Watch: Sunday, 28 July • 7 pm Israel Time|12 am EST
Colonel Kemp, who served in the British Army for nearly 30 years, wasted no time addressing one of the most egregious accusations leveled against Israel: genocide. “The accusation of genocide against Israel is nothing short of an obscenity,” he said. “The reality is that Israel is taking every conceivable measure it can, probably more than any country in history, to minimize the deaths of innocent civilians.”
Kemp spoke about the stark difference between a force committing genocide and the IDF's actions. "An army intent on genocide would want to maximize civilian deaths, through starvation, deprivation of water, or direct killing. The IDF is doing the opposite," he said.
Addressing the dubious statistics often cited by critics, Kemp pointed out the manipulation by Hamas. “They have traditionally and historically exaggerated death figures and in previous conflicts. The reason for it is clear; they want Israel to be vilified, isolated, and condemned by the world community. And we've seen the effect that has.” He noted that even if we accept Hamas’s figures, which he doubted, the civilian-to-combatant death ratio in Gaza is much lower than in other comparable conflicts. “In Iraq, the US and allies killed three civilians for every combatant. In Afghanistan, it was five to one. In Gaza, it’s less than one to one,” Kemp stated.
Kemp also dismissed the notion that Special Forces alone could neutralize Hamas. "These are not the sort of terrorist insurgency you saw in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is a full-fledged military force, at least 30,000 strong, which cannot be dealt with, particularly given the amount of time they've had to prepare the ground,” he explained, adding that while special operations have been part of the strategy, they cannot substitute for comprehensive military action.
Kemp asserted that while it’s challenging to eliminate an ideology like Hamas’s, it is possible to destroy its military capability. “The IDF can neutralize Hamas as a significant threat to Israel. The biggest obstacle is international pressure fueled by misinformation. If Israel can withstand that, Hamas’s ability to pose a threat can be significantly diminished.”
>>> Colonel Richard Kemp will speak at Jewish National Fund-USA's Global Conference for Israel in Dallas, Texas (Nov 14-17, 2024). Register today at jnf.org/global This article was written in cooperation with JNF - USA.