The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated parts of the world. Nearly two and half million people occupy the strip, and close to 50,000 people live in each square mile of Gaza City. Thus, even with the most accurate information on the whereabouts of a jihadist, an Israeli rocket attack on such a location cannot possibly avoid collateral damage, a crude military euphemism for the loss of innocent human life. Yet, it is just such rocket attacks that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched on Gaza to target those it terms jihadists, without adducing the evidence to support such a characterization.
The Palestinians react with cheap rockets that create enough of a spectacle in the sky to attract attention – and cameras – but the damage they cause is infinitesimal compared to the noise they make. But every time Mr. Netanyahu is questioned by international rights groups on the questionable means adopted by his country to target its enemies, he is able to point to the sky and claim he is a victim, and not the aggressor, even though numbers of fatalities on either side – 33 Palestinians and one Israeli until the weekend – do not support this. He is also able to use these displays to distract the attention of citizens dissatisfied with his rule and who have been out on the streets for months in protest. The jihadist would thus seem to be a convenient foil, and the Palestinians unwilling dupes. It is not surprising therefore that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied territories has termed Israel as a colonizer.
Fransesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer, told a British newspaper that Israel routinely violates international law. She said Israel maintains the occupation of Palestine, in order to grab land for Jewish people. She has urged nations that support a two-state solution to ensure Israel’s “conduct is aligned with the possibility of having a Palestinian state.” But for now the world’s attention is focused on the exchange of fire between the Israelis and Palestinians. Egypt has tried to bring about a truce and the European Union has called on both sides to cease fire. But these appeals clearly are not working and the rockets have rained down from both sides.
The Palestinian territory is ruled by Hamas, but Israel has been careful to disassociate this group from the violence, saying its targets – or the so-called aggressors – are members of Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian group that preaches the destruction of the Israeli state. Last week, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres termed the loss of civilian lives unacceptable and urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint. While condemning the launch of rockets from the Palestinian side, he urged Israel to abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law. But who is listening?