Israel formalized the doctrine that protecting Israeli soldiers outranks enemy civilians.

Evidence

The doctrine was elaborated by Israel: “When senior Israeli Defense Forces [IDF] officers are asked about the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians during the fighting in the Gaza strip, they almost all give the same answer: The use of massive force was designed to protect the lives of the soldiers, and when faced with a choice between protecting the lives of Israeli soldiers and those of enemy civilians … , the soldiers take precedence.” That response was by no means merely improvised but was based on “an ethical theory, developed several years ago, that justifies its actions.” What’s the use of moral philosophy? Among other things, it facilitates the waging of war. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 437

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels the reader’s interest in impunity for imperial combatants resting on a twisted logic. — connects to: Israel formally codified combatant-immunity doctrine first developed in the 1990s; Soldiers’ lives were redefined as citizens deserving protection above enemy civilians. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 439; US drone doctrine was directly sourced from Israeli targeted assassination practice — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 165 (+1 more)

Related

• Israel formally codified combatant-immunity doctrine first developed in the 1990s (similarity 0.93)
• Soldiers’ lives were redefined as citizens deserving protection above enemy civilians. (similarity 0.85)
• A sui generis principle of imperial-combatant immunity emerged above the law of armed conflict (similarity 0.83)
• US drone doctrine was directly sourced from Israeli targeted assassination practice (similarity 0.82)
• A state can prioritize its own soldiers’ lives over unlimited foreign civilian casualties. (similarity 0.82)
• The Israeli response to peace offers demonstrates deep-rooted violence. (similarity 0.79)
• The drone reconciles liberal security statehood with unrestricted waging of war. (similarity 0.79)
• US ground forces in Afghanistan and Iraq also privileged soldier protection over civilians. (similarity 0.79)
• US drone assassination techniques were directly exported from Israeli practice in Palestine (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• US drone doctrine was directly sourced from Israeli targeted assassination practice #complicates (0.50) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 165
• The Israeli response to peace offers demonstrates deep-rooted violence. #expands (0.45) — David Hirst, The Gun and the Olive Branch The Roots…, 18