The time of the righteousGideon Levy, in Haaretz: This war, perhaps more than its predecessors, is exposing the true deep veins of Israeli society. Racism and hatred are rearing their heads, as is the impulse for revenge and the thirst for blood...
The only 'purity' in this war is the 'purification from terrorists,' which really means the sowing of horrendous tragedies...
Yet there are some who still want it both ways. To kill and destroy indiscriminately and also to come out looking good, with a clean conscience. To go ahead with war crimes without any sense of the heavy guilt that should accompany them. It takes some nerve...
Anyone who preaches for this war and believes in the justness of the mass killing it is inflicting has no right whatsoever to speak about morality and humaneness... This attitude is a faithful representation of the basic, twofold Israeli sentiment that has been with us forever: To commit any wrong, but to feel pure in our own eyes. To kill, demolish, starve, imprison and humiliate -- and be right, not to mention righteous...
Anyone who justifies this war also justifies all its crimes. Anyone who sees it as a defensive war must bear the moral responsibility for its consequences. Anyone who now encourages the politicians and the army to continue will also have to bear the mark of Cain that will be branded on his forehead after the war. All those who support the war also support the horror.
Israeli commanders were reported in the Israeli media to be unsurprised by the heavy toll on civilians of their latest actions, saying their priority was to protect soldiers. 'For us, being cautious means being aggressive,' one told the Haaretz newspaper. 'From the minute we entered, we've acted like we're at war. That creates enormous damage on the ground.' The newspaper said the government had taken into account the likely high number of Palestinian civilian casualties when it approved the ground operation a week ago. Another soldier, identified as Lt Col Amir, told Israeli TV on Wednesday: 'We are very violent. We are not shying away from any method of preventing casualties among our troops.'
