ah just another raghead loving, domestic terrorist liberal, spewing his crap.
On Jan 10, 4:33 pm, "M.A. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote: > "Deliberate attacks on civilians that lack strict military necessity are war > crimes. Israel's current violations of international law extend a long > pattern of abuse of the rights of Gaza Palestinians. Eighty percent of Gaza's > 1.5 million residents are Palestinian refugees who were forced from their > homes or fled in fear of Jewish terrorist attacks in 1948. For 60 years, > Israel has denied the internationally recognized rights of Palestinian > refugees to return to their homes -- because they are not Jews."Israel Is > Committing War CrimesHamas's violations are no justification for Israel's > actions.OPINION > JANUARY 10, 2009 > By GEORGE E. BISHARAT > Israel's current assault on the Gaza Strip cannot be justified by > self-defense. Rather, it involves serious violations of international law, > including war crimes. Senior Israeli political and military leaders may bear > personal liability for their offenses, and they could be prosecuted by an > international tribunal, or by nations practicing universal jurisdiction over > grave international crimes. Hamas fighters have also violated the laws of > warfare, but their misdeeds do not justify Israel's acts. > The United Nations charter preserved the customary right of a state to > retaliate against an "armed attack" from another state. The right has evolved > to cover nonstate actors operating beyond the borders of the state claiming > self-defense, and arguably would apply to Hamas. However, an armed attack > involves serious violations of the peace. Minor border skirmishes are common, > and if all were considered armed attacks, states could easily exploit them -- > as surrounding facts are often murky and unverifiable -- to launch wars of > aggression. That is exactly what Israel seems to be currently attempting. > Israel had not suffered an "armed attack" immediately prior to its > bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Since firing the first Kassam rocket into > Israel in 2002, Hamas and other Palestinian groups have loosed thousands of > rockets and mortar shells into Israel, causing about two dozen Israeli deaths > and widespread fear. As indiscriminate attacks on civilians, these were war > crimes. During roughly the same period, Israeli forces killed about 2,700 > Palestinians in Gaza by targeted killings, aerial bombings, in raids, etc., > according to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem. > But on June 19, 2008, Hamas and Israel commenced a six-month truce. Neither > side complied perfectly. Israel refused to substantially ease the suffocating > siege of Gaza imposed in June 2007. Hamas permitted sporadic rocket fire -- > typically after Israel killed or seized Hamas members in the West Bank, where > the truce did not apply. Either one or no Israelis were killed (reports > differ) by rockets in the half year leading up to the current attack. > Israel then broke the truce on Nov. 4, raiding the Gaza Strip and killing a > Palestinian. Hamas retaliated with rocket fire; Israel then killed five more > Palestinians. In the following days, Hamas continued rocket fire -- yet still > no Israelis died. Israel cannot claim self-defense against this escalation, > because it was provoked by Israel's own violation. > An armed attack that is not justified by self-defense is a war of aggression. > Under the Nuremberg Principles affirmed by U.N. Resolution 95, aggression is > a crime against peace. > Israel has also failed to adequately discriminate between military and > nonmilitary targets. Israel's American-made F-16s and Apache helicopters have > destroyed mosques, the education and justice ministries, a university, > prisons, courts and police stations. These institutions were part of Gaza's > civilian infrastructure. And when nonmilitary institutions are targeted, > civilians die. Many killed in the last week were young police recruits with > no military roles. Civilian employees in the Hamas-led government deserve the > protections of international law like all others. Hamas's ideology -- which > employees may or may not share -- is abhorrent, but civilized nations do not > kill people merely for what they think. > Deliberate attacks on civilians that lack strict military necessity are war > crimes. Israel's current violations of international law extend a long > pattern of abuse of the rights of Gaza Palestinians. Eighty percent of Gaza's > 1.5 million residents are Palestinian refugees who were forced from their > homes or fled in fear of Jewish terrorist attacks in 1948. For 60 years, > Israel has denied the internationally recognized rights of Palestinian > refugees to return to their homes -- because they are not Jews. > Although Israel withdrew its settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, it > continues to tightly regulate Gaza's coast, airspace and borders. Thus, > Israel remains an occupying power with a legal duty to protect Gaza's > civilian population. But Israel's 18-month siege of the Gaza Strip preceding > the current crisis violated this obligation egregiously. It brought economic > activity to a near standstill, left children hungry and malnourished, and > denied Palestinian students opportunities to study abroad. > Israel should be held accountable for its crimes, and the U.S. should stop > abetting it with unconditional military and diplomatic support.Mr. Bisharat > is a professor at Hastings College of the Law in San > Francisco.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123154826952369919.html?mod=djemEditorialPage --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
