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Legal Expert: Rising Gaza Death Toll Doesn't Mean IDF Acts Are Disproportionate

[Ha'aretz] Ofra Edelman - The fact that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed during the operation in Gaza, compared to fewer than 20 Israelis, has nothing to do with the question of whether the operation is legal according to international law, says Prof. Yuval Shany, an expert in international law from Hebrew University. The relevant question, he said, is "whether the operation is proportionate to the provocation that led to it. When a single Kassam [rocket] is fired, the state cannot invade and conquer an entire country. There must be a measure of proportion between the action and the reaction. But here, we are not talking about a single Kassam, but about years of Kassams." Israel "is permitted to use force to the degree necessary to end the attacks against it. Therefore, it [the operation] is legal as long as it is meant to prevent the attacks."
2009-01-12 06:00:00
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