When one reads the Report, the impression is given that the IDF was fighting against itself – as there is almost no mention of the military actions of Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations. Despite all the buttons, links and videos, nowhere does Amnesty describe the heinous strategy of these terrorist organizations to embed their military operations within the civilian environment, and to fire at the IDF and Israel’s civilian population from behind the civilian population.
In addition, Amnesty builds a false narrative – claiming that four days of military operations by the IDF were in direct response to the killing and kidnapping of one IDF soldier. It seems that Amnesty forgot that there was an ongoing conflict – during which the IDF was operating to stop rocket fire and neutralize cross-border assault tunnels, and Palestinian terrorist organizations were actively engaging in intensive conflict against the IDF from within the civilian environment. The intensive combat that occurred in Rafah – throughout the conflict, and not just on the dates Amnesty focuses on – were no exception.
The methodology that the report is based upon is also fundamentally flawed, and brings into serious question Amnesty’s professional standards. Entire claims are based on the uncorroborated testimonies of individual Palestinians and unidentified “fieldworkers”, without considering any potential biases or coercion by Hamas authorities, or simply the fact that individuals caught in the middle of combat are limited in their capacity to know the reasons, methodologies and intentions of the fighting parties. In contrast, an official report compiled and published by the Government of Israel regarding the 2014 Gaza Conflict is given only cursory mention and does not weigh at all into Amnesty’s conclusions regarding the IDF’s conduct.
The report also evidences that Amnesty has a flawed understanding of international law. Amnesty alleges that the IDF has a policy of using indiscriminate and disproportionate force, a conclusion it draws based on the tragic results of civilian casualties. Yet such a conclusion is not based on international law and merely reflects the political bias of Amnesty towards Israel. Further, Amnesty bolsters its claims on the basis of alleged anonymous accounts of low-ranking IDF soldiers – accounts which can hardly be used to make conclusions about the IDF’s policies.
In contrast to Amnesty’s claims, the IDF – as the military of a democratic state committed to the rule of law – conducts all its operations in accordance with international law. Where allegations of misconduct arise, the IDF maintains a robust, effective and thorough mechanism for addressing them. Alleged incidents occurring in Rafah during the time period covered by the report are under examination by the IDF General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism, and their findings will be used by the Military Advocate General when deciding whether to open a criminal investigation.
Once again Amnesty has shown its compulsive obsessiveness towards Israel, by rehashing already existing claims and complaints into a smoke and mirrors website.