Civilian deaths in the Arab-Israeli conflict

The Case for Israel; Alan Dershowitz

Under the chapter "Was the Israeli War of Independence Expansionist Aggression?", on pages 75-76, it says the following:

"As we shall see in chapters 13 and 20, the regular Israeli army has not responded by targeting Arab population centers, such as Amman, Damascus, and Cairo, even though these cities have been well within the range of Israeli aircraft. The Israeli army, like every other army in the world, has killed civilians while attacking military targets, especially since the Arab armies and terrorist groups often hide and protect their military targets by deliberately surrounding them with civilian shields. Israel, on the other hand, has isolated its military bases as far as possible from its civilian population centers. There is, of course, an enormous difference in morality as well as law in expressly targeting civilians, as the Arabs have long done, and collaterally hitting civilians who are close to appropriate military targets that pose a continuing danger. The former is a crime against humanity absolutely prohibited by international law. The latter is permissible under the laws of war so long as the response is proportional and reasonable and efforts are made to minimize civilian casualties."