Our results so far show that at least, if all armed police are counted, 426 of the 1180 people who PCHR classifies as "civilians," were, in fact, militants.
That means 660 people were legitimate combatants under IHL and therefore legitimate targets.
Why, then, did the PHRC classify so many known militants as civilians? One can only conclude that the reason is to deceive the media.
Such a high number of Al Qassam members among the police killed indicates that Hamas itself does not distinguish between its so-called civilian and military wings. Effectively, Hamas considers its police to be the same as its military force. If Hamas does not make such a distinction, why shouldn't everyone else conclude that its entire police force is a legitimate target?
We have identified 355 militants in addition to the police, of whom 157 were identified as civilian by PCHR.
Video courtesy Elder of Ziyon
Elder of Ziyon's team cross-checked the names listed by PCHR with lists of "resisters" compiled by the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, lists of "martyrs" published by Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees and other militant groups in Gaza, as well as from the Ma'an News Agency, Palestinian Arabic discussion groups and other sources.
Our preliminary results show that at least 342 of the people killed, that PCHR classifies as "civilians," were, in fact, militants. The PCHR's statistics are deceptive and slanted towards creating a false impression of IDF brutality.
