The IDF has lost any moral compass

Members of the Security and Foreign Affairs Committee of Israel's Knesset were outraged at the phenomenon of IDF soldiers writing blue numbers on the arm of Palestinian detainees. As appalling as it is, this act is merely a symbol of the IDF's loss of any moral compass in its treatment of the Palestinian population.

Since Israel began its invasions into Palestinian refugee camps on February 27, dozens of unarmed Palestinian civilians have been killed, including children and medical personnel. In every city and refugee camp that they have entered, IDF soldiers have repeated the same pattern: indiscriminate firing and the killing of innocent civilians, intentional harm to water, electricity and telephone infrastructure, taking over civilian houses, extensive damage to civilian property, shooting at ambulances and prevention of medical care to the injured.

The grave results have not caused the IDF to change its course of action. Israeli policymakers knew the grave price to the civilian population after the incursion into the first refugee camp. Yet they continue to engage in actions that constitute grave breaches of international humanitarian law.

We cannot wait for the next incursion before the IDF learns the lesson. A black flag of illegality flies over military actions that cause such widespread civilian casualties.