As happens in every round of fighting with Gaza, this time as well, the Israeli Foreign Ministry rushed to issue a message sheet to Israeli diplomats. This practice is as old as the state itself, only this time it seems that the sheet was written by Russian artificial intelligence software. There’s no other way to explain the complete disconnect between what was written and the facts on the ground.
We should note the general background in the document about the circumstances that led to the current violent escalation, the content of which was published last week by journalist Barak Ravid. It reads: “Israel has been working in recent years to stabilize the security situation in the Gaza Strip. Nevertheless, the terrorist organization PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad), an Iranian proxy, systematically and continuously violates stability and order in the region by firing rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip and directing terror attacks in the West Bank. For example, about a week ago (May 2-3), the PIJ launched about a hundred rockets and mortar shells at highly populated areas in Israel. The organization was also behind the efforts to execute terror attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem.”
Even the most pro-Israel-inclined Wikipedia editor wouldn’t have accepted this description as valid background for the launch of the current operation in Gaza. For starters, the real reason for this escalation isn’t indicated or even hinted at. By this I mean the death of Islamic Jihad member Khader Adnan, whose death on the 86t day of his hunger strike triggered the rocket attacks on Israel. It also doesn’t mention the enormous political pressure exerted on the government by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his party, who demand a response and continue feeding the cycle of escalation.
The document further claims that “Israel is not interested in escalating the situation” while it continues with targeted assassinations instead of striving for a cease-fire; that Israel is “committed to the summits in Aqaba and Sharm El-Sheikh” (funny); and, last but not least, as part of its divide-and-rule policy, it defends Hamas, which did "not take part in the current escalation.”
But the more intriguing part of the document is the justification of the policy of targeted assassinations and harming innocents. It reads as follows: “In light of the indiscriminate rocket attack, and out of a desire to restore stability, Israel acted in a targeted and circumscribed manner against senior PIJ officials.”
To describe the assassination of three senior Islamic Jihad leaders, which not only didn’t restore any stability but undermined it, as “targeted” or “circumscribed” while also claiming the lives of 10 innocent Palestinian citizens, including women and children, is an impressive feat of terminological gymnastics.
Those who wrote the document know this well. The proof is that in the following paragraph, they planted their arguments for The Hague courts: “The targets promoted immediate terrorist acts and therefore our activity was intended to protect the citizens of Israel and thwart the planned attacks. The PIJ uses Gaza Strip residents as human shields for its weapons intended to harm innocent Israeli citizens; it hides the rockets among the civilian population, uses private houses as bunkers and fires from populated urban locations.”
This whole paragraph is intended to make it clear that the Islamic Jihad leaders were considered a “ticking bomb” and therefore could be executed without trial (“targeted assassination”), despite the fact that it’s clear that this was a punitive act and an attempt to achieve deterrence to the shooting that started at the beginning of the month. And as for the innocent: a human shield? A rockets HQ? The militants were killed in their sleep, at homes with their families.
At a time when Israeli politics no longer has any discussions regarding the effectiveness, legality, morality and harm to innocents caused by this dubious assassination policy, the message sheet reveals what must not be said: in international eyes, there’s still a problem here that needs to be “explained.”
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