Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 4/16 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 16.-29. Februar Die Themen dieser Ausgabe 1. Generalstabschef hält Soldaten zu moralischem Verhalten an........................................................................ 1 2. Sorge vor neuer Eskalation im Gazastreifen.................................................................................................... 2 3. Streit um Casinos in Eilat................................................................................................................................. 4 4. Medienquerschnitt............................................................................................................................................ 5 1. Generalstabschef hält Soldaten zu moralischem Verhalten an Generalstabschef Gadi Eisenkot hat Israels Solda­ten zur Mäßigung aufgerufen. Sollte sich ein 13 Jahre altes Mädchen mit einer Schere oder einem Messer Soldaten nähern, wünsche er nicht, dass ein Soldat das Feuer auf das Mädchen eröffne und das Magazin leere, sagte er vor Gymnasiasten. Eisenkot rief vor allem neue Rekruten dazu auf, der Situation angemessene Methoden anzuwenden. Israels Re­gierungschef Benjamin Netanyahu gab Eisenkot grundsätzlich Recht, schränke indes ein, dass man darüber keine Debatte vom Zaun brechen müsse. Im rechtsnationalen Lager erregte Eisenkots Be­merkung Kritik. Stellvertretende Außenministerin Tzipi Hotovely warf dem Generalstabschef vor, das Ansehen Israels zu schädigen und das Leben von Israelis zu riskieren. Der Abgeordnete der Partei Habayit Hayehudi Bezalel Smotrich forderte von Verteidigungsminister Moshe Yaalon, Eisenkot ab­zumahnen. Defending Eisenkot (…) Eisenkot’s message to the future soldiers was clear:(…) Even in extreme situations soldiers have a moral obligation to carefully weigh the use of dead ly force.(…) He simply was warning the st u­dents not to take lightly the value of life, even when the life at stak e belongs to one’s enemy.(…) We all have a moral conscience and none of us wants to kill unnecessarily or to serve in an army that does. Lax rules of engagement lead to demoralization and the loss of a sense of purpose. Knowledge that the IDF strives to be the most moral army in the world is a strong motivating factor for soldiers that builds morale.(…) A trigger- happy soldier is dangerous not just to the enemy but to his comrades. Adhering to strict rules regarding when to open fire and when not to sav es lives.(…) A chief of staff who demands the highest moral standards of his soldiers and does not hesitate to criticize them when they fail to meet those standards makes a much more positive im­pression on would-be Israel- bashers.(…) Coping with the present wave of terrorism is not easy. (…Lashing out at Eisenkot, a fine chief of staff who has done more than anyone else to battle terrorists, is not the answer to this frustration. Editorial, JPO, 21.02.16 Israeli military chief doesn't own the rules of engagement (…) In contrast to the Israeli approach, in other democratic countries(…) the rules of engagement are not a military matter, but a political one. They are political because they place supreme authority in the hands of soldiers and police to take human life, and they sharpen the dilemma between the protec­tion of the lives of soldiers and police on the one hand, and respect for the lives of civilians and fight­ers belonging to a minority group.(…) Eisenkot(…) correctly pegged the principles guiding the political culture in Israel, which place the rules for killing in 1