The statement made by Amnesty International in response to the August 18 terrorist infiltration into Israel "demonstrates Amnesty's continued abuse of universal human rights principles," says Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor. Amnesty's statement, which was accompanied by an image of a wounded Palestinian, erases all details of the murderous attacks targeting Israeli civilians.
"Instead of issuing a strong condemnation of the August 18 Palestinian terror attacks, Amnesty International's statement draws a false equivalence between cold-blooded murder and self-defense that targeted those responsible," says Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor.
"From Amnesty's statement, one has no idea that terrorists walked up to a car and brutally murdered the four passengers. Amnesty has immorally treated both the murders and the self-defense response as 'indiscriminate and disproportionate.' In obscuring the facts on the ground, Amnesty again makes a complete mockery of international law and human rights values."
According to eyewitnesses, terrorists who attacked buses, motorists, civilians, and soldiers were dressed in Egyptian military camouflage, in further violation of international humanitarian law. If the terrorists indeed originated from Gaza, they also violated the sovereignty of both Egypt and Israel, a detail that was also ignored by Amnesty.
"Without any evidence, Amnesty officials also imply that Israel is in violation of the prohibition of 'harming civilians,'" Steinberg added. "In fact, the evidence demonstrates that Israel's response was extremely precise - targeting the terrorists responsible for the murderous attacks. In the rush to condemn Israel, Amnesty distorts the events beyond recognition."
As of August 23, Amnesty has not issued an updated statement. In addition, Amnesty has not condemned the more than 100 rockets launched from Gaza into Israel over the weekend, killing one and injuring dozens, or acknowledged that ten of the 13 Palestinians killed were terrorists, and that the other three were with the terrorists at the time of their death.
NGO Monitor added: "We call on all members of Amnesty with a moral conscience, including the Israeli branch, to resign immediately in protest."
