On accountability – and the role of the global community in bringing justice.
I am an Israeli national and a researcher of Israeli military conduct. Over the past two years, I have been closely investigating the activities and atrocities committed in Gaza and the West Bank.
through several different projects. My work has included monitoring military operations, settler violence, high-level decision-making within the army and government, and statements made by Israeli political and military leadership.
I cannot yet see how this genocidal and relentless campaign will end. That uncertainty is itself a critical question we need to confront.
Equally imporant, however, is the question of accountability. It is crucial that those responsible for these crimes be pursued by every l
The instinct of Israeli leadership, and I suspect also the general public, whenever we're under attack or feel threatened is almost always to inflict as much pain as possible to teach our enemies a lesson "they won't forget".
2
This mindset, shared by both leaders and the public, kicks in whenever there's an attack or a sense of danger. An idea of taking 10 eyes for one eye, an approach that is meant to deter our enemies from future attacks. The officers call the Dahia doctrine. But here's the thing:
3
It doesn't really work.
In my life, nothing has ever shown me that this way of reasoning is effective. To the contrary, yhe more violence we cause, instead of deterring future attacks, we just fuel more hatred and violence. A never-ending cycle that only makes things worse.