A common argument supporting Israel's actions is that Hamas purposefully targets civilians while Israel kills civilians accidentally after taking great pains to avoid civilian casualties.

Again, I don’t mean to be naïve, but how is "accidentally" killing 41 civilians morally superior to purposefully killing one? And that's made even worse when you consider that many of the "accidental" civilian casualties caused by Israeli airstrikes cannot truly be called accidents.

Israel has bombed several mosques and civilian structures claiming Hamas is using them as bases or weapons caches. A recent Israeli airstrike on a mosque during evening prayers killed at least 11 worshippers. Just recently, Israel fired missiles that landed near a clearly marked UN school being used as a civilian shelter, killing over 40 people, including 10 children and 5 women. Israel claimed that mortars had been fired from the school, which was disputed by both the UN and residents.

In both these cases, the Israeli military probably knew that bombing these targets would kill civilians, but they bombed them anyway. They concluded that it was acceptable and worth it to kill dozens of civilians if it meant destroying these targets.

This is not a wild accusation -- this is simply how militaries operate when choosing targets and when to hit them.

That means the civilian deaths caused by the strikes were the opposite of "accidental" -- they were totally predictable and usually predicted, just as dropping a 2,000-pound bomb on a building in the most densely populated area in the world will inevitably kill civilians, even if the bomb hits its target perfectly. You can argue whether or not it is justifiable to kill civilians if it means destroying a legitimate military target, but don't call something an accident if you know for certain that your actions will cause it. And don't expect the families of those "accidental" casualties to forgive you. Accidents happen in America all the time -- and we sure have a lot of lawsuits.

Israel has made clear that they feel no responsibility or remorse whatsoever for civilian casualties they cause and that 100% of the blame rests with Hamas. Israel obviously hopes to benefit from this depiction of events because it might help turn Palestinians against Hamas.

That bears repeating. Israel hopes to benefit from the deaths of Palestinian civilians by taking no responsibility for them. Israel hopes that Palestinians, the victims of Israeli airstrikes, will join forces with Israel to condemn Hamas, the targets of the airstrikes. What are the chances of either of these things happening? Is this Israel's strategy for peace?

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/118581/

and closer to home …..

While French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for an immediate ceasefire by both sides, US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called only for Hamas to halt rockets fired from Gaza. They did not call for Israel to halt its bombing.

There was a lot of handwringing by world leaders but no tough talk when it came to the bombing of the Islamic University of Gaza or the killing of 40 civilians in a United Nations school. We saw the same during the 2006 Israeli war against Lebanon.

It all reminds me of an old story from the days of the Roman Empire. The Emperor Nero was upset that his prized lions were being distressed by Christians who ran away from them in the Colosseum. Nero ordered that at the next circus a Christian was to be buried up to his neck in the sand to make things easier for the lions. When the lions entered the ring, the biggest and meanest saw the hapless condemned, swaggered over and stood astride the Christian's head, roaring for approval from the crowd. At that moment, the Christian craned his neck and bit off the lion's testicles. The crowd was shocked. "Fight fair! Fight fair!" they yelled.

It seems that no matter what injustice Palestinians have suffered in the past 60 years, they should be grateful for the privilege of being able to live under the jackboot of Israeli occupation.

For three years since daring to democratically elect a government not favoured by Israel or the US, the people of Gaza have been subjected to a starvation blockade. Yet the civilised world has barely raised a note of concern. Is this the standard by which we judge the behaviour of nations? We talk about Darfur and Zimbabwe but say little of the gross abuse of human rights that occurs daily in the illegally occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza. Our double standards have made a mockery of the doctrine of humanitarian intervention.

Our failure to condemn the totally disproportionate, not to say illegal, attacks by the Israeli Defence Force has changed the way conflict is regarded around the world. Last August, Russia employed the same tactics in its attack on Georgia as Israel did against Lebanon.

Neither Russia nor China sought UN Security Council emergency meetings in response to the Israeli attacks on Gaza. What happens in the Middle East today sets the standard for the world. And that applies to weapons as well as tactics.

Using cluster bombs or phosphorus bombs against civilian targets is perfectly legal if you can believe the Israeli Defence Force.

Assassinating Hamas leaders during a ceasefire does not constitute a breach. Collective punishments against communities, obstructing medical and humanitarian relief - all part of Israel's tactics - could now be considered acceptable behaviour in national and international conflict.

How can we criticise brutal regimes elsewhere in the world when we condone worse atrocities when they are committed by Israel? The Security Council has become a laughing stock. The Secretary-General is a pathetic figure reduced to faint pleas for a ceasefire while UN personnel are murdered on the ground in Gaza. And who will pick up the pieces when the bloodshed has finally stopped? The rest of the world will, of course. Through the world's contributions to the UN, its largest budget item is the UN Relief and Works Agency. With an annual $700 million budget going to support Palestinian refugees, the biggest component is being spent on Gaza.

Even before the Israeli bombing and invasion of Gaza, the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur responsible for reporting on conditions in the occupied territories, Richard Falk, was denied entry to Gaza.

Last month, Falk called for an International Criminal Court investigation to determine whether the Israeli civilian leaders and military commanders responsible for the Gaza siege should be indicted and prosecuted for violations of international criminal law.

To that long list of war crimes and crimes against humanity we can now add the atrocities committed in this recent invasion. But, with its superior public relations forces, Israel can easily deflect concern about its barbaric assault.

And will the world call Israel's leaders to account for their crimes? Not likely. Western leaders - including Australia's - will merely call on Palestinians to fight fair.

Julia Irwin is Federal MP for the NSW seat of Fowler and a member of the Parliament's Palestinian Friendship Group.

 By Invitation Only is a space for people of influence to have their say. Edited by Kerry-Anne Walsh. [email protected]

Source: The Sun-Herald

It seems that no matter what injustice Palestinians have suffered in the past 60 years, they should be grateful for the privilege of being able to live under the jackboot of Israeli occupation.

For three years since daring to democratically elect a government not favoured by Israel or the US, the people of Gaza have been subjected to a starvation blockade. Yet the civilised world has barely raised a note of concern. Is this the standard by which we judge the behaviour of nations? We talk about Darfur and Zimbabwe but say little of the gross abuse of human rights that occurs daily in the illegally occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza. Our double standards have made a mockery of the doctrine of humanitarian intervention.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/getting-away-with-murder/2009/01/10/1231004352831.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1