Why It's Hard to Believe Israel's Claim That It Did Its Best to Minimize Civilian Deaths
8/13/2014
Idan Barir, Former Crew Commander, Israeli Artillery Corps:
Idan Barir is from Tel Aviv, Israel, and served in the Israeli artillery corps for many years, including during the Second Intifada. He served in places such as Jenin and Hebron. After witnessing immoral Israeli military operations, Barir refused to perform further military service and was jailed for this refusal in 2009. He is a member of Breaking the Silence, an organization of former Israeli military combatants.
Among the difficult reports streaming in from Gaza over the past few weeks, two especially painful events have captured my attention.
The first was the shelling of a UN school building in Jabaliya, where a number of families that had escaped or been forced to flee their homes had taken refuge. At least 15 civilians were killed, and dozens more wounded. Israel argued they were targeting an area from which fire had been directed at Israeli forces.
The second was the bombing of a bustling market in the Shuja'iya neighborhood. At a time of precious few opportunities for civilians to safely buy food and other vital supplies, 16 people were killed and around 200 were wounded. Shops, stalls and merchandise were burned or destroyed.
Harsh criticism of Israel followed each incident but -- as in the past -- Israel defended its actions, arguing that it was targeting militants and doing its best to avoid civilian casualties.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/idan-barir/israel-gaza-civilian-deaths_b_5673023.html?utm_hp_ref=world
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