Knocking on the roof

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The term knocking on the roof ( Hebrew הקש בגג) is an Israeli Forces term used to describe the method of alerting residents of a Palestinian building slated for bombing. The goal of this approach is to give people time to escape from the attack. To counter the Hamas tactic, according to which the Palestinian citizens stand on the roofs of houses to prevent the Israeli pilots from attacking, a new type of Israeli weapon - sham ammunition (smaller missile or small mortar shell without warhead) - was developed. The Israelis fire this non-exploding ammunition on an unoccupied part of the roof. The aim is to use psychological pressure to get the residents to leave the building. This tactic is called "knocking on the roof" or "knocking on the roof". The Israeli armed forces have been using this warning technology since 2006.

application

The method was used during Operation Cast Lead in the 2008/2009 Gaza conflict. In the six months leading up to the conflict, Israel collected data from Hamas members, which they used to disseminate the warnings.

As a rule, Israeli intelligence officials contacted residents of the building they suspected of containing military material. They announced that there was a ten minute period to leave the building. This was done by phone, voice message or SMS. For example, Nizar Rayan was called and warned before his home was bombed.

In some cases, after such advance warnings, residents prevented the bombing by climbing on the roof to show they were unwilling to leave their home. This approach has been sharply criticized by Israel, as the Israeli army believes that these people are being used by Hamas as human shields .

Faced with this situation, the IAF either stopped the bombardment or fired a rocket with low explosive power and therefore relatively harmless to the roof edge with the lowest density of people in order to minimize deaths and to disperse the crowd.

However, if residents, as in a case on July 9, 2014, mistake the knocking for a dud and return to the house, unwanted civilian casualties also occur.

Legal classification

Following consultations with the Israeli armed forces during the 2008/2009 Gaza conflict, the Israeli army declared that air strikes against buildings used as weapons depots would be in accordance with international law if sufficient advance warning was observed.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in connection with the attack on Gaza in 2014 that residential buildings are not military targets and that Israel's air strikes on residential buildings may violate international law. It is therefore questionable whether the air strikes are in accordance with martial law and human rights. Even if Israel tried to warn civilians to leave their homes, do not relieve Israel of its responsibilities under international law. A number of incidents, as well as the high number of civilians killed, belied Israeli claims that all necessary measures are being taken to protect civilians. "Knocking on the roof" itself costs lives, with a projectile - apparently fired by a drone - breaking through a twenty centimeter thick concrete roof and killing three children.

See also

literature

  • Ilene Prusher: UN report finds: Israel's 'roof-knock' warning no way to prevent civilian casualties. In: Haaretz , June 22, 2015.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ עזה: בכיר חמאס חוסל, כ -26 נהרגו בתקיפות (Hebrew) , Ynet. Retrieved January 18, 2009. 
  2. ↑ a b c d e IDF targets senior Hamas figures , Haaretz . January 4, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2009. 
  3. ↑ Bush: US Calls for Monitored Cease-fire Pact , ABC News. January 2, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2009. 
  4. ^ A b c Howard Schweber: Israel and Hamas: Two to Tango , The Huffington Post . April 2, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2015. 
  5. ↑ a b IDF phones Gaza residents to warn them of imminent strikes. , The Associated Press and Haaretz Service. January 4, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2009. 
  6. ↑ IDF fires warning shot on Hamas target. In: IDF Spokesperson. Twitter Inc. , July 9, 2014, accessed July 10, 2014 .
  7. ↑ a b Gili Cohen: Israeli army says the killing of 8 Gazan family members was in error. In: Haaretz . Haaretz Group , July 10, 2014, accessed on July 10, 2014 .
  8. ↑ a b c Israel’s 'roof knocking' in Gaza captured on videos. In: Haaretz . Haaretz Group , July 11, 2014, accessed on July 11, 2014 .
  9. ^ A b Steven Erlanger: A Gaza War Full of Traps and Trickery . In: The New York Times . January 10, 2009. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
  10. ^ A b Nuclear fear drives Israel's hard line , The Australian. January 3, 2009. Archived from the original on February 3, 2009 Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved January 9, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.theaustralian.news.com.au 
  11. ↑ The call that tells you: run, you're about to lose your home and possessions , The Guardian. June 28, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2009. 
  12. ^ A response to a Euro-Mediterranean appeal , JPost. January 4, 2009. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012 Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved January 10, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / fr.jpost.com 
  13. ^ Israelis use phone, SMS to warn Gazans of bombs: Report , Indea eNews. January 3, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2009. 
  14. ↑ Ulrike Schleicher: "Operation Protective Edge". In: Jüdische Allgemeine . Central Council of Jews in Germany , July 8, 2014, accessed on July 9, 2014 .
  15. ^ Israeli army says the killing of 8 Gazan family members was in error , Ha-Aretz on July 10, 2014.
  16. ^ Hamas leader, 20 Palestinians killed in IAF strikes , Ynet. January 9, 2009. 
  17. ↑ UN criticizes the bombing of residential buildings , ORFonline on July 12, 2014.
  18. ↑ Navi Pillay : Statement by Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Human Rights Council 21st Special Session: Human Rights Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem , Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 23. July 2014.