(Jerusalem Post) Anne Bayefsky - Although UN Secretary-General Annan condemned Israel's failed attack on Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, calling it an "extrajudicial killing...in violation of international law," Israel targeted senior Hamas leaders because they were a central part of the command and control structure of a terrorist organization. They were combatants in a war. They were therefore not entitled to a judicial process before an attempt to kill them and their deaths would not be "extrajudicial killings." The key international rule governing the use of force against terrorists is the requirement of proportionality. The Geneva Conventions say an attack on a military target "which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life" is prohibited if "excessive." Only in Israel's case does the UN apply this rule to mean zero civilian deaths. The Geneva Conventions say the presence of "civilians shall not be used to render...areas immune from military operations...in attempts to shield military objectives from attack." It is the Palestinian Authority that violates international humanitarian law by putting civilians, deliberately and directly, in harm's way. Permitting killers to live, socialize, and plot freely in densely populated civilian neighborhoods is the violation of international law.
2003-09-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive