President Isaac Hertzog has just addressed journalists, Members and a broader audience, for a live stream Q and A, at Chatham House.
It was astonishing. Bronwen Maddox is a brilliant and formidable Chair, and maintained an element of journalistic integrity to be proud of. Sadly I cannot say the same for President Hertzog’s obfuscatory and dissembling replies. It wasn’t just that he was evasive, it’s also that his replies were so defensive as to be quite simply unbelievable. He spoke repeatedly about Israel following the international Laws of War. He misrepresented these very rules when he stated that how a Conflict is begun can determine how you execute your response. When that is precisely why they are the rules of engagement under the Geneva Conventions. How a war is started is completely irrelevant to how it is prosecuted. Bronwen put to him that the significant loss of life of civilians and the careless way in which residential areas have been targeted seemed to substantiate, at a policy level, that Israel views civilians as collaborators. Potentially and essentially all civilians. President Hertzog denied this, and that he had actually previously said he viewed civilians as collaborating with terrorists. Ms Maddox cited a speech from him saying precisely this, in 2009 – which the President felt had been misrepresented. It was put to him the willful and direct targeting of hospitals was indeed a war crime, and again his response was to say that these are known and intelligence driven hot beds of Hamas military operations. Numerous times, including by the attending journalists, it was put to the President that these concerns and perceived misrepresentation that Israel feels slighted by, could be righted by allowing in external observers – not least journalists, and the international humanitarian community. This question was sidestepped.
An astute attendee questioned the President on how he thought it might be possible to correct, and get back on track, relations with a broader swathe of Arab neighbors, as was progressing under the Abraham Accords. Of course this drew a neutral and diplomatic answer. Sadly there was not time to address Saudi Arabia’s particular point that Israel should now establish “irreversible steps” towards a two-state solution.
Finally, the President agreed that whilst militarily, Israel was winning this conflict, it was losing internationally, the war on public relations… This appearance certainly did nothing to alter this view.
#Gaza #PresidentHerzog #Palestine
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