Injecting an ounce of morality

At least somebody in Israel worries about war crimes. Over to you, B’Tselem:

The Israeli human rights organization, B’Tselem, wrote an urgent letter to Israel ‘s Defense Minister urging him to ensure that the military does not attack civilian targets in the Gaza Strip. The letter responds to the calls by Israeli politicians to cut off Gaza ‘s water and electricity. B’Tselem states that intentionally harming civilian infrastructure constitutes prohibited collective punishment and could also constitute a war crime.

In its letter, B’Tselem reminds the Minister that Israel bombed Gaza ‘s only power plant about a year ago. This plant supplied about half of Gaza ‘s power. As a result of the bombing, residents of the Gaza Strip lived for long months without electricity for half the day. This act of vengeance did not stop the Qassam rocket fire.

Qassam rocket-fire by Palestinians into Israel is itself patently illegal and constitutes a war crime, the organization said. The Israeli government must act to defend its civilians from such attacks. However, the government cannot compensate for its failure to protect residents of Sderot by intentionally causing suffering in Gaza.

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