During Israel's offensive in Gaza last winter, the IDF took its fight to the Internet with a special YouTube channel to highlight the military's attacks.
In one high profile case, the IDF released video of an attack on a group of men loading a truck in Gaza.
At the time, the IDF said the men were loading advanced missiles. But outside experts quickly questioned that claim, and the Israeli government was eventually forced to admit that the men were not loading rockets; they were loading oxygen canisters.
The attack is a centerpiece of a new Human Rights Watch report on Israeli use of drones during the offensive.
Human Rights Watch documented six cases, including the attack on the truck, and said 29 civilians were killed in questionable strikes by the advanced drones.
The issue was recently the subject of a heated, 20-minute debate between Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti, and Human Rights Watch researcher Bill Van Esveld.
You can watch it here:
The Guardian's Clancy Chassay produced an excellent short video documentary on the use/misuse of drones during the Gaza offensive last March. It can be viewed at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2FrtPwqlNU.
He also did a good job documenting the use of human shields by Israel and attacks on medical personnel. The videos on these issues can be found on the same YouTube page.
Amnesty International also issued our comprehensive report on Gaza 'Operation Cast Lead: 22 days of death and destruction' last week which can be found at http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE15/015/2009/en.
The ICRC also issued their report 'Trapped in Despair' last week at http://icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/palestine-report-260609. There's also an 8 minute video you can watch on their site on the current situation.
Posted by: Edie | July 06, 2009 at 04:54 PM
Islareli needs to stop terrorizing ppl!!
Posted by: rena Bailey | July 08, 2009 at 10:25 PM
Watching the video, I was struck by what the Palestinian National Initiative member stated because it is in 100% agreement with my own assertion. We cannot, here in the U.S., continue to use a double-standard when it comes to Israel. Doing so costs us not only respect, but also legitimacy and potential effectiveness. We tell the world that a different standard applies to the allies of Russia and China, ie Iran and North Korea than that which applies to our own allies, like Israel and Afghanistan as well as ourselves. War crimes are war crimes - they are despicable, inhumane, and must be punished in a uniform manner, whether committed by the IDF, Hamas, the CIA, or the Northern Alliance. When we assert that our own operatives who violated international law by torturing POWs will not face prosecution because they were "just following orders," it sends a message which nullifies the firm policy established in Neuremberg - Following orders is not an acceptable defense and it is the responsibility of each individual to refuse to carry out an illegal order. The CIA operatives, like all U.S. military are trained to refuse orders which they know to be unlawful under international law and should not be immune to prosecution. Ending this discriminatory enforcement of international law is an immediate and grave necessity, otherwise our actions will come to harm all our people, Jews and Gentiles, East and West.
Posted by: Samayavajra | July 11, 2009 at 11:06 AM
In case there were any doubts as to the fact that Palestine is just the testing grounds for all kinds of American hardware and new war toys. The double-standard, the hypocrisy and the inmorality of it all. The Israelis have become the Nazis of the 21st Century!
Posted by: Lola Flores | July 16, 2009 at 10:38 AM