corps and Navy shelled civilian neighborhoods with weapons not designed for precision strikes; soldiers received orders to fire on rescue crews; others fired on civilians carrying white flags; and others killed people in or near their homes. Troops used Gazans as human shields, soldiers detained civilians in abusive conditions, the army used white phosphorus shells in dense civilian areas and, on the eve of withdrawing, destroyed wide residential, industrial and agricultural areas.

There is only thing worse than denial - the admission that the IDF indeed acted as has been described, but that these actions are both normal and appropriate.

Related articles:
  • Goldstone's daughter: My father's participation softened UN Gaza report
  • UN Gaza report / Will U.S. now let Goldstone into Afghanistan?
  • Aluf Benn / In wake of Gaza probe, how can Israel go to war again?
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      1.   Repeating mendacious lies doesn`t make them true 04:05  |  A Nice Fellow 17/09/09
      2.   Great Article Amira Hass! 04:41  |  Marc Leb 17/09/09
      3.   Denial is part of Israeli culture 05:03  |  Avner 17/09/09
      4.   Hass`s Proposterous Notion of Control 05:28  |  Brad 17/09/09
      5.   Aa, next time youj lead the troops and show them how it`s done. 05:46  |  fedup 17/09/09
      6.   proportionat response is suicidal to jews 05:48  |  bernard ross 17/09/09
      7.   Amira is like biological warfare infecting Israel 05:55  |  Mark 17/09/09
      8.   I was waiting... 06:05  |  Yitzhak 17/09/09
      9.   war is always hell 06:08  |  peter rouget 17/09/09
      10.   Great peace by a great journalist. 06:24  |  peacelover 17/09/09
      11.   An idea to avoid innocent deaths 06:28  |  howiej 17/09/09
      12.   Amira Hass 06:36  |  Steve Burns 17/09/09
      13.   Why Does Amira Hate Israel So much? 06:48  |  HeshSpeaksOut.com 17/09/09
      14.   IDF is stupid to not target civilians. 06:54  |  Ron 17/09/09
      15.   capuccino on the beach in Tel Aviv 07:01  |  Sean 17/09/09
      16.   The full service Talkback 07:08  |  arieh zimmerman 17/09/09
      17.   Recognizing Each Other`s Humanity 07:13  |  Haaretz Fan 17/09/09
      18.   Atticus Finch, Amira Hass 07:24  |  Steve Benassi 17/09/09
      19.   human rights violators 07:50  |  stevie 17/09/09
      20.   Amira, UN is to blame for disaster, not Israel 07:53  |  Inna 17/09/09
      21.   standards 07:54  |  Gen 17/09/09
      22.   Thank-you Ms. Hass 07:55  |  David 17/09/09
      23.   Hass und Liebe 07:57  |  franz 17/09/09
      24.   Reports 07:58  |  English Resident 17/09/09
      25.   the reaction to the report is a repeat of the war o 08:01  |  bar kochma 17/09/09
      26.   Amira poor poor ignorant woman 08:07  |  arthur 17/09/09
      27.   The Truth is Out 08:09  |  Walid 17/09/09
      28.   Human Rights Watch is not a creditable body. Saudis pay them 08:12  |  Alex 17/09/09
      29.   I agree with A.H: War against terror MUST be done this way 08:15  |  Good Job IDF I proud 17/09/09
      30.   summer rerun 08:19  |  capricorn 17/09/09
      31.   How did this happen... 08:20  |  Esther 17/09/09
      32.   where were you amira when the arabs were rocketing civilians ? 08:32  |  shraga 17/09/09
      33.   Yitzhak of Alon Shvut 08:35  |  sh 17/09/09
      34.   Well damn 08:38  |  Ryan 17/09/09
      35.   fedup, she just did 08:40  |  sh 17/09/09
      36.   Can`t be ignored 09:16  |  Richard 17/09/09
      37.   Amira Hass missed this on purpose? Why? 09:20  |  Joe Sittizen 17/09/09
      38.   A comparison of Israel with "Nazi-Germany" is dead wrong, BUT.... 09:44  |  Swiss (Dino) 17/09/09
      39.   Hey Walid - read the report again, you missed this part 09:50  |  Joe Sittizen 17/09/09
      40.   Holocaust Denial 10:01  |  Mazin Qumsiyeh 17/09/09
      41.   # 4 "as it has been doing", bernard? 10:14  |  eric 17/09/09
      42.   Palestinians committed war crimes: time to prosecute 10:17  |  Joe Sittizen 17/09/09
      43.   Haas, Levi and Ha-aretz... 10:21  |  Michael Dar 17/09/09
      44.   WALID The truth is What?? A bunch of self confessed bigotts 10:23  |  PETER SM 17/09/09
      45.   #5 Mark 10:23  |  Meier 17/09/09
      46.   # 10 to franz 10:27  |  eric 17/09/09
      47.   Turn the other cheek 10:36  |  Nosetoomuch 17/09/09
      48.   No truer words are spoken Avner #1 13:23  |  Wombat 17/09/09
      49.   Israel struck a civilian population that remains under its contro 13:42  |  Reasoned Thinker 17/09/09
      50.   bernard ross 4 14:01  |  potobac 17/09/09
      51.   We have to deal with it and not deny it 15:55  |  Dangor 17/09/09
      52.   Short Memory 16:22  |  Yoni R. 17/09/09
      53.   Palestinians committed war crimes: here`s the proof 16:33  |  Joe Sittizen 17/09/09
      54.   RE: Brad 16:34  |  palestinian exiled 17/09/09
      55.   Amira Hass 16:41  |  Arieh Zimmerman 17/09/09
      56.   Amira Hass 16:42  |  dee 17/09/09
      57.   Agree and Disagree 16:52  |  Nunya 17/09/09
      58.   ...is Denying the Gaza Report 17:15  |  FOX 17/09/09
      59.   Let`s not overreact to false accusations 17:22  |  D.Litner 17/09/09
      60.   MOVIES 17:34  |  JJ 17/09/09
      61.   Litner #59... that`s may be precisely the problem 18:11  |  Esther 17/09/09
      62.   IDF war crimes 18:21  |  Mitch Katz 17/09/09
      63.   Esther 18:49  |  Jasper 17/09/09
      64.   justifying its findings IS worse, amira; very well put! 19:08  |  eric 17/09/09
      65.   Experience Counts 19:38  |  Vladek 17/09/09
      66.   Goldstone had a strong political relationship with Nelson Mandela 19:53  |  Sarah 17/09/09
      67.   We need a follow up 19:55  |  NE 17/09/09
      68.   # 20 Inna, please show us the documentation 20:02  |  Ben Alofs 17/09/09
      69.   Lies lies lies are Amira`s bread and butter 23:01  |  Chaim Ben Kahan 17/09/09
      70.   Fantastic Article 23:01  |  Guy 17/09/09
      71.   Whatever you heard from Ramallah... 02:15  |  Dani 18/09/09
      72.   That should obviously read: Great PIECE by a great journalist 02:50  |  peacelover 18/09/09
      73.   Thank you, Amira! 07:30  |  Observer 18/09/09
      74.   eric #41 about "proportionality" 5th try 08:29  |  S 18/09/09
      75.   Bring Palestinian and Israeli fighters to court 09:28  |  Mazin Qumsiyeh 18/09/09
      76.   An even worse option has been found 05:42  |  Richard Pearce 19/09/09
      77.   # 74 proportionately, "S" 07:33  |  eric 19/09/09
      78.   43 Michael Dar Re: Humane IDF 14:24  |  Dutch 19/09/09
      79.   A comundrum 06:17  |  alan the real one 01/12/09
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