I Am a Friend of Israel. And I Can't Accept Its Indiscriminate Violence Against Palestinians in Gaza – Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)

The author, a professor and self-described friend of Israel, criticizes the Israeli military's use of lethal force against Palestinian protesters in Gaza. He argues that the justifications provided by the Israeli government—namely that protesters are Hamas operatives—undermine the fundamental principle of discrimination between combatants and noncombatants. He asserts that the force used by the IDF was disproportionate and unfaithful to both Jewish moral tradition and international laws of war, such as the Geneva Conventions.

• The author contends that the Israeli military's response to Palestinian demonstrations along the Gaza border since March 2018 has resulted in numerous deaths and serious injuries, and that the force employed by the IDF has been disproportionate.
• The author rejects the Israeli government's justification that protesters are legitimate targets because they are Hamas operatives, stating that this logic undermines the essential principle of discrimination between combatants and noncombatants required by the laws of war and the Geneva Conventions.
• The author argues that the use of lethal force in circumstances where its necessity is doubtful is a betrayal of the IDF's own guiding principle of "Purity of Arms" and the broader Jewish moral tradition of caution regarding lethal force.

APA

Brekke, T. (2018). I Am a Friend of Israel. And I Can't Accept Its Indiscriminate Violence Against Palestinians in Gaza – Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://www.prio.org/comments/57

Chicago

Brekke, Torkel. I Am a Friend of Israel. And I Can't Accept Its Indiscriminate Violence Against Palestinians in Gaza – Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2018. https://www.prio.org/comments/57.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Brekke |first1=Torkel |title=I Am a Friend of Israel. And I Can't Accept Its Indiscriminate Violence Against Palestinians in Gaza – Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=4 June 2018 |url=https://www.prio.org/comments/57 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{brekke2018friend, author = {Brekke, Torkel}, title = {{I Am a Friend of Israel. And I Can't Accept Its Indiscriminate Violence Against Palestinians in Gaza – Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)}}, publisher = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {https://www.prio.org/comments/57}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }