The difference between the war in Fallujah in Iraq and the Gaza war is more than marginal. The IDF is an army of angles compared to the US marines.

Did the US marines call up the citizens of Fallujah, telling them to flee from buildings going to be bombed?

The IDF did so in Gaza.

Did the US marines send SMS-es to Iraqis in Fallujah, telling them to move to safe areas in the city, that was not going to be bombed?

The IDF did so in Gaza. The US Marines told the Iraqis to flee the full city or face death and destruction.

Did the US marines drop pamphlets over Fallujah, requesting them to seek shelter in safe buildings ahead of the attack to drive out Islamic militants?

The IDF did so in Gaza.

Lets compare the Gaza operation to the U.S. Marine operation in Fallujah, Iraq, in late 2004.

During the operation, about 6,000 Iraqis including 1,200-2,000 insurgents were killed. Of the city’s 50,000 buildings, some 10,000 were destroyed, including 60 mosques.

Thus, the U.S. left a trail of destruction in Fallujah far greater than anything Israel inflicted on Gaza. Comparing IDF activities to those of military forces of Western democracies is an essential part of any present attempt to use international law.

In Israel, a combatant is a citizen in uniform; quite often, he is a conscript or on reserve duty. His state ought to have a compelling reason for jeopardizing his life.

The fact that persons involved in terrorism are depicted as non-combatants and that they reside and act in the vicinity of persons not involved in terrorism is not a reason for jeopardizing the combatant’s life more than is required under combat conditions.

The ethical doctrine which follows from the IDF Ethics document mandates that, whenever possible, you must warn non-combatants that they are residents of a neighborhood where it is dangerous to stay. In Gaza, the IDF employed a variety of unprecedented efforts meant to minimize injury to non-combatants, including warning leaflets, phone calls, and non-lethal warning fire.

There is no army in the world that will endanger its soldiers in order to avoid hitting the warned neighbors of an enemy or terrorist. Israel should favor the lives of its own soldiers over the lives of the well-warned neighbors of a terrorist when it is operating in a territory that it does not effectively control, because in such territories it does not bear the moral responsibility for properly separating between dangerous individuals and harmless ones.

Proportionality is not a numerical comparison, but an assessment of existing threats and the measures that must be taken in order to avert them. Proportionality is justifiability of the collateral damage on grounds of the military advantage gained.

Source: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

My comment

Its possible that both the US Marines and the IDF have committed war crimes. If so, let both of them stand trial at the International War crimes tribunal in the Hague.

Because calling US Marines heros and IDF soldiers war criminals is the hight of hypocrisy.

Its seems more likely that the US marines committed massive war crimes in the city of Falluhja, than IDF soldiers doing the same in Gaza.

There is also a huge difference between the two military operations. Not a single Islamic solider in Fallujah had ever fired a single shot towards the American continent. Hamas had already managed to fire thousands of rockets into Israel.

The US Marines did not find any hidden weapons of mass destruction in Fallujah, or anywhere else in Iraq. The Quassam rocket launchers inside Gaza were visible, and could only be removed by an Israeli military operation inside Gaza.

First published 6th of February 2010.

Published by Ivar