World's Most Moral Army Commits the Stuff of Nightmares

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have occasionally been referred to by Israeli politicians and military leaders in the press as "the world's most moral army," and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used those very words to describe his country's armed forces less than two weeks ago.  It is a description that rings less true with each passing day.

As Israel's war in Gaza rolls on with no end in sight, the atrocities being committed against the Palestinian civilian population continue.  Last Friday the International Court of Justice issued an emergency order against Israel under the auspices of the 1948 Genocide Convention which demanded that Israel immediately cease its military offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza.  The Court, which voted 13-2  in favor of the order for Israel to cease its military offensive, cited reports of 800,000 Palestinians already having been displaced from Rafah as a justification for the Court's action.

Two days later, after the ICJ issued the order - which was unenforceable and largely ignored - Israel conducted what they termed was a "precision" air strike on a part of Rafah in which a refugee camp was hit and devastated.  There were at least 45 civilian deaths as well as many horrific injuries that included burns and dismemberments.   Even though the airstrike had been labeled as a "precision" effort, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared it had been a tragic mistake - and that his country would be investigating.

Most of the Palestinian refugees in the camp were living in makeshift tents and under tarps.  The shrapnel from the bombs tore through the fabric of their shelters and through many of the humans who were seeking refuge beneath the tents and tarps.   Much of the encampment was set ablaze by the bombs.  News reports yesterday evening and this morning on National Public Radio (NPR) told of one child with his intestines hanging out, and of another who had been decapitated in the bombing.  One commentator referred to the scene as "the stuff of nightmares."

But not to worry - Netanyahu has ordered an investigation.  It's the least he could do.