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Israel's Pager Attack Was Legal under the Laws of War
(The Hill) Alan Dershowitz - The international "community" and its academic justifiers have claimed that Israel's attacks on Hizbullah communications devices are unlawful. They are dead wrong. The law is clear that if a person becomes a combatant, he is a legitimate military target. Becoming a combatant includes joining or assisting Hizbullah, harboring its terrorists, or allowing one's home or building to be used by Israel's enemies. The law is also clear that once someone becomes a combatant, he or she can be targeted as long as they retain that status. If a person qualifies as a combatant, he or she may be targeted and killed while asleep, at work or at play. Combatants need not be actively involved in combat at the moment they are killed. Nor do they need to be actively committing terrorism when targeted. It is enough that they maintain the status of combatant. The individuals who were given beepers by Hizbullah were clearly combatants. Their deaths and injuries were lawful, even if they were shopping or walking when blown up. The writer is professor emeritus at Harvard Law School.