Bill Mayer talks about “regret” when civilians are killed, yet I see no regret when looking at Israel’s long history of massive retaliation.

In the West Bank, Gaza, and southern Lebanon, they have never shied away from firing shells or dropping bombs into civilian areas, and always leaned on the excuse, “it’s the fault of (insert terrorist organization) for placing military targets in civilian areas.”

I can find at least two things wrong with this practice:
1) it’s an obvious attempt to redirect blame and moral outrage
2) this same excuse has been used by marauding armies for over a century - like the “Rape of Belgium” by German forces in WWI
3) it has never stopped Israel from hitting civilian areas. So who’s to blame?

I have witnessed Israel make these statements EVERY time it has launched reprisal assaults for the past 30 years. Clearly, the presence of civilians hasn’t stopped them yet. So what use is that a statement beyond a cynical excuse for murdering innocent people?

Speaking of which, Netanyahu recently stated that “there are no innocents in Gaza.” Is that the kind of thinking it takes to rationalize indiscriminate bombings and mass murder? I’d say so.