HRW just came out with a report claiming multiple cases where IDF soldiers killed, in cold blood, innocent civilians holding white flags.
I cannot speak to all the details of the report right now, but one part is clear: HRW fully believes the "eyewitness" accounts of liars.
They interviewed the Abed Rabbo family, whose previous statements to reporters were found to be incredibly inconsistent. The fact that HRW is so credulous when many have noted the inconsistencies shows that their research is pretty shoddy. At the very least they should have addressed the issue, but of course that is not HRW's aim.
One simple example: HRW says that
Seven neighborhood residents who spoke to Human Rights Watch said that major fighting in the area had stopped by the morning of January 7, although sporadic exchanges of fire may have continued after that.
Time magazine's report mentions a salient fact that HRW chose to ignore:
Most residents of Jebel al-Kashif claim there were no Hamas fighters in the area at the time of the alleged incident, but a middle-aged farmer in a battered army jacket took me aside and said, in a near whisper, that Hamas had been firing rockets from the vicinity of where the episode took place.
Now, who is more credible? The farmer has nothing to gain by lying, but the Abed Rabbo family - who are members of Fatah and who had earlier told a PA newspaper that Hamas was using them as human shields - just might not want to antagonize their tormenters.
Why are none of these facts mentioned by HRW when it relates the story of the Abed Rabbo sisters told by a family with very shaky credibility?
The reason is, of course, that HRW wants to find human rights abuses and "war crimes," and will ignore evidence to the contrary.
NGO Monitor's critique of the report can be found here.
UPDATE: Here's video of a terrorist trying to get away from the IDF by using a white flag, something HRW seems to not have known about during the past seven months.
(h/t Richard Landes of Augean Stables via email)
This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.
CAMERA Webinar: Wikipedia’s Anti-Israel Obsession
-
Wikipedia shapes global understanding of history and current events. But,
what happens when its information is wildly skewed against Israel? Who
decide...
CAMERA Webinar: Wikipedia’s Anti-Israel Obsession
-
Wikipedia shapes global understanding of history and current events. But,
what happens when its information is wildly skewed against Israel? Who
decide...
▶ When the Media Gets Holy History Wrong
-
This week, AP and The Independent misreported some of the most basic
facts about Judaism’s holiest sites—turning small errors into big
distortions. It’s ...
At Passover, the range of recipes is dazzling
-
The ingenuity and dazzling range of Passover dishes testify to the fact
that Jews the world over developed their own distinctive cuisine (using an
implau...
Liberal Jewish Groups Fight for Hamas Supporters
-
Ahead of Passover, the Jewish Democratic Council of America sent out a
mailing headlined, “Pharaoh in the White House”.
According to JDCA's head Halie So...
This is what terrorist propaganda looks like
-
Just a few weeks after the BBC were forced to take down a documentary
because of Hamas family ties to the narrator – the BBC anti-Israel factory
has chur...
-
This is Sali, the LSW posting for Yaakov. Yaakov is recovering from a stoke
that he had about a month ago. Thank you all so very much for your good
wishes,...
Emigration to Mandate Palestine from the Hauran
-
A report on the present conditions in the Hauran was published in the
Journal of The Royal Central Asian Society in 1936.
One of the topics was the emigr...
One Choice: Fight to Win
-
Yesterday Israel preempted a potentially disastrous attack by Hezbollah on
the center of the country. Thirty minutes before launch time, our aircraft
destr...
Closing Jews Down Under Website
-
With a heavyish heart I am closing down the website after ten years.
It is and it isn’t an easy decision after 10 years of constant work. The
past...
‘Test & Trace’ is a mirage
-
Lockdown II thoughts: Day 1 Opposition politicians have been banging on
about the need for a ‘working’ Test & Trace system even more loudly than
the govern...