Israel Targets Civilians To Spread Fear, Submission
Israel’s targeting of civilians in Gaza is part of an official, deliberate policy to spread fear and intimidation, and apply pressure on militant groups with the hope of bringing them to their knees.
The incident in which some 40 Palestinian civilians were killed when Israel Defense Forces mortar shells hit an UNRWA school in the Jabalya refugee camp Tuesday surprised no one who has been following events in Gaza in recent days. Senior officers admit that the IDF has been using enormous firepower.
“For us, being cautious means being aggressive,” explained one. “From the minute we entered, we’ve acted like we’re at war. That creates enormous damage on the ground … I just hope those who have fled the area of Gaza City in which we are operating will describe the shock. Maybe someone there will sober up before it continues.” Haaretz
This tactic is analogous to the mafia holding all of your siblings, and killing them one at a time until you tern yourself in, or stop doing what ever made them unhappy. They want the surviving victims to run to the next town and tell of the horror, so that they surrender.
Israel has a rich history of doing applying this murderous strategy. It was first used in 1948 when the terrorist organizations that later formed the Israeli Army destroyed villages, committed mass murder, and mutilated bodies, and told the survivors to run and tell the next town, thereby instigating the massive wave of refuges, effectively ethnically cleansing much of Palestine, on which they declared their state.
In the 60s, 70s, and through the first Intifada, they arrested fathers, sons, and sometimes wives, as means of pressure in activists they wanted to tern themselves in, they often destroyed the family’s home with the same goal.
And specifically the bombing of clear civilian gathering points is rather common as well; Israel bombed the UN building in Qana in southern Lebanon in 1996 and then again in 2006, killing more that 100 innocent people in each attack.
Not to mention the long list of collective punishment and punitive measures, and other war crimes such as check points, theaft of land, and siege and starvation.
Attacking the school in Gaza today, mass murdering dozens of civilians, is part of Israel’s modus operandi, and should not be a surprise, and claims that it was used by militants for any reason, should not fool any mildly intelligent person, especially after Israel made sure that no journalists are allowed into the area months in advance.
