XPost: nz.politics, alt.politics.international
In article <1025dq4$5oj0$
1@dont-email.me>,
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <
ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
[...]
Report on Hamas' use of human shields in Gaza ---------------------------------------------
https://stratcomcoe.org/cuploads/pfiles/hamas_human_shields.pdf
Hamas' most common uses of human shields include:
* Firing rockets, artillery, and mortars from or in proximity to heavily populated civilian areas, often from or near facilities which should be protected according to the Geneva Convention (e.g. schools, hospitals,
or mosques).
* Locating military or security-related infrastructures such as HQs, bases, armouries, access routes, lathes or defensive positions within or in proximity to civilian areas.
* Protecting terrorists' houses and military facilities, or rescuing terrorists who were besieged or warned by the IDF.
* Combating the IDF from or in proximity to residential and commercial areas, including using civilians for intelligence gathering missions.
By engaging in these acts, Hamas employs a win-win scenario: if indeed the IDF uses kinetic power, and the number of civilian causalities surges, Hamas can use that as a weapon in the lawfare it conducts. It would be able to accuse
the IDF (and Israel) of committing war crimes, which in turn could result in the imposition of a wide array of sanctions. On the other hand, if the IDF limits
its use of military power in Gaza to avoid collateral damage, Hamas will be less
vulnerable to Israeli attacks, and thereby able to protect its assets while continuing to fight.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)