Amos Harel / IDF's idea of 'proportionate' is a matter of interpretation

[shira]

The five detailed Israel Defense Forces investigations into Operation Cast Lead reflect a meticulous focus on the trees, and a stubborn refusal to discuss the forest. The probes lasted three months, and were thorough and extensive, but they failed to give convincing answers to some substantive issues regarding the Gaza offensive.

For more than two hours, a group of senior officers presented the findings to the media. The IDF has many good responses for the accusations, some of which came from Hamas and the UN and were proven wrong. In other instances, mistakes caused civilian deaths, but even in the case of 21 family members killed due to faulty intelligence, it is commonly accepted that these kinds of mistakes occur during fighting in difficult environments.

Even the IDF admits that at least 295 civilians were killed, mostly women and children, and 162 others whose identity is not clear. International groups claim that at least twice that number of civilians were killed. The reports indirectly acknowledge the killing of several dozen civilians. How did the rest die? Obviously in war time, there is a great deal of collateral damage. But this is not a good enough answer.

The explanation probably lies in the means used during the operation. The IDF is proud of its extensive use of precision munitions. However, when a one-ton bomb is dropped into a densely populated area - of mostly poorly constructed houses - even a strike three meters off target will cause massive casualties.

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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1080460.html