Foreign Affairs: Myth of 'Israel's moral Army'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Foreign Affairs
4 Mar 2024 16:44
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The head of the Israeli Break the Silence whistleblower group details the myth of the Israeli military's morality in an op-ed for Foreign Affairs.

Palestinians check destruction after an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Monday, March 4, 2024. (AP)

In a recent op-ed for Foreign Affairs, Avner Gvareyahu, the Executive Director of the "Israel"-based non-profit Breaking the Silence, details the myth of the Israeli military's morality.

In his piece, Gvareyahu calls out the disproportionate response "Israel" has opted to impose on Gaza. To highlight the severity of the tragedies in Gaza, Gvareyahu compares it with the stance of the United States, which has, willingly and fiercely, supported the Israeli response since October 7.

He points out that "Israel" has not exercised what has been required of it by the United States in terms of showing restraint in killing civilians. He revisits Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims of "Israel" having the "most moral army in the world" after he asserted that the occupation is working tirelessly to minimize civilian deaths, and denies it.

Gvareyahu details that the occupation forces have not followed war protocols or restrictions [which he had deemed insufficient] that had been set to curtail civilian deaths, but instead, had disregarded them.

'Everything in Gaza is a military target'

The author goes through previous wars "Israel" launched against the Gaza Strip and affirms that in all instances, the IOF did not operate morally and did not engage with legitimate military targets, opposing what the occupation had always claimed.

Although Israeli veterans recognized the confines of what constitutes a military target, they did not actively stick to them. In 2014, "Israel" categorized civilian homes as "militants' houses", and although Israeli intelligence, whose integrity Gvareyahu doubts, pinpointed one apartment used by a Palestinian Resistance freedom fighter, the IOF flattened entire buildings and complexes to eliminate that single target.

Gvareyahu then reveals that there is no tangible explanation for demolishing whole structures for one apartment that is not defined as a military target, probably did not house a freedom fighter at the time of the attack, and not even used for military activities. But when condemnations arose, an IOF spokesperson coined these apartments as "Hamas headquarters", justifying their destruction.

In 2021, Israeli soldiers interviewed by Gvareyahu's NGO said targeted complexes were regular residential buildings, refuting all that had been claimed by the occupation.

Fraudulent Intelligence

Israeli intelligence has also been fraudulent in assessing the size of threats, where they are located, and the formula that determines whether the elimination of the threat is worth sacrificing the accompanying "collateral damage".

In recurrent inadequacy, Gvareyahu says, Israeli intelligence fails to accurately determine military targets. He explains that during large-scale wars, "Israel" forces the displacement of entire neighborhoods, towns, and cities, shifting the demography of the Gaza Strip. However, its intelligence does not account for that shift and does not update its targets, killing Palestinians seeking shelter in supposedly safe facilities, and causing mass casualties.

A similar incident was shared, detailing how nine members of a single family were murdered in an Israeli attack after intelligence deemed their home a military target.

Tracing it back to the root

Looking at previous wars, "Israel" did not efficiently try to minimize civilian deaths in Gaza. In the current, 5-month genocide on Gaza, it has tried even less, Gvareyahu notes. Reports by CNN and the New York Times back the allegations and detail how since October 7, Israel dropped 2,000-pound bombs that extend destruction up to over 1,000 feet (305 meters) away from the point of contact, causing mass destruction, and mass killings.

"Israel" has also massively utilized "dumb bombs", that are not guided to specific targets, and dropped them in indiscriminate fashion, contributing to the colossal death toll in Gaza.

Gvareyahu traces this back to one reason: The occupation's prioritization of "managing the conflict" above all else, even civilian deaths. The author also pointed out that in its roots, "Israel" does not discriminate between Palestinian civilians or Israeli settlers, and cares more about the conflict than preserving either of their lives.

Previously, Israeli soldiers gave testimonies to Breaking the Silence, saying that they were instructed to "shoot anything that moves" if a setting was cleared of civilians. Avner Gvaryahu discusses these instructions, based on what has been documented in Gaza since October 7. "How many Palestinians were shot like this?" he asked, echoing the illegal executions of Palestinians throughout the years, such as Eyad Hallaq, Shireen Abu Akleh, and countless more across Gaza and the West Bank, throughout the war and preceding it.