He says the army had developed non-
lethal weapons to deal with the 1987-
1993 Palestinian uprising, when riots
were rarely accompanied by gunfire.
But these are inappropriate in the cur-
rent situation, he says. Water cannons,
for example, could not be used because
the driver would be exposed to gunfire.
In recent weeks, military representa-
tives have fruitlessly scoured the globe
for long-range nonlethal riot control
equipment. "No such equipment exists
anywhere in the world," Reisner says.
According to the IDF, there have
been 4,832 disturbances involving
stone-throwing since the conflict
erupted. Even compared with the Red
Crescent's figures of 3,649 injured by
rubber-coated bullets, this amounts to
less than one injury per incident.
"The numbers do not coincide with
the claim that the IDF is firing freely
because if we were, the number should
have been significantly higher."

Are Gunships Too Much?

B'Tselem has not yet given its opinion
on the use of Israeli helicopter gun-
ships to retaliate against Palestinian
attacks.
It does, however, say that in any-
thing short of a full-scale armed con-
flict between two sovereign states, the

DREAM from page 45

ground are changing so quickly, that
what we may have suggested yesterday
may not be relevant tomorrow," he said.
Morton Klein, president of the
Zionist Organization of America, was
more blunt.
"Negotiation has unfortunately
become a euphemism for more one-
sided concessions in return for broken
promises by Arafat's terroristic regime,"
Klein said. "It is disturbing that the
Reform movement, in its naivete, has
ignored seven years of the Palestinian
Authority's promotion of hatred, vio-
lence and murder against Jews through-
out their culture, and have ignored the
P.A. promotion that all of Israel is
Palestine."
Yoffie acknowledges that he underesti-
mated the impact that incitement of
hatred for Israel and Jews — a steady
drumbeat in Palestinian schools,
mosques, media and official pronounce-
ments — has had on the Palestinian
public.
Indeed, he said, it must be on the
agenda of any future peace talks — but
not necessarily a sticking point.

use of force must be proportional.
This would mean that, according to
B'Tselem's interpretation of interna-
tional law, Israel would not be entitled
to use helicopters to strike at lightly
armed Palestinians.
The definition will be critical to
determine what exactly constitutes
excessive force.
Reisner agrees that this question is
critical.
"We are now in a state of armed
conflict short of war," he says. "The
modern definition of armed conflict
is extremely wide. Helicopter gunship
attacks are exactly one of the few
changes we've made in terms of our
outlook on the conflict."
For Israel to justify its use of such
methods in the international arena
will depend in part on the intensity
of the violence coming from the
Palestinian side.
Ironically, says Reisner, a unilateral
Palestinian declaration of independence
could legally give Israel a freer hand to
unleash more force, since it would tech-
nically be fighting a sovereign state.
But even the best lawyers Israel can
buy will not help it win the battle for
international public opinion that will
likely become far more critical if
Israel hits the Palestinians harder
than it is now.

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As for what happens to unity and
solidarity as these public campaigns
for peace initiatives move forward, the
terms themselves seem subjective.
Some experts believe that American
Jews must be in lock-step support of
Israeli actions now.
"There've always been differences of
opinion, but at this time we ought to
not be proposing or imposing our
views on the Israeli government," said
Hoenlein. "We should do our part,
which is addressing the distortions in
the media, strengthening Israel's posi-
tion in Washington and educating the
American public about the issues —
like Jerusalem and Israel's military
restraint — to create a context for them
to understand what's happening."
Lederman doesn't see it that way.
"I think it's OK to say you stand
with Israel and say you believe in her
right to exist and flourish, and still say
you have problems with what's occur-
ring with some of Israel's policies," she
said.
"What's key is how that dissatisfac-
tion is addressed. There are respectful
ways of doing it and disrespectful ways
of doing it."

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