Killing The Future, Mostly of Palestine

Two days ago, Robert Fisk reported on the release of Amnesty International's recent report, "Killing the Future: Children in the Line of Fire":

In one of its most shocking reports on the Israeli-Palestinian war, Amnesty International today condemns both sides in the conflict for their "utter disregard" for the lives of children – 250 of them Palestinian and 72 Israeli – who have been killed over the past year.

In a 29-page report containing some of the most painful evidence amassed on child-killing in the occupied territories and Israel, the organisation blames Israel for "excessive and disproportionate use of lethal force" and "reckless shooting" in residential areas, and Palestinians for "direct and indiscriminate attacks", including suicide bombings.

...Amnesty's condemnation has rarely been so scathing. "The pattern of killings of children which has become so entrenched and widespread in the past two years developed against a background of impunity for the perpetrators of such crimes," it says.

Despite repeated claims to the contrary: "No judicial investigation is known to have been carried out into any of the killings of children by members of the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] in the occupied territories, even in cases where Israeli government officials have stated publicly that investigations would be carried out." None of the Israeli soldiers responsible for these crimes is known to have been brought to justice, Amnesty says.

It also attacks Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority for imprisoning militants for political purposes rather than submitting them to fair trials for the killing of children. It says the assertion by Palestinian armed groups that international law imposes no constraints on them is untrue. "No violations by the Israeli army, no matter their scale or gravity, can ever justify the targeting and killing of Israeli children or any other civilians by Palestinian groups."

Ironically, the very same day Fisk's report was published, the International Herald Tribune ran a story stating, "A 12-year-old Palestinian schoolboy was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers Monday and 22 other children were wounded by Israeli gunfire while throwing rocks and debris at army tanks in the besieged West Bank city of Nablus, local officials reported. Five adults were also wounded."

Remarkably, I've heard little about any of this in the American media. Yes, the AI report and the IHT report (the latter, actually, was first reported by the Washington Post) did receive play, but nowhere near as much emphasis as both stories warranted, especially when considered in tandem.

I could, of course, speculate why...and will: the AI report, while undoubtedly casting blame on both sides, clearly makes Israel out to be the bad guy. A casual glance at the body count is all that's needed to prove that point -- 250 vs 72, "in favor" of the Palestinians, essentially mirroring the ~3:1 ratio of overall deaths during the intifada. In relating the totals of 22 children wounded, the IHT report also conveys a disturbing image that, frankly, does not mesh with the American media's portrayal of the conflict. This image, however, is ultimately an accurate one and probably the dirty little secret of what's been going on in the occupied territories for the past 2+ years.

For added context, to cite just two examples, recall Chris Hedges' reporting and the attack on Salah Shehade's apartment. No matter what you think of the larger issues involved in the conflict, this deliberate – yes, I think it's now fair to say deliberate – targeting of children and the general disregard for the lives of innocent Palestinians can only be seen as inherent elements in the IDF's "security" operations. In accord, this should be treated as an egregious affront to human rights; the UN should be sending monitors and mediators (and maybe even troops) into the region immediately.