Letter from Israel to Israel

This letter was sent out yesterday by ACRI (the Association for Civil Rights in
Israel)

July 20, 2006

To:
Mr. Ehud Olmert Mr. Amir Peretz
Prime Minister Minister of
Defense



Re: The assault on the civilian population as a result of the IDF military
operation in Lebanon


We are writing to you in order to express our concern about the ongoing and
severe suffering that has been imposed upon the civilian population in Lebanon.

We appreciate the anxiety and the suffering caused by the tragic consequences of
the ongoing attack by Hezbollah on Israel, and its impact on the Israeli
civilian population. There is no doubt that the State of Israel is obligated to
defend its population from injury, threats to their lives, and the undermining
of their daily lives.

However, Israel is obligated, always, to act, and especially in such distressing
times, to ensure that they adhere to the provisions of international law. Even
during war there are rules of engagement that dictate what is acceptable and
what is not acceptable, and which prohibit the undertaking of military
operations that include a disproportionate impact on the civilian population.

According to various reports since the outbreak of the war a week ago, hundreds
of Lebanese civilians have been killed, approximately a thousand have been
injured, and thousands have been left without a roof over their head. Either
because their homes have been destroyed by IDF shelling, or because they have
been forced to flee their homes to escape IDF bombing attacks for fear of their
lives.

The high numbers of injured among the Lebanese civilian population, indicates
that the planning and carrying of the IDF operation did not include
precautionary measures required by War Law, in order to prevent a
disproportionate injury to the civilian population and damage to its
infrastructure. In light of this severe impact on the innocent civilians, a
very real suspicion has arisen that war crimes are being perpetrated.

Over the last few days the media has reported statements, including a statement
made by the Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, claiming that Lebanon will pay a heavy
price for the attacks that have derived from its territory, and that "it must
expel the cancerous growth that is has consumed". Such statements increase the
fear that among the aims of this IDF operation is a desire to teach the
Lebanese population a lesson for allowing a Hezbollah presence in Lebanon. It
has also been reported that thousands of Lebanese civilians have been forced to
leave their home as a result of leaflets distributed by the IDF. These reports
denote a thin line which absolute care must be taken not to cross, which
differentiates between the alerting of a civilian population to danger that is
inherent to their remaining in an areas close to a conflict zone, and a
specific policy of instilling terror in a civilian population, which is
explicitly prohibited by International humanitarian law.

Illegitimate norms of deliberately targeting civilians cannot be allowed to
infiltrate and direct the actions of the army of the State of Israel. The
attempt to justify Israel's actions by undertaking acts that contravene
International law is illegal and illegitimate. It is well known that the basic
tenants of International humanitarian law prohibits the utilization of the
principle of reciprocity as a justification for breaching the law, thus Israel
cannot cite the fact that it has been subject to a norm of indiscriminate
attacks on its civilian population as validation for its assault on an innocent
civilian population.

We call upon you to instruct the security forces to cease the indiscriminate
assault on Lebanese civilians and their homes, property and vital civilian
infrastructure, and to take the necessary steps to minimize the impact as far
as possible of such attacks.


Sincerely yours,

Dan Yakir
Chief Legal Counsel


cc: Mr. Meni Mazuz, the Attorney General
Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit, Military Advocate General