Are Targeted Killings of Terrorists War Crimes?

The issue of targeted killings of terrorists recently received attention in the New Zealand press during a visit by Israeli Gen. Moshe Ya'alon. Gen. Ya'alon had been accused of 'war crimes' by some activist groups because, while he was Chief of Staff in 2002, an attack on a Hamas terrorist leader went awry and 14 civilians were killed, along with the terrorist. An arrest warrant was issued by an Auckland district court judge, but it was not acted on because the government felt there was no prima facie case.

Israel had begun targeted killings in 2000 after the Clinton-mediated Camp David peace talks broke down over the Palestinian 'right of return' issue and after the Palestinians initiated a campaign of terrorism known as the 'second intifada'. According to the Israeli human rights organization B'tselem, 339 Palestinians have been killed in the targeted operations, of which 129 were bystanders.

The issue of targeted killings was brought to the Israeli Supreme Court by several human rights groups. The Court is noted for its independence from both the military and the government. It has ordered extensive rerouting of the defensive barrier on the West Bank border, and recently it ordered the government to pay reparations for damages caused by military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

In its ruling on 14 Dec 2006, the three-judge panel said that in a democracy, the fight against terror is subject to the rule of law. Not every efficient means is also legal. The ends do not justify the means.

In the matter of targeted killings, the court ruled that each case must be evaluated individually. There must be, they said, well-based, strong and convincing information that the targeted person is plotting a terrorist act and that there is no less harmful means of stopping the person, such as arrest and prosecution. Even then the operation can be carried out only if the expected harm to innocent civilians is not disproportional to the military advantage to be achieved by the attack.

Despite the publicity in New Zealand about the 'war criminal' charge against Gen. Ya'alon, little information was offered to the New Zealand public about the reason for the charge. Following is an account of the attack in which Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh was killed. It is presented so that readers may know the 'whole story' and may then decide if the attack met the Israeli Court's criteria, and whether the general is a war criminal.

Who Was Salah Shehadeh?

In 1988 Shehadeh co-founded the terrorist group Hamas. Hams is committed to the destruction of Israel and its replacement by a Palestinian Islamic state, and is listed as a terrorist organization by most Western countries including Australia, the European Community, and the United States. It rejects coexistence and peace with Israel - in any borders and on any land. Shehadeh was made the leader of its 'military wing', Izzadin Al-Qassam, which openly declared war against Israel.

Since the mid-1990s Hamas carried out hundreds of terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians that included suicide bombings, machine-gun attacks, drive-by shootings and grenade attacks. From his Gaza stronghold, Shehadeh masterminded these activities and also provided funding for factories that produced Qassam missiles that were fired almost daily at Israel.

According to the Israeli Consulate General in New York, during the two years before the attack Shehadeh was the Israeli Defense Force's 'most wanted man'. He was described as the most brutal and brilliant terrorist operating in the Gaza Strip.

Some of the more notorious terror attacks carried out by Hamas under the leadership of Salah Shehadeh include:

• Fifteen bus passengers killed in Haifa on December 2, 2001, plus 40 wounded.
• Five Israeli teenagers killed and 23 wounded in the costal town of Atzmona on March 7, 2002
• Eleven young adults killed and 54 wounded in an attack on a café in Jerusalem on March 9, 2002.
• 29 Israelis killed and 140 injured while attending a Passover seder (festive holiday meal) at the Park Hotel in Netanya on March 27, 2002; 19 of the dead were 70 years old or older.

These attacks were all carried out against civilian targets.

Israel had repeatedly urged the Palestinian Authority to fulfill its obligation under the Oslo peace agreements and arrest Shehadeh and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure he had built, but the PA instead turned a blind eye. Israel faced the reality that hundreds more innocent lives could be lost if Shehadeh was not stopped.

Why did Israel strike when it did?

According to Israel's Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Israel had been planning an attack on Shehadeh for six months, but the strike was postponed eight times because of concern about harming innocent civilians, among whom Shehadeh had positioned himself.

When Israeli officials received word that Shehadeh was planning a Hamas 'mega-attack' with a one tonne bomb that could kill hundreds of Israelis, the need for action increased. The target was believed to be the Katif bridge that leads from Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip (since evacuated) and out of the area, over Palestinian population centres.

Even so, Israel held off for fear of killing Shehadeh's wife and daughter. Four days before the final strike, an Israeli jet fighter was turned back in mid-air when the IDF learned that Shehadeh's daughter was with him.

The attack finally took place when Israel received information that Shehadeh was alone in a building with two other members of Izzadin al Qassam. Israel struck. Tragically, the information turned out to be faulty.

Who is the war criminal?

The term 'war crime' is usually applied to deliberate attacks on civilians; it is not generally applied to cases of accidental or unanticipated civilian damage. As Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said about the accidental killing of Afghani civilians by US troops, It's an unfortunate fact of war that, inevitably, innocent civilians are killed. This has been true throughout the history of warfare, and it remains true even in this age of advanced technology and precision-guided munitions (New York Times, July 23, 2002) Civilian casualties are even more likely when fighting an enemy that operates from within civilian areas.

The ruling of the Israeli Supreme Court broadened this definition to encompass attacks on militants provided that the 'expected' harm to civilians would be 'disproportional to the military advantage'.

In fact, Israel called off eight attacks on Shehadeh in order to avoid injury to innocent bystanders. Then, when faced with a serious and imminent threat to its citizens, it chose a moment when (faulty) intelligence indicated there would be no civilian damage. After the incident, Israel expressed regret for the harm done to civilians, and stated that if they had known of the consequences they would not have proceeded with the attack.

In contrast Hamas, under Shehadeh's direction, routinely targeted civilian centres with the specific goal of killing as many innocent Israelis as possible, and afterward proudly took 'credit' for the deaths. Hamas is ideologically committed to the destruction of Israel and its replacement by a Palestinian Islamic state.

In light of the Israeli Court ruling - or for that matter, in light of any reasonable definition of war crime - readers are asked to decide for themselves who is the real war criminal: the terrorist leader or the Israeli general who tried to kill him?

Increased Palestinian Attacks from Gaza

(Nov. 12, 06)

In the wake of recent news reports about Israel's actions in Gaza, it is easy to forget that the offensive was a reaction to the increase in rocket attacks on Israel, attacks that have occurRed despite Hamas' self-proclaimed 'ceasefire'.

In October 2006 alone, 72 Qassam rockets and 12 mortars were launched from Gaza. Twelve landed in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, one next to the Mayor's house. Another hit a home and wounded a 76-year-old woman and an 11 year-old boy, while five other residents were treated for shock. On 9 November a rocket hit a religious seminary, narrowly missing a study hall filled with students. ^[1]

Israelis near the Gaza border live in daily fear of hearing the air raid siren announce that another rocket is on its way. One newcomer to Sderot called it 'a life of Russian roulette' as he described how an artillery shell fell 100 metres from the synagogue where he was praying. "I shall never forget what I witnessed when the artillery shell fell - the shock, the frightened fathers who grasp their children, the cries of the young ones... A young boy on the sidewalk was injuRed from shrapnel that penetrated all parts of his body... It was even hard for me to fall asleep that night, thinking that the Arab who fiRed this artillery shell fiRed from a place where he is protected, taking cover among civilians, firing at homes and synagogues which are not protected... How many people have to get killed before any reasonable solution is found?" ^[2]

In addition, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) has recently uncoveRed dozens of tunnels beneath the Gaza-Egyptian border that are used for smuggling weapons from Egypt into the Gaza Strip. "The tunnels are often dug from within homes or agricultural areas," said an Israeli spokesman. "When we asked the owners of the homes, they denied there are any tunnels present, but a search of the homes revealed the tunnel shafts." ^[1] Arms-smuggling tunnels have even been found in former greenhouses that were given to the Palestinians when Israel withdrew from Gaza. The Palestinians apparently believe that arms smuggling is a better use for them than growing tomatoes for export - or to feed the local population.

On October 29 Hamas, the ruling party in the Palestinian Authority, acknowledged publicly for the first time its role in digging these tunnels. "The Qassam fighters are working on top of and under the ground... Their guns are pointed and will remain directed at the one and only enemy, Israel," said a Hamas spokesman. ^[1]

Few nations could countenance such an arms buildup and continuing attacks on its citizens without taking action to stop them. On October 24, Defense Minister Amir Peretz warned, "We will not allow the Gaza Strip to turn into southern Lebanon and we will take action to prevent the strengthening of the terrorist organizations." ^[1] In the words of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, "Israel left Gaza in order to give the Palestinians an opportunity to control terrorism and develop their own lives. Unfortunately, this has not happened. Israel is faced with constant attack by the Palestinian terror organizations, in the form of relentless firing of Qassam rockets at Israeli population centres. Israel has no desire to harm innocent people, but only to defend its citizens." ^[3]

Unfortunately, when fighting an enemy that operates from civilian areas, pinpoint precision is not always possible and the consequences can sometimes be tragic. This was the case in Beit Hanoun, where 18 Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli artillery on November 8. The barrage occurRed after Hamas had fiRed four rockets at Ashkelon, an Israeli city the size of Dunedin, with Israeli intelligence reporting that more rockets were to be fiRed the next day. Israel then attempted to take out the rocket launchers, but through a guidance error, the shells landed 500 metres from their target and hit the home of the al-Athamna family. Israel has admitted the error and is conducting an investigation into its cause. (Israeli artillery has standing orders to restrict shellings in Gaza to a minimum of 200 meters from civilian structures.) Israel also announced that it will continue to cooperate with the international community to facilitate foreign aid into Gaza.

Palestinian reaction to the accident has been one of outrage accompanied by threats of 'revenge', with no mention of the rocket launchings that the artillery fire was directed at. Instead of taking responsibility for their attacks on Israel and making attempts to stop them, they are blaming Israel for the error. This is, in effect, to say "we can attack you all we want and kill civilians, but don't you dare strike back."

Most New Zealanders, like other people in the world, want to see peace achieved in the Mideast. This can only happen when all nations agree to 'live and let live'. Israel will be the first country to welcome such a peace.

By Michael Sedley, Kiwis for Balanced Reporting on the Mideast. (Mr. Sedley was born and raised in Lower Hutt and now lives in Israel with his wife and four children. He is a technical writer.)

Media Watchdog Group Formed

(Nov. 7, 06)

A new organization has been formed with the announced mission of promoting balanced news coverage of events in the Middle East. The group, known as Kiwis for Balanced Reporting on the Mideast (KBRM), comprises Kiwis and Kiwi friends who believe that all countries, Israel included, are entitled to balanced, fair and truthful news coverage, and that New Zealanders have a right to such coverage so that they can make informed decisions.

The group presently comprises a dozen people throughout the country, from Balclutha to Auckland, plus several members who now live in Israel. The members communicate by email, with the aid of a special KBRM listserve.

KBRM was formed in the aftermath of the 2006 Lebanon-Israel war, when much of the coverage and commentary appeaRed to be one-sided and sometimes untruthful. There was overwhelming emphasis on civilian casualties in Lebanon, with little mention of the 4000 Hizbollah rocket attacks that killed 43 Israeli civilians (including 7 children), wounded 1489 others, damaged 12,000 buildings and destroyed thousands of hectares of forests and farms, as documented by Amnesty International.^[1] This one-sided reporting led to a picture of Israel as a country cruelly causing devastation to innocent neighbors, rather than a country which wants peace with its neighbours but is forced to fight for its life.

Examples of untruthful reporting cited by KBRM include the statement (unverified at the time but often repeated) that Lebanese killed in the war were 'mostly' civilians, while a recent post-war estimate gave about 40%.^[2] Forty per cent is far from 'mostly' and indeed is a good ratio when fighting guerillas who hide among civilians. Even the cause of the war was usually understated as the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers from Israeli territory, while ignoring the eight soldiers killed and the rockets fiRed at Israel, not to mention the massive buildup of weapons by Hizbollah on Israel's border.

Even with the war over, KBRM is concerned that the same imbalance continues. Israel's current raids into Gaza are reported mostly in terms of collateral civilian casualties, accompanied by photos of grieving mothers, with little mention of the fact that these raids resulted because of continuing rocket bombardment from Gaza into Israel and that they are aimed at the 'militants' who conduct these attacks.

KBRM believe that most editors want to present a truthful and balanced picture, but are simply not able to check every news item they receive for balance and accuracy. To help them in this goal, KBRM will monitor New Zealand news media to keep track of and document balance in Mideast news coverage. When there is evidence of imbalance, KBRM will disseminate to editors articles that present the 'other side of the story', as well as its own press releases.

The group has also started a web site at www.kbrm.org.nz. Any Kiwis interested in contributing to this cause, or who can help monitor the media, are asked to contact KBRM via 'Contact Us' on the web site.

^[1] http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde020252006
^[2] A. Rabinovich, Washington Times, 27 Sep 2006