They’re only Palestinians, after all…

The IDF will be unarmed during the upcoming removal of settlers from Gaza in an attempt to defuse conflict, despite the fact that a small minority of right-wing extremists may well use force in resisting. Yigal Serena is a regular Yedioth Ahronoth commentator and writes that IDF thinking on this matter is morally bankrupt:

“Had the IDF banned live ammunition and restrained itself in the first days of fire in 2000, and had soldiers used innovative non-lethal weapons that frighten and hurt, but do not kill, hundreds of Israelis would still be with us today – hundreds of Israelis who were later killed by the flames that were fanned into a mutual massacre.”

“However, Chief-of-Staff Mofaz’s IDF hit back as powerfully as it knew how to, firing two million bullets in the intifadah’s early stages and maintaining a 10 to 1 casualty ratio.”

Thousands of Palestinians would still be with us, too. During the second intifadah, the number of Palestinians and Jews slaughtered was in the thousands. The facts, however, speak for themselves. 3164 Palestinians were murdered between 2000 and 2005 (including 639 minors) and hundreds of Israelis.

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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