Eseinkot is a war criminal and he cannot be separated from his legacy as the architect of a war strategy that promotes carte-blanche killings of civilians in densely populated areas.
Re: When Netanyahu is gone, will Canada and Israel make up?
Dear editor,
Justin Ling’s column on the Israeli elections downplays concerns pro-Palestine groups have regarding Gadi Eisenkot.
Ling argues that Canada should reset diplomatic relations under a new Israeli government that replaces Netanyahu since there’s a possible chance at democratic change and peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
I don’t believe that Eisenkot has a vested interest in changing Israel's fundamental relationship to the Palestinian people, which has been experienced as apartheid and genocide.
Eisenkot opposes Palestinian statehood, and is committed to the Israeli status quo of illegally settling the West Bank in order to avoid what he calls “a severe threat to the Zionist project.”
Eisenkot is also far more warhawkish than Ling presents him.
During his time as a senior officer in the IDF, Eisenkot formulated the “Dahiya doctrine” (named after the Beirut suburb) which advocates for the use of overwhelming and disproportionate force including targeting civilian infrastructure – a blatant violation of international law.
The doctrine was first applied in 2006, when the Israeli military flattened Dahiya during its assault on Lebanon, killing about 1,000 civilians. In an interview, Eisenkot justified these war crimes later saying that from his standpoint “these are not civilian villages, they are military bases… This is not a recommendation. This is a plan. And it has been approved.”
Israel’s current military tactics in its ongoing destruction of Gaza and Lebanon are also influenced by this doctrine. Eisenkot recently urged the Israeli government to employ the Dahiya Doctrine in Lebanon once again saying that the doctrine “has never been more relevant than it is now.”
Eseinkot is a war criminal and he cannot be separated from his legacy as the architect of a war strategy that promotes carte-blanche killings of civilians in densely populated areas. Continued pressure on the incoming Israeli government is imperative. Canada must not reset its diplomatic relations with Israel or ease its current sanctions against the state’s illegal occupation.