Phosphorus and Stone: Operation Cast Lead, Israeli Military Courts, and International Law as Denial-Maintenance

This chapter identifies the intersecting ways in which Israeli approaches to international law are structured around Cohen's three main modes of denial-factual, interpretive, and implicatory-to silence or deflect responsibility for Palestinian suffering. It argues that international law has fed into a process of denial maintenance in Israel, creating the backdrop against which Israeli leaders deny Palestinian suffering. Israel's attitude towards the use of phosphorus as a military weapon compared with its attitude towards stone throwing is striking. The military court's response appears sincere when it emphasises the great risks posed by Palestinian children and youth with stones. The chapter suggests that international law, with its emphasis on domestic implementation, self-reporting, and shaming proves largely ineffective in states of denial. Cohen observes that interpretive denial, in part because it requires familiarity with law and legal concepts and in part because it suggests concern for human rights, can prove more difficult to counter than literal or factual denial.

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