Are you as upset as I am by all the Israel bashing in the U.S., Europe and Scandinavia? When you hear or read about civilian casualties in war please consider the information below. Think about the civilians, aka non-combatants, when you hear demands for action in Syria or Ukraine or that the US is taking action in Somalia or Iraq. Civilian deaths are always going to be part of war; are the deaths proportionate to a reasonable military objective? Are they worth it?
When reading about contradictory claims of non-combatant Arab casualties during the 50-day Hamas -Israel war, aka Operation Protective Edge, that began on July 8, it's important we understand the numbers in context. Of course civilians died and I for one am horrified by the pictures of children suffering. However, war sucks and as we consider “boots on the ground” and more drone strikes to counteract terrorist threats, let's remember that in fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. and coalition forces reportedly killed one combatant for every 3 to 4 noncombatant casualties. Did U.S. and coalition forces, and Israeli troops, take steps to limit “collateral damage?” Of the Palestinian dead in the Gaza Strip who were not members of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad or other terrorist groups: How many were relatives or neighbors killed in an attack on Hamas positions, especially since many of these positions were in schools, mosques, hospitals or residences in highly-populated areas, placed there in violation of the laws of war specifically for their “human shield” potential? How many were Arabs killed by Hamas as “collaborators”? Of the 4,500 rockets fired by Hamas and its allies, 875 fell inside Gaza, meaning Hamas dropped explosives on its own people. How many Arabs were killed by Hamas friendly fire? How many were natural deaths that occurred during the fighting? Let's also recall that had Hamas and its partners not fired rockets, mortars and missiles into Israel just prior to and during Operation Protective Edge, had it not built an extensive tunnel network into Israel to stage mass kidnappings and massacres, and had it not rejected or quickly broken seven cease-fires or cease-fire proposals, there would have been no casualties among Gazans, combatants or non-combatants. *
Egypt
India
Iran
Iran Vows to Free Al-Aqsa Mosque from Israel (IANS) Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Monday vowed to liberate the Al-Aqsa mosque in the old city of Jerusalem from Israeli forces and spare no efforts to help the Palestinian people, state-ownedPress TV reported.
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Palestinians
Big Media Ignores Hamas's "Ugliest Crimes" -Khaled Abu Toameh (Gatestone Institute) Why do international journalists and human rights advocates continue to turn a blind eye when Palestinians commit atrocities against their own? Is it because such stories are lacking in an anti-Israel angle?
Syria
UN Claims 191,369 Killed in Syrian Civil War - (CAMERA) The United Nations published its updated figures on the number of deaths caused by the three-and-a-half year Syrian civil war, 191,369. The release of the updated statistics was a relatively low-key affair.
Sudan
*Most details courtesy of CAMERA