Civilians in these territories are quickly and easily converted into enemy combatants, thanks to the policies and conditions of the respective states.
On the Israeli side, everyone is expected to be eligible for call-up to serve in the IDF. Its a condition of citizenship. Similarly, every exit from Gaza is manned by Israeli military personal who conceive of any effort to breach the perimeter as an act of war. Israeli Settlers are all armed and expected to assist in securing that border. And they routinely fire across the border at what they consider hostile targets within the Gaza region. If everyone living along the border is potentially a member of the military, and even the farmers and construction workers and homemakers are expected to serve as de facto border guards, does that mean Israel lacks a civilian population? shrug
Similarly, on the Gaza side, we’ve seen Israel Defense Force officers insist that children as young as six years old were enemy combatants. We’ve seen their policy of shooting through “human shields” and bombing schools, shelters, and hospitals on the grounds that they are all protecting militants or harboring tunnel networks underneath. What civilian population remains to speak of in Gaza, when every resident can be credibly identified as an insurgent and every inch of real estate justifiably bombarded on the grounds that it is part of a Hamas military installation?
Under these conditions, what civilian population exists to speak of?
Civilians in these territories are quickly and easily converted into enemy combatants, thanks to the policies and conditions of the respective states.
On the Israeli side, everyone is expected to be eligible for call-up to serve in the IDF. Its a condition of citizenship. Similarly, every exit from Gaza is manned by Israeli military personal who conceive of any effort to breach the perimeter as an act of war. Israeli Settlers are all armed and expected to assist in securing that border. And they routinely fire across the border at what they consider hostile targets within the Gaza region. If everyone living along the border is potentially a member of the military, and even the farmers and construction workers and homemakers are expected to serve as de facto border guards, does that mean Israel lacks a civilian population? shrug
Similarly, on the Gaza side, we’ve seen Israel Defense Force officers insist that children as young as six years old were enemy combatants. We’ve seen their policy of shooting through “human shields” and bombing schools, shelters, and hospitals on the grounds that they are all protecting militants or harboring tunnel networks underneath. What civilian population remains to speak of in Gaza, when every resident can be credibly identified as an insurgent and every inch of real estate justifiably bombarded on the grounds that it is part of a Hamas military installation?
Under these conditions, what civilian population exists to speak of?