In May, the BESA Center convened a conference to consider the legal, military, moral, halachic and sociological limitations of close-quarters combat (also known as urban warfare). A stellar lineup of speakers addressed the topic, with widely-varying perspectives.

Col. Pnina Sharvit-Baruch, head of the IDF's Law Division, reviewed the international law pertaining to urban warfare. She argued, provocatively, that from a strictly legal point of view Israel was entitled to use artillery against targets in Palestinian urban areas. "If they are launching rockets against us from built-up areas, or building bombs in the basements of apartment buildings, we are within our rights to shell these areas in response," she said.

From left:Col.Pnina Sharvit-Baruch,head of the IDF's International Law Division,Brig.Gen.Yossi Heiman,IDF Chief Infantry and Paratroopers Officer,and Amir Rappaport,head of the military desk at the Israeli daily newspaper Maariv.

Rabbi Dr. Nerya Guttel, Head of Orot College and an expert in halacha (Jewish law), similarly argued that "it is sometimes immoral to be moral. At some point, we have to say that an Israeli response that is too restrained only encourages more terrorism thus exposing Israeli civilians to even greater danger – and that is immoral," he said.

The keynote presentation of the conference was given by Brig. Gen. Yossi Heiman, Chief Infantry and Paratroopers Officer of the IDF. The IDF faces many hardships in urban warfare, he said, beginning with the difficulty of distinguishing between combatants and civilians, and the difficulty of maneuvering heavy armor freely. "In urban areas, we have trouble collecting accurate intelligence, trouble targeting civilian facilities where the terrorists purposefully seek cover, and trouble maximizing our firepower," he said.

Nevertheless, the IDF must prepare for more urban warfare in the future, Heiman said, because population density and urbanization are on the rise in Arab territories and countries bordering Israel.

An effective presentation was given by Mr. Jonathan Boimfeld, a representative of the "Breaking the Silence" Association. From a soldier's perspective, he said, the price of combat in urban areas is a loss of one's own moral compass and the risk of dehumanizing the enemy.

Other participants in the conference were Prof. Yuval Wolf, Dean of Social Sciences at Bar-Ilan U., and Amir Rappaport, head of the military desk at the Israeli daily newspaper Maariv. The conference was co-sponsored by the IDF Military History Department