The Israeli military unit known as Dabla comprises hand-picked lawyers whose tasks include reviewing every attack before it is carried out in order to ensure compliance with international law and with the IDF’s own ethical standards. Willy Stern describes the results and extent of Dabla’s decisions:
For three straight days starting on July 15, 2014, the IDF made thousands of phone calls to the residents of Shejaiya in northern Gaza. The locals were encouraged to evacuate their homes before IDF tanks rolled across the border. Tens of thousands of leaflets were dropped into the village. These leaflets suggested both a safe evacuation route and safe destinations to head for within Gaza City. The IDF sent similar messages daily via local television and radio. But that’s not all. The IDF also made dozens of phone calls to Shejaiya’s influential citizens, asking them to get out the word of the impending IDF incursion. . . .
The Israeli military authorities essentially told the enemy where IDF troops would enter the village and when. And for three days, Hamas fighters, no dummies, took full advantage. They dug their own forces in deeper. They activated booby-traps. They hid IEDs. They got snipers into perfect positions. They brought in additional fighters. They pre-positioned weapons. They readied their terror tunnels. . . .
The . . . striking difference [between Dabla and], say, the U.S. Army’s JAG Corps has to do with Dabla’s authority. In the United States and other Western military chains-of-command, the attorneys work for, and are subordinate to, higher-ranked combat commanders. Not so in Israel. Dabla attorneys report up the chain of command only to higher-ranking attorneys. Dabla’s lawyers don’t merely give advice to IDF commanders; their legal positions are binding on commanders.
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