2. Introduction
Rather than vilify Hamas for acts that led to Israeli casualties, both civilian and military, the Israeli government
would instead like to state, for official record, the reasons for actions taken by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)
during Operation Protective Edge which commenced on July 8 and ended August 26, 2014. Both sides declared
victory. We wish to explain the decisions that were behind the actions during this operation and emphasize that
no international laws were violated in its careful execution. Part of this process necessarily involves
illuminating various activities executed by Hamas as well as the philosophy and statements of its leader. This
will more accurately describe the circumstances under which such actions and decisions were required.
Please bear in mind that the conflict in Gaza is merely part of a conflict that reaches far beyond the 139 square
miles that make up Gaza. History shows us that this conflict is technically between Israelis and Palestinians.
Ancient history shows us that this is a sidebar to an age-old conflict between Jews and Arabs. It is important
for Israel to show this court and the world at large that we do not harbor hatred for our Arab neighbors nor wish
to annihilate them. We simply wish to protect our land and our people from those who would do harm to them.
To prevent this accounting of events from inciting an inflammatory reaction, we will presume, for the sake of
argument, that this specific conflict in Gaza was perpetrated not by Palestinians, but by Hamas, a group that has
been designated a terrorist organization by eight countries, to include Jordan, as well as the European Union.
Among the nations who do not consider it a terrorist organization are Iran, Russia, Turkey, and China. For the
sake of this discussion we will not focus on the fact that the Palestinian people elected Hamas to represent them
in both 2005 and 2006; instead we will show you how actions taken by Hamas necessitated use of the IDF and
how responsibly Israel has acted throughout the conflict and hostilities preceding it.
Background
Geography, Government, and Demographics
To begin with, Gaza is a small strip of land, approximately 25 miles long and six miles wide, on the
Mediterranean coast of Israel. From 1967 until 1994, when the Oslo Accords transferred governmental
authority to Palestinians, Israel controlled Gaza. At one time it was home to more than 8,500 Jewish settlers
and approximately 1.3 million Palestinians. As of July 2014, it is estimated to have a population of 1,816,379
Palestinian Arabs.
Demonstration of Israeli Reasonableness
Beginning in 2003, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced the “Disengagement Plan,” which would have some
Jewish settlers withdraw from Gaza (and also from the West Bank) to increase the security of residents of
Israel, relieve pressure on the IDF, and reduce friction between Israelis and Palestinians. Hamas, however,
believed that the withdrawal was the result of violent Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation. This is not
without some sacrifice as some Jewish settlers believe that the land is part of what they call “Greater Israel”
and biblically ordained for Jews. Though not without some resistance from Israeli settlers, Israel completed its
withdrawal of all Israeli citizens from the Gaza Strip by September 12, 2005. Nearly $1 billion was spent to
move Jews from Gaza. The removal of Jews from Gaza was successfully completed in September of 2005.
Evidence That Israel Does Not Seek the Destruction of Palestinians
Israel’s commencement and successful execution of the “Disengagement Plan,” is strong evidence that Israel is
not attempting to destroy or take over land from its Palestinian neighbors. Israel simply wants to protect its
land and its people. Only when Israel’s citizens are threatened, do we even consider cutting off electricity,
water, and fuel to Gaza. In fact, Israel continued to provide these life enhancing supplies to Gaza even while
we continued to be bombed from Gaza. At some point, protecting the lives of Israeli citizens must be addressed
and if cutting off supplies to Gaza makes it more difficult for the perpetrators, terrorists really, then this is
what Israel must do. Though cutting off such supplies may not seem merciful, doing so is still in compliance
with humanitarian laws because as beneficial as conveniences such as electricity and fuel are to a populace,
they are not considered necessities of life. And as neighborly as it is for Israel to provide these comfo rts of
life, Israel cannot continue acting neighborly toward a people who are engaged in the destruction of Israelis.
No country on earth would be expected to provide supplies to its attacker, yet Israel has done so repeatedly. To
cease such an act of kindness is clearly within Israel’s right. No, Israel, is not attempting to destroy its
Palestinian neighbor, but when faced with continual attacks from Hamas, whose charter contains the following:
3. Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors. The
Islamic World is burning. It is incumbent upon each one of us to pour some water, little as it may be, with
a view of extinguishing as much of the fire as he can, without awaiting action by the others. 1
it is not only Israel’s right to take action; it is its duty. To be fair, Khaled Mashal, the leader of Hamas since
2004, does not claim to be on any warpath, persé, and claims to be interested in a peace agreement using an
approach of nonviolence, “if it would work.”2
Clearly, he casts some doubt on whether it can be reached
without it. This, combined with his explanation for the inflammatory language in the 1988 charter that it is “a
piece of history and no longer relevant, but cannot be changed for internal reasons”3
do not instill faith that he
altogether disapproves of it. Furthermore, if he is unwilling to change the charter or create a new one and make
clear to Israel, the world at large, and his very own people that Hamas is not the terrorist orga nization of the
past, but a new, modern, responsible, and reasonable organization ready and willing to make compromises for
the sake of peace on behalf of its people, then can anyone truly believe that he is interested in peace according
to modern and civilized standards of negotiation? His reluctance to exegete more fully on the text of the
charter sends the message that he does not renounce it. And what kind of message does that send to members,
followers, and supporters of Hamas who may be a bit less pragmatic than Mashal? Does it promulgate peace?
Or does it extinguish it? Regardless, Israel seeks only peaceful coexistence with its Palestinian neighbor.
Operation Protective Edge
Historical Events
In 2006, Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people, but its transition to power did not come easily. To begin
with, the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations, who comprise what is known as
the Middle East Quartet, let it be known that Hamas would have to adopt a position of non-violence and
recognize Israel as a state. When it became clear that Israel was not interested in meeting those demands,
assistance to Palestine ceased. Not long after winning elections, the main opposition party – Fatah – was
removed from Gaza after Hamas fighters took control. The Palestinian National Authority still had control of
the West Bank, but it no longer controlled Gaza. In response, Israel imparted some sanctions to include
limiting Palestinian access to certain fishing areas.
June 12, 2014, three teenagers from Israel were abducted while in the West Bank. Mashal not only admitted
that Hamas members had been involved (eventually), he also commended them for it in an interview with a
reporter from Al-Jazeera. The corpses of these three teenagers were discovered June 30, 2014.
During the 30 days of June in 2014, rockets were launched from Gaza on 14 different days. A total of 62
rockets and 3 mortar shells were fired. Though only four were injured by these attacks, at least nine of these
rockets were successfully intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome. Considering that some of these attacks were
targeted at cities, injuries to Israelis and its property could have been far greater without the technological
advances to security that the Iron Dome provides. In fact, it was reported in 2014 that it has allowed Israel to
endure “more than 1,000 rocket attacks” between July 7 and July 14 without a single fatality. Without the Iron
Dome, how much death and destruction would Israel have suffered at the hands of Hamas?
Attacks from Hamas and the IDF Response to It
During Operation Protective Edge, 4,562 rockets were fired at Israel. 1,042 of these were fired after a ceasefire
was announced August 19. These attacks are not isolated incidences. The practice of using fellow Palestinians
as human shields is literally part of the Al-Qassam Brigade doctrine. In contrast, the IDF attempts to limit
civilian casualties to the maximum extent possible. At the same time, the utmost concern is the protection of
Israeli citizens. If it were not for the Iron Dome, far more Israelis would have been killed by the rockets
Hamas fired during this operation.
A Caveat on Counts
Where possible, we have attempted to find independent news sources for our facts and figures. Unfortunately,
this was not always possible. Multiple reports have surfaced that Hamas routinely threatens journalists and
1
“The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). Hamas Charter (1988). Translated and annotated by Raphael Israeli.
Harry Truman Reseach Institute. The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. Information Division, Israel Foreign Ministry – Jerusalem (http://www.israel-
mfa.gov.il) Retrieved November 16, 2014 from http://fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/880818.htm. Specific translation attributions and phrases such as “May
Allah Pity his Soul” were omitted.
2
Jane Adas, “Robert Pastor on the U.S., Hamas, and Middle East Peace.” Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, May – June 2010, pp. 40-42.
Retrieved November 16, 2014 from http://www.wrmea.org/2010-may-june/mazin-qumsiyeh-on-the-history-and-practice-of-nonviolent-palestinian-
resistance.html.
3
Ibid.
4. attempts to hide their activities from anyone with a camera. Additionally, it is no secret that a variety of
organizations have attempted to keep track of casualties during this conflict. The numbers reported by these
different organizations vary widely not only by number, but also in reporting style (e.g., some choose to
identify the civilian to military ratio by number rather than percentage.. To illustrate this, a table has been
included below:
Table of Numbers Killed during Operation Protective Edge
As you can see from the table above, total number of those killed does not fluctuate betwee n these five
agencies much, but the composition of those killed does. (The highest number reported is only 3 percent higher
than the lowest number reported.) The composition of civilians to militants killed does fluctuate substantially
more. Perhaps it is not surprising that the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) reports that civilian
casualties totaled 1,660 (76 percent of the total), which is the highest reported number of all five groups listed
in this report. The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center reports the lowest number of civilian deaths
(50% of 2,164 is 1,082). All things considered, who would best be positioned to accurately report these
numbers? The PCHR or an intelligence center? What kind of equipment does the PCHR even have to make
such observations? Furthermore, what is their record of accuracy and what consequences do they suffer for
getting their numbers wrong? Is it possible that they might benefit from reporting overinflated numbers of
civilian deaths?
Potential Violations of International Law
It is Israel’s position that it has not violated any aspect of international law despite some misguided and
contradictory accusations claiming otherwise.
First of all, the IDF takes several precautions to avoid the targeting of civilians. On occasion, it sends foot
soldiers in when it could simply bomb from above with aerial attacks. Why? To limit the number of civilian
deaths. In advance of an IDF attack, Israel also warns the populace of the pending attack with such
communication mediums as simple as a leaflet to as advanced as a text message.
In contrast, it is well known that Hamas has used buildings typically used by civilians from which to launch
their attacks. Hamas has shown that, in its hatred of Jews and intent to destroy them, no mosque, hospital, or
ambulance is too good to serve their purpose. Why Israel has been accused of violating international
humanitarian law when it is clear that Hamas is the clear violator of such laws is a mystery, but one that needs
to be solved from a hard, objective view of the facts and not empty, biased, political rhe toric from those with
an agenda that would not square with efforts to preserve humanity.
Conclusion
Israel is not the only one in the world who sees Hamas as it really is. Feisal Abdul Rauf, an American Sufi,
imam, author, and activist who condemned the 9-11 attacks, has been brave enough to identify the activities of
Hamas for what they are. He has said, “I condemn everyone and anyone who commits acts of terrorism. And
Hamas has committed acts of terrorism.”
5. Works Cited
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Affairs, May – June 2010, pp. 40-42. Retrieved November 16, 2014 from http://www.wrmea.org/2010-may-
june/mazin-qumsiyeh-on-the-history-and-practice-of-nonviolent-palestinian-resistance.html.
“Big Hamas win in Gaza’s election.” Bbc.org. BBC News. 28 Jan 2005. Web. 15 Nov 2014.
“Captured Hamas Combat Manual Explains Benefits of Human Shields, Israeli Defense Forces, August 4, 201 4.
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explains-benefits-human-shields/.
“The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). Hamas Charter (1988).
Translated and annotated by Raphael Israeli. Harry Truman Reseach Institute. The Hebrew University,
Jerusalem, Israel. Information Division, Israel Foreign Ministry – Jerusalem (http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il)
Retrieved November 16, 2014 from http://fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/880818.htm.
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for Counterterrorism. Apr 2009. Web. 15 Nov 2014.
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“Operation Protective Edge: Israel under fire, IDF responds,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, August 26,
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