Does Israel Need to Rethink Its Response to Gaza Protests?
Israel has faced sharp criticism in the past days for its use of live ammunition on protesters and rioters at the Gaza border fence. At the same time, defenders have pointed out that the IDF targeted only those protesters adopting violent means and attempting to infiltrate the Gaza border fence. As Israel struggles to defend both its border and its reputation, how should we think about the IDF’s response to the Gaza protests?
I’m writing because I am one of the few who was there… Yes, right there on the fence where the demonstrations are happening… I want to testify that what I saw and heard was a tremendous, supreme effort from our side, to prevent in every possible way Palestinian deaths and injuries. Of course, the primary mission was to prevent hundreds of thousands of Gazans from infiltrating into our territory. That kind of invasion would be perilous, mortally dangerous to the nearby communities…
To protect its sovereignty and border security Israel must neutralize individuals (some armed and others unarmed) attempting to storm the border at the expense of its international image, while failing to defend its boundaries could result in mass border infiltration… However, the IDF has operated with exceptional professionalism, and despite the fog of war it has achieved three important aims: protected the integrity of its border and avoided Israeli civilian and military casualties, minimized the number of Palestinian civilians killed to the extent possible, and prevented escalation to a broader conflict.
Israel should rather respond to the marchers with law enforcement measures, which are not governed by the laws of international humanitarian law (the laws of war), but rather by the laws of international human rights. Under the law enforcement paradigm, the default manner of responding to violent riots, including riots in border areas, should involve methods of crowd control (such as tear gas, water cannons or rubber bullets) and not live ammunition. Only when the rioters present an imminent risk to life of limb can lethal force be resorted to…