THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA
Why has Israel censored reporting on drones?
Charlotte Silver Rights and Accountability 18 April 2016
US Ambassador Dan Shapiro, second from left, stands in front of a Super
Heron drone during a November 2015 visit to Israel Aerospace Industries. The
US has embraced Israel's rationale for drone killings.
US Embassy Tel Aviv
On 6 April, the Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz published an article titled,
"Israeli army document confirms use of attack drones in terrorist
assassinations."
But the very next day the article was removed following orders from the
Israeli military censor.
Though numerous Israeli drone strikes have been documented by human rights
groups during the last decade, the government does not officially
acknowledge that it uses drones both in combat and to conduct
assassinations.
In that short-lived article, Haaretz had reported information included in
the Israeli army's non-classified report on its activities in 2014.
That document contained information on two incidents when Israel used armed
drones to target Palestinians during its bombardment of Gaza in the summer
of that year.
Though the Israeli army report was published in 2015, the admission of drone
use went unnoticed until Haaretz published its article earlier this month.
After the Haaretz article had been hurriedly deleted, the military replaced
the original document with one that had removed the references to the drone
attacks.
The military censor forbid other Israeli publications from publishing
anything on the use of drones mentioned in the original report.
However, a copy of the original Israeli military report remains online.
It states that on 8 July 2014, the Israeli army used a Zik - the Hebrew
nickname for drone - to attack four Palestinian fighters (whom the army
describes as "terrorists") on a beach in present-day Israel.
The document also states that more than a week later the army used a drone
to kill 13 Palestinian fighters trying to enter present-day Israel.
In fact, both incidents had been widely reported in the Israeli press at the
time, with the army presenting them as significant military achievements -
even going so far as to release footage of the attacks.
It now appears this footage showcases Israeli drone strikes.
The army's report only lists nine so-called "central events" from Israel's
attack on Gaza during the summer of 2014. Because the government does not
release any information on its use of combat drones, precise figures on how
many drone strikes occurred are unknown.
But the Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights estimates that drones
were used to kill 37 percent of all Palestinians who died during the 51-day
offensive.
Open secret
Drones allow governments, led by the United States, to conduct military
operations in non-traditional battlefields, such as in countries where there
is no declared war.
While Israel designated the Gaza Strip as an "enemy entity" in 2007 and has
since repeatedly waged war on it, the military has also reportedly conducted
drone strikes in Lebanon, Egypt and Sudan.
In 2009, following the strikes on Sudan, Ehud Olmert, then Israel's prime
minister, said, "Those who need to know, know there is no place where Israel
cannot operate."
That Israel uses attack drones for extrajudicial executions - or "targeted
prevention," in Israel's official and sterilized terms - is an open secret,
one the government has refused to acknowledge despite extensive evidence.
A 2010 US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks, gave some details of
Israel's drone use during Operation Cast Lead, its attack on Gaza in late
2008 and early 2009.
Based on information received from the Israeli military, the cable referred
to an incident in which a drone fired two missiles at two Palestinians
outside a mosque. The second strike hit the men, with shrapnel from the
attack hitting civilians inside the mosque.
In January this year, The Intercept website revealed that American and
British intelligence agencies were secretly monitoring the live video feeds
from Israeli drones and fighter jets. Some of the snapshots taken during
2009 and 2010 suggested the drones were carrying missiles.
"Although they are not clear enough to be conclusive, the images offer rare
visual evidence to support reports that Israel flies attack drones," The
Intercept reported.
"There's a good chance that we are looking at the first images of an armed
Israeli drone in the public domain," Chris Woods, an investigative
journalist, told The Intercept.
"[Israel has] gone to extraordinary lengths to suppress information on
weaponized drones," he continued. Woods is the author Sudden Justice, a
history of drone warfare.
Publicly, Israel will only acknowledge using drones to collect intelligence.
The UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph has reported, however, that 65 per cent
of aerial operations by the Israeli military are now conducted by drones.
"Sexiest trend"
So in spite of Israel's insistence on not officially acknowledging its use
of armed drones, its military has surely been prolific in its extrajudicial
execution program, a practice for which drone technology is integral and
that the United States has robustly embraced.
Many view Israel has having forged the rationale for conducting
assassinations, which the United States has adopted with vigor.
In 2005, Avi Dichter, then director of Israel's Shin Bet secret service,
described targeted assassinations as "the sexiest trend in counterterrorism"
and claimed "the state of Israel has turned targeted killings into an art
form."
In 2006, Israel's high court approved extrajudicial killings, saying the
practice would be legal in exceptional cases.
The US Justice Department later invoked that ruling in a 2010 secret memo
that would provide the justification for the 2011 extrajudicial execution of
US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen.
The US has since killed thousands of people, including a significant number
of civilians, in drone strikes.
According to Al Mezan, Israel killed almost 2,000 people in Gaza with drone
strikes between 2004 and 2014.
Daniel Reisner, former head of the Israeli army's legal department, told
Haaretz in 2009, "If you do something for long enough, the world will accept
it . International law progresses through violations."
Israeli representatives, then, have openly boasted that they have paved the
path for one of the most controversial practices in modern warfare: killing
by remote control.
So why is Israel censoring coverage of its own drone activities?
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Why has Israel censored reporting on drones?
Charlotte Silver Rights and Accountability 18 April 2016
&
US Ambassador Dan Shapiro, second from left, stands in front of a Super
Heron drone during a November 2015 visit to Israel Aerospace Industries. The
US has embraced Israel's rationale for drone killings.
US Embassy Tel Aviv
On 6 April, the Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz published an article titled,
"Israeli army document confirms use of attack drones in terrorist
assassinations."
But the very next day the article was removed following orders from the
Israeli military censor.
Though numerous Israeli drone strikes have been documented by human rights
groups during the last decade, the government does not officially
acknowledge that it uses drones both in combat and to conduct
assassinations.
In that short-lived article, Haaretz had reported information included in
the Israeli army's non-classified report on its activities in 2014.
That document contained information on two incidents when Israel used armed
drones to target Palestinians during its bombardment of Gaza in the summer
of that year.
Though the Israeli army report was published in 2015, the admission of drone
use went unnoticed until Haaretz published its article earlier this month.
After the Haaretz article had been hurriedly deleted, the military replaced
the original document with one that had removed the references to the drone
attacks.
The military censor forbid other Israeli publications from publishing
anything on the use of drones mentioned in the original report.
However, a copy of the original Israeli military report remains online.
It states that on 8 July 2014, the Israeli army used a Zik - the Hebrew
nickname for drone - to attack four Palestinian fighters (whom the army
describes as "terrorists") on a beach in present-day Israel.
The document also states that more than a week later the army used a drone
to kill 13 Palestinian fighters trying to enter present-day Israel.
In fact, both incidents had been widely reported in the Israeli press at the
time, with the army presenting them as significant military achievements -
even going so far as to release footage of the attacks.
It now appears this footage showcases Israeli drone strikes.
The army's report only lists nine so-called "central events" from Israel's
attack on Gaza during the summer of 2014. Because the government does not
release any information on its use of combat drones, precise figures on how
many drone strikes occurred are unknown.
But the Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights estimates that drones
were used to kill 37 percent of all Palestinians who died during the 51-day
offensive.
Open secret
Drones allow governments, led by the United States, to conduct military
operations in non-traditional battlefields, such as in countries where there
is no declared war.
While Israel designated the Gaza Strip as an "enemy entity" in 2007 and has
since repeatedly waged war on it, the military has also reportedly conducted
drone strikes in Lebanon, Egypt and Sudan.
In 2009, following the strikes on Sudan, Ehud Olmert, then Israel's prime
minister, said, "Those who need to know, know there is no place where Israel
cannot operate."
That Israel uses attack drones for extrajudicial executions - or "targeted
prevention," in Israel's official and sterilized terms - is an open secret,
one the government has refused to acknowledge despite extensive evidence.
A 2010 US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks, gave some details of
Israel's drone use during Operation Cast Lead, its attack on Gaza in late
2008 and early 2009.
Based on information received from the Israeli military, the cable referred
to an incident in which a drone fired two missiles at two Palestinians
outside a mosque. The second strike hit the men, with shrapnel from the
attack hitting civilians inside the mosque.
In January this year, The Intercept website revealed that American and
British intelligence agencies were secretly monitoring the live video feeds
from Israeli drones and fighter jets. Some of the snapshots taken during
2009 and 2010 suggested the drones were carrying missiles.
"Although they are not clear enough to be conclusive, the images offer rare
visual evidence to support reports that Israel flies attack drones," The
Intercept reported.
"There's a good chance that we are looking at the first images of an armed
Israeli drone in the public domain," Chris Woods, an investigative
journalist, told The Intercept.
"[Israel has] gone to extraordinary lengths to suppress information on
weaponized drones," he continued. Woods is the author Sudden Justice, a
history of drone warfare.
Publicly, Israel will only acknowledge using drones to collect intelligence.
The UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph has reported, however, that 65 per cent
of aerial operations by the Israeli military are now conducted by drones.
"Sexiest trend"
So in spite of Israel's insistence on not officially acknowledging its use
of armed drones, its military has surely been prolific in its extrajudicial
execution program, a practice for which drone technology is integral and
that the United States has robustly embraced.
Many view Israel has having forged the rationale for conducting
assassinations, which the United States has adopted with vigor.
In 2005, Avi Dichter, then director of Israel's Shin Bet secret service,
described targeted assassinations as "the sexiest trend in counterterrorism"
and claimed "the state of Israel has turned targeted killings into an art
form."
In 2006, Israel's high court approved extrajudicial killings, saying the
practice would be legal in exceptional cases.
The US Justice Department later invoked that ruling in a 2010 secret memo
that would provide the justification for the 2011 extrajudicial execution of
US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen.
The US has since killed thousands of people, including a significant number
of civilians, in drone strikes.
According to Al Mezan, Israel killed almost 2,000 people in Gaza with drone
strikes between 2004 and 2014.
Daniel Reisner, former head of the Israeli army's legal department, told
Haaretz in 2009, "If you do something for long enough, the world will accept
it . International law progresses through violations."
Israeli representatives, then, have openly boasted that they have paved the
path for one of the most controversial practices in modern warfare: killing
by remote control.
So why is Israel censoring coverage of its own drone activities?
