2009 Gaza War
The NGO Front in the Gaza War: Compilation of NGO statements
A compilation of over 500 statements by 52 NGOs on "Operation Cast Lead" (December 27, 2008 - January 29, 2009).
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The NGO Front in the Gaza War: Lawfare Against Israel
One aspect of NGO statements on the Gaza war is demands for international investigations and "lawfare". Although the vast majority of previous lawfare cases have been dismissed, the damage to public perception of Israel and Israels diplomatic relations is considerable. Reportedly, PCHR is preparing cases in six countries, targeting 87 Israelis for harassment and "dozens of arrest warrants have already been issued." Other NGOs calling for lawfare in the wake of the Gaza war include the AIC, Adalah, Amnesty, Ittijah, and HRA.
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The NGO Front in the Gaza War: BTselem
Since December 27, 2008, BTselem has issued over 35 press releases and "testimonies" about the Gaza war, most of which cannot be independently verified. No testimonies of Israeli victims of Hamas attacks were published. BTselem participated in a press conference accusing Israel of "grave violations of international humanitarian law," "wanton use of lethal force," and "disproportionate harm to civilians." BTselem also makes claims about the military relevance of targets which it is not qualified to assess. BTselems statements largely erase Hamas use of human shields and its indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.
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The NGO Front in the Gaza War: Debate over Palestinian Casualties
There is a growing debate over Palestinian casualty claims. While the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and the Palestinian Ministry of Health have announced that the majority of fatalities were civilians, the IDF has estimated that more than two-thirds of [the deaths] were Hamas members. PCHRs anti-Israel campaigning during war includes accusations of Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity, human holocaust, collective punishment, indiscriminate killing and continued systematic destruction of all the Palestinian institutions and civilian facilities in the Gaza Strip.
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The NGO Front in the Gaza War: Amnesty International
Since December 27, 2008, Amnesty International and its worldwide branches have released numerous statements on Gaza. These are primarily critical of Israel and use the rhetoric of international humanitarian law in a consistently biased manner. Amnesty accuses Israel of "unlawful," "disproportionate," and "indiscriminate" attacks against Palestinian civilians. Amnesty largely ignores the well-documented commandeering of civilian infrastructure and widespread use of human shields by Hamas. These accusations are similar to Amnestys false claims against Israel made during the Second Lebanon War.
