Human Rights Watch, Hamas, and Israel

Israeli Hostage being take into Gaza on October 7th (TOI)

Last night, the PBS Newshour featured an interview with Ida Sawyer, an official of Human Rights Watch (Video below). In an extraordinary moment of honesty, HRW has come out with a comprehensive report about the October 7^th attack in Israel. Documenting specific war crimes – crimes against humanity that were carried out by armed Palestinian groups. Who committed a wide spread and systematic attack against a civilian population.

The report also states that there was strong evidence that it was an organizational policy to commit multiple acts of crimes against humanity. Attacks that included persecution against any groups based on national, ethnic, or religious identity. Attacks that included rape and other acts of sexual violence. Attacks that involved a high degree of planning and execution with strong evidence of an intent to kill civilians and take civilian hostages.

While all of this is pretty well known by now HRW claims this is the first time a comprehensive study has been made and detailed report about it has been released.

HRW deserves credit for their moment of truth. But at the same time they can’t seem to let go of their prejudice against Israel. Nor can the mainstream media for that matter. 

Near the end of that interview Sawyer was asked to talk about Israel’s war crimes. Which she happily did. Saying that Israel could not commit war crimes in retaliation for the war crimes committed against them. Which she claimed Israel was doing. Unquestioningly using Hamas figures of 35,000 civilian casualties as the actual numbers. 

Without mentioning that the very organization she condemned for the heinous crimes she described - might be lying about those numbers. 

Without mentioning the fact that Hamas does not differentiate between Palestinian civilians killed and Palestinian terrorists killed. 

Without mentioning that most of the  innocent Palestinians were killed because Hamas - by their own admission - prefers it that way. Therefore embedding themselves among the civilian population. Used as human shields. - or if killed will make Israel look bad.  

Sawyer also said that using starvation as a weapon is also a  crime against humanity implying that Israel purposely starved Palestininas as a tactic of war. When there is no credible evidence of that. Palestinians were starving for a variety of reasons that had nothing to do with Israel holding back food for tactical reasons. Such as the inefficiency of UN distribution or the pilfering of food by Hamas terrorists before it ever got to the civilian population.  

This is what is so frustrating about Human Rights Watch. Even when they  come out with an honest report about the cruelty of Palestinian Jihadists like Hamas, they cannot resist saving some blame for Israel. Which seems to be the hallmark of leftist humanitarian organizations like HRW. They never miss an opportunity to bash Israel. A nation that is too successful to be righteous in the eyes of the left.