(Wall Street Journal) Eric Posner - Israel's raid on a fleet of activists bound for Gaza has led to wild accusations of illegality. Longstanding customary international law permits states to enforce publicly announced blockades on the high seas. The Gaza blockade was known to all, and certainly to those who launched the ships for the very purpose of breaking it. Human Rights Watch argues that a blockade to strike at a terrorist organization constitutes a collective penalty against a civilian population, in violation of Article 33 of the fourth Geneva Convention. This argument won't stand up. Blockades and other forms of economic sanction are permitted in international law. Ships that run blockades may be attacked and sunk under international law. If Israel had exercised that right, far more than nine people would have been killed. The writer is a professor at the University of Chicago Law School.
2010-06-04 09:59:44Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive