Commentary by Noah Beck – When observers describe or denounce Israeli military actions as “disproportionate,” they glibly assume sweeping legal conclusions without the necessary proof or analysis. But a dispassionate review of the evidence indicates that it is Hamas, and not Israel, that has committed war crimes.

Hamas’ indiscriminate rocket and missile attacks – which now total about 3,500 in the last month – target primarily Israeli civilians. The effects of Hamas’ attacks have been serious (contrary to what most media reports suggest):

a) increasing premature births,

b) shutting down Israel’s biggest airport, blocking 90 percent of incoming and outgoing passengers,

c) forcing about 8 million people to live on the edge 24/7, fearing that if their missile defense system or scramble to shelters falters, they could die,

d) constant interruptions throughout the day and night, with as little as ten seconds to find shelter,

e) billions of dollars in economic damage.

Israeli mother and children dive for cover with only 15 seconds warning of incoming Hamas rockets.

The principle of distinction requires belligerents to distinguish between combatants and civilians. Hamas’ violations of this principle amount to a double war crime: first by targeting Israeli civilians, and second by using Gazan civilians as human shields for these attacks, thereby making it much harder for the IDF military response to distinguish Gazan combatants from noncombatants. Hamas exhorts Gazans to act as human shields and its combat manual encourages this war crime while admitting that Israel avoids civilian casualties – an avoidance that Hamas exploits for tactical advantage. Alan Dershowitz deftly highlights yet another proof of Hamas war crimes: Hamas chooses to locate its military efforts in the most densely populated parts of Gaza, instead of in the far less populated areas nearby – a decision calculated to maximize Gazan civilian deaths. Cynically breaking all rules, Hamas even used ambulances to transport fighters and converted Gaza’s hospitals into command centers, weapons depots, and rocket-launch sites.

Hamas perfected suicide bombing and is designated as a terrorist organization by the US and Europe, so its war crimes are unsurprising. But what of the oft repeated but seldom questioned claim that Israeli military actions are “excessive” or “disproportionate?”