The Israeli army uses the veneer of internal accountability to fend off external criticism. But its record reveals how few perpetrators are punished.
By Dan Owen, +972 Magazine
The scale of horror that Israel has inflicted upon Gaza over the last nine months is almost impossible to comprehend. The Israeli army’s decision from the start of the war to significantly expand its authorization for bombing non-military targets and causing harm to civilians has resulted in the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians, and has left the Gaza Strip unrecognizable. The surviving population faces mass hunger and displacement as a result of intentional Israeli policies, which are in violation of international laws of war.
Every day, more and more horrifying evidence emerges, revealing what many Israelis seek to repress. The South African case charging Israel with genocide continues in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity. A UN Human Rights Council Commission found that Israeli security forces committed crimes such as starvation, murder, intentional harm to civilians, forced transfer, sexual violence, and torture. Even the United States, Israel’s closest ally, concluded that Israel’s use of weapons in Gaza is “inconsistent” with human rights law.

As these accusations pile up, Israel is beginning to launch another large-scale operation alongside its ongoing military campaign: the biggest crime cover-up in the country’s history.
Israeli leaders and diplomats repeat ad nauseam the well-worn mantra that Israel’s army is the most moral in the world. This claim is based, among other things, on the military’s supposedly robust legal mechanisms that ostensibly approve every attack and investigate suspicions of international law violations. In its arguments at the ICJ against the accusation that Israel is committing genocide, Israel’s defense team repeatedly praised these legal mechanisms: even if Israeli soldiers commit war crimes, the lawyers argued, the system is capable of investigating them on its own.
Recent Posts
We Can’t Assume That Trump Will Author His Own Undoing
March 14, 2025
Take Action Now There will surely be turf wars and palace intrigue within the administration, but there is little reason to think that its core…
The Arrest Of Mahmoud Khalil, A Zero Hour Conversation With Sonali Kolhatkar
March 13, 2025
Take Action Now Eskow and Kolhatkar argue that if this repression is not challenged, it will escalate, targeting more individuals and further eroding…
Five Years After COVID, The GOP Is The Anti-Vaccine Party
March 12, 2025
Take Action Now Despite the ongoing spread of COVID, measles and bird flu, Trump has handed power to anti-vaxxers and vaccine skeptics.By Sasha…
Mahmoud Khalil’s Wife Speaks Out On His Unconstitutional Arrest
March 12, 2025
Take Action Now The following is a press statement from Mahmoud Khalil’s wife. Khalil was unconstitutionally arrested by ICE agents over the…