Emanuel: Israel Has Done Things Even We Don’t Do to Protect Civilian Lives, But They Aren’t Respected

During an interview aired on Thursday’s broadcast of CNN International’s “Amanpour,” U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel acknowledged that Israel’s military has “done other things that have been, in the sense of the safety and sanctity of human life, conducted things that other countries, ourselves included, have not done when it comes to urban warfare.” But “I grew up in a period of time where the IDF was respected, not only for their capabilities, but for the ethics in which they conducted. That hasn’t been at all the case here,” and Israel is “more isolated because of the length of this war and the conduct of it.”

Emanuel said, “[T]here have been, in the last — since 2005, five different ceasefires between Israel and Hamas. And, each time, those ceasefires have been violated by Hamas. Israel has a right to defend itself, when, in fact, 1,200 people were killed and many, many women were raped and many, many children were killed in front of their parents. Any country that’s invaded has a right to self-defense. How it conducts a war, it must — I grew up in a period of time where the IDF was respected, not only for their capabilities, but for the ethics in which they conducted. That hasn’t been at all the case here, but they have a right to defend themselves and to do it in a way that’s true to the values of the state of Israel. And they haven’t been perfect at it. On the other hand, they have done other things that have been, in the sense of the safety and sanctity of human life, conducted things that other countries, ourselves included, have not done when it comes to urban warfare. So, it’s not just a broad brush stroke. But there’s no doubt where Israel is today, where Israel is before. It’s more isolated because of the length of this war and the conduct of it. You don’t need me to say that. That’s a self-evident truth.”

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