GAZA BLOODBATH

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GAZA BLOODBATH

James Joyner | Sunday, February 23, 2003

GAZA BLOODBATH: UPI reports the escalation of Israeli activity in Gaza, with eleven Palestinians and one Israeli killed in fighting today. The report does not enumerate the casualties in such a way that the reader might distinguish between combatants and non-combatants. Clearly, the Israelis are targetting Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists; but it is unclear from the report how many of the eleven dead fell into those camps. This distinction is an important one and should be made in press accounts. Lumping them together as “Palestinians” is a disservice to the reader.

Also buried in the report is the continued despicable Israeli tactic of razing the houses of suspected terrorists, leaving non-combatants homeless. This practice is not only unconscionable, but it is amazingly counter-productive: “The destruction of terrorists’ houses is a message to suicide bombers and their partners in terror that their activity carried a price that anyone who takes part in hostile terrorist activity will pay,” the IDF spokeswoman said. The message is a good one; the method is not. Since the primary victims will be women and children, the only possible result is to flame the hostility. Arrest–or even kill–the terrorists. But don’t intentionally target their families; that’s just stupid.

About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.

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