The laughably misnamed UN Human Rights Council has just approved a report accusing Israel of "war crimes" in its Gaza operations. The text of the resolution reluctantly admits to some war crimes by Hamas also, but only because an additional clause was added after their omission came under criticism.
Many of the UN operations are little more than an international joke, and the so-called Human Rights Council is no exception, as the following quote illustrates:
The council, led by a coalition of Arab states, voted 25-6 to approve the report
The mere fact that there are Arab states on something called a human rights council renders any report it produces meaningless. What Arab states have ever exhibited the slightest concern for human rights? That's not even considering their incredible bias against Israel and support for Hamas. Most Arab states don't even recognize Israel's mere right to exist. Having them judge it is beyond ludicrous on many levels. Noted human rights paragons China and Russia are also on the council, and voted for the resolution.
When a country is forced to fight a terrorist organization that obeys no rules of warfare, deliberately targets civilians, blends into and hides amongst its own civilian population, and does everything humanly possible to maximize the number of civilian casualties, atrocities and events that appear to be war crimes are bound to happen. Unlike Hamas, which celebrates atrocities and attempts to create them, Israel investigates its own forces, has an open society based on the democratic process, an independent judiciary, a free press, and everything necessary to deal with situations in which elements within its military may have crossed the line. Rather than attacking Israel, human rights organizations should be congratulating it on its incredible restraint. There are not many countries in the world that would tolerate a weak, hostile, terrorist-ruled country on their border that regularly launches rockets at their cities and commits all sorts of other provocations. Many countries, probably the vast majority, would react with an all-out invasion, doing whatever was necessary to crush resistance, and simply rolling over the piles of bodies and rubble.
Attacks on Israel by the UN, various human rights groups, and the pack of useful idiots that support them, serve no productive purpose. Their anti-Israel bias of condemning a democratic, civilized state trying to defend itself, while downplaying the crimes of a barbaric terrorist regime is blatantly obvious to anyone not automatically hostile to Israel. The only thing those attacks will do is to convince more people in Israel to ignore outside criticism, and give credence to those who advocate loosening restraints on military operations. Why put your own forces at greater risk with restricted rules of engagement when you get no credit for it anyway? Why stop at limited objectives out of concern for civilian casualties, when lunatics start screaming "genocide" when you kill less than 1500 people? Eventually a Sri Lankan-style operation is going to look much more attractive.
"Why put your own forces at greater risk with restricted rules of engagement when you get no credit for it anyway? Why stop at limited objectives out of concern for civilian casualties, when lunatics start screaming "genocide" when you kill less than 1500 people? "
ReplyDeleteThis aspect of the debate is the least discussed, but most important. It is decisions like this by the HR Council, that actually HURT human rights! Why should Israel listen or participate in any future such reports?! And how does this decision help human rights, anyway? I would love for someone to answer this question as I've not heard one yet.
Exactly. If critics are going to act like you are exterminating people and committing a bunch of other war crimes no matter what you do, the tendency is going to be toward ignoring them altogether and giving humanitarian concerns less weight when planning military operations.
ReplyDeleteAny human rights council containing Arab states is a joke indeed just as a country investigating its own mistakes in a war,not much truth can be expected from either.
ReplyDeleteAnd saying other countries would commit genocide were they in Israel's place sure makes Israel look like saints.
Although Hamas obviously is not civilized by any means and are not bound by any rules whatsoever the fact that every little or big accusation towards Israel directly is rejected as false and antisemitic is not very convincing.
And are critics the only thing keeping Israel from wiping them of the map?
"Any human rights council containing Arab states is a joke indeed just as a country investigating its own mistakes in a war,not much truth can be expected from either"
ReplyDeleteFalse analogy. Democratic states do investigate themselves. Israel has a full spectrum political culture. There are plenty of people within Israel itself that are highly critical of government and military actions.
"And saying other countries would commit genocide were they in Israel's place sure makes Israel look like saints."
They are definitely not saints, but they are certainly on a far different level than Hamas -- although you'd never know that from listening to their critics.
"every little or big accusation towards Israel directly is rejected as false and antisemitic is not very convincing."
Nice strawman. I didn't say that Israel did everything right, or that every accusation against it is false or antisemtic, but that this particular criticism from the UN is meaningless because of the extreme bias involved. And bias doens't have to be anti-Semitic. There are plenty of people that have nothing against Jews as individuals, but hate Israel as a state. Often anti-semitism & anti-Israel hatred coincide, but it isn't a requirement.
"And are critics the only thing keeping Israel from wiping them of the map?"
Of course not. Israel has the military power to kill every single Palestinian in Gaza should it choose to do so. But it restricts itself because of who and what it is as a state and people, just as the U.S. greatly restricts itself during warfare and uses only a fraction of its full power.