Environmentalists Slam Israel’s ‘Profligate Use Of Paper’ Warning Civilians

Tel Aviv, July 17 – Representatives of several ecologically-minded organizations leveled criticism at Israel’s conduct of Operation Protective Edge today upon discovering that the IDF has been dropping thousands of leaflets to warn Gazans of impending airstrikes. They called the policy “abhorrent,” saying that such a wasteful use of paper betrays a callous, if not willful, disregard for the planet’s shrinking tree resources.

Adam, Teva, V’din, a leading Israeli environmental advocacy group, joined with the local chapters of Greenpeace and several other NGOs in issuing a statement to denounce Israel’s methods of attempting to minimize civilian casualties in the ongoing fight with Palestinian groups launching rockets and mortar shells at Israeli towns and cities from the Gaza Strip. The ten-day-old operation has involved more than a thousand different attacks on Palestinian weapons depots, positions, rocket-launchers, launching crews, command centers, fighters, tunnels, and bunkers, all in built-up, heavily populated areas. Despite the destructive power of each attack, combined Palestinian deaths of combatants and civilians has not topped 230. To avoid such casualties, the IDF has taken to dropping leaflets warning neighborhood residents ahead of strikes, a practice to which the environmental groups object.

“The profligate use of paper by the Israel Air Force in warning Palestinians of attack must stop,” the statement read. “Alternative methods for warning the civilian population remain at the IDF’s disposal, including, but not limited to, having soldiers go house-to-house to issue verbal warnings, a tactic that would address both the issues of adequate warning and of preserving precious natural resources.” It also expressed concern over Israel’s use of explosives, saying that combustion increases the amount of atmospheric carbon and contributes to climate change.

“The IDF is a leader in combat innovation, and should have little problem implementing a non-combustion-based strategy, utilizing such tools as Krav Maga” – an Israeli martial art developed by the IDF – “and classic weapons such as swords, spears, and arrows,” the statement continued. It cautioned that the manufacture of spears and arrows must utilize renewable resources and not involve cutting down trees or removing their branches.

The activists also praised Hamas for its ecological efficiency in promoting dual-use facilities, employing the same structures for both civilian and military purposes.