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Rockets from Gaza
The air sirens go off and school children and other civilians run into bunkers for protection.
Every day, you're always worried
where are you? How quickly can you get to that point?
so that you can be in a place where you can run and defend yourself just in case.
Since 2001 rocket attacks from Gaza have killed 15 Israeli civilians.
15 people is just the most extreme example impact of the others who have
constant fear of bombardments that have hit schools and a synagogue, and private homes. This is the real impact.
The laws of war are very clear on one essential point and that is
armed forces must distinguish between civilians and combatants
and they may only target combatants.
No attack can have as its purpose, to terrorize the civilian population.
The Kassam rockets are homemade, junk yard
weapons thrown together in metal shops even with sign posts
fired by armed groups in Gaza out into Israel
with a range of about 15, 16 kilometers. They have no guidance systems.
When you fire a Kassam rocket into a civilian populated area
it is inherently indiscriminate.
Now the manner
and the extent in which these rockets are being fired out of Gaza and into Israel
strongly suggests that this is the intent of Hamas and other groups.
if you continue the incursion, it will only make us increase our rocket range
and reach more cities.
Hamas leadership have consistently said that they are using these weapons
as an attack against a civilian population.
There are about eight hundred thousand Israeli civilians who are within the range of these
rockets and that's a lot of people who have been living under this shadow of death, injury and harm for the past
8 years. Since November, 2008
the rockets from Gaza have killed 3 Israeli civilians in Israel.
During that time a Kassam rocket landed in the Gazan town of Beit Lahia and killed 2 young
Palestinian girls. So, it's not only Israeli civilians who are suffering from these rocket attacks but also the Gazan civilians.
They are violating the laws of war not only by firing a weapon that's indiscriminate
but also by firing from civilian areas.
And so once they go into these areas, pop the rockets off, and run
the civilians that are living there, that are left behind, they're the ones that are going to pay the price.
Hamas and the other armed groups in Gaza make 2 key arguments. First they say look Israel has
committed massive violations of the laws of war, including war crimes against our civilian population
And secondly they say this the only means we have to defend our population against a massive modern
military. Neither of those arguments justify the use of these rockets. Violations by one side can never
justify violations of the laws of war by the other side. Whatever means you use, you must still respect the principles of distinguishing between the civilians and combatants.
And Hamas and the other groups have consistently violated those key principles.
When we look at civilian casualties in Israel and in Gaza
the overwhelming number of victims are in Gaza.
But it is not a numbers game. What matters to us is protecting civilians.
It is holding the parties to the conflict accountable to international humanitarian law.
The worst violations must be documented not on the basis of the number of victims but on are these violations being committed and can they be stopped.