Palestinian "Policemen" Killed in Gaza Operation Were Trained Terrorists

Will the Goldstone Commission be this thorough?

Palestinian "Policemen" Killed in Gaza Operation Were Trained Terrorists

Jonathan D. Halevi

• After international human rights organizations accused Israel of killing innocent Palestinian "traffic policemen" during the Gaza operation, a detailed investigation shows that a decisive majority of the Palestinian "policemen" were members of the military wings of the Palestinian terror organizations and fighters who had undergone military training.

• Among the 343 members of the Palestinian security forces who were killed, 286 have been identified as terror organization members (83 percent). Another 27 fighters belonging to units undergoing infantry training raises this total to 313 (91 percent).

• Lumped under the rubric of the "Palestinian police" are all the security bodies that fulfilled combat and terror roles against Israel, the intelligence and preventive intelligence bodies, as well as those active in policing and maintaining order. Those serving in all of the Palestinian security apparatuses in 2007 and 2008 took part in terror activity and fighting against the IDF.

• In the December 27, 2008, attack on an officer training course at Gaza police headquarters, 89 dead were counted. Of these, 60 (67 percent) belonged to Hamas and almost all were members of its military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades. The total number of terror activists and fighters among those killed at police headquarters was 81 (91 percent).

• The human rights organizations which reported on Palestinian casualties in Gaza failed to mention the affiliation of hundreds of Palestinian security personnel who were members of terrorist organizations and who were trained fighters, thus artificially inflating the list of "civilians" killed by the IDF.

How did Israel get their numbers? They did their homework:

This study examined the official published lists of policemen as well as the lists of fatalities put out by the Palestinian human rights organizations PCHR and El-Mizan, as well as additional information published in open sources (such as the websites of the Palestinian Authority, the Hamas government, and the Palestinian press). The total data listed the names of 343 who were defined as Palestinian "policemen" or "security personnel" killed during the course of the Gaza operation.

Some examples:

Ten Examples of "Policemen" from Hamas' Military Wing

Among those killed in the IDF attack on police headquarters on December 27 were the following members of the military wing of Hamas:

1. Omar Bakr Shimali (b. 1988) was a member of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Shimali began as an activist in the Hamas student organization (al-Kutla al-Islamiya). He was assigned to a "Special Unit" and was stationed at front-line positions. At the same time, Shimali was active in the military police and worked at police headquarters.⁵
2. Mohammed Khaled Shahiber (b. 1987) joined the al-Qassam Brigades in 2007 and was stationed at front-line positions.⁶
3. Bilal Mahmoud Omar (b. 1989) joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 2006 and at the same time was active in the Hamas security apparatus. In 2007 he joined the al-Qassam Brigades and was assigned to forward positions. He served as a security guard at the home of Police Commander Tawfik Jabber.⁷
4. Sidqi Ismail Hamad (b. 1983) was active in Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, and in mid-2008 joined the al-Qassam Brigades. He served as a bodyguard for Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. He was an officer with the rank of lieutenant in the Security and Protection apparatus.⁸
5. Mohammed Tawfik al-Nimra (b. 1986) joined Hamas in 2003 and also swore loyalty to the Muslim Brotherhood. In 2006 he joined the al-Qassam Brigades and was stationed in front-line positions.⁹
6. Mohammed Ziad al-Nabih (b. 1981) joined Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood in 1995 and the al-Qassam Brigades in 2004.¹⁰
7. Nasser Abdallah al-Ghara (b. 1962) joined Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood in 1989, and in 2004 he joined the al-Qassam Brigades. He was active in the engineering unit that was engaged in preparing explosive charges.¹¹
8. Nahez Salim abu-Namous (b. 1989) joined the al-Qassam Brigades in 2007 and underwent infantry and mortar training.¹²
9. Hussam Muhammed al-Majaida (b. 1982) joined Hamas in 2004 and a year later the al-Qassam Brigades. He was active in the Executive Force of the Palestinian Police established by Hamas in 2006.¹³
10. Hassan Maher Hassan Aruk (b. 1985) was active in the al-Qassam Brigades and was stationed in front-line positions.¹⁴

Another point of interest in the report is the fact that Hamas claimed that they conducted intense fighting against the Israeli forces--yet there was not even one case of a Palestinian death due to 'friendly fire' reported. Halevi writes:

All the Palestinians killed and wounded were attributed exclusively to the IDF, while none of the human rights organizations speculate about this manifest miracle.

But rest assured, we have no shortage of speculation from those organizations

Read the whole report.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza and Hamas and Operation Cast Lead.