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The UN Handicaps Israel, Along with the Rest of Us

(National Review) Anne Bayefsky - The recent ICJ decision on Israel's security fence is a classic example of how the vilification of Jews does not end with Jews. The court has declared four new rules about the meaning of the right of self-defense in the face of terrorism today. There is no right of self-defense under the UN Charter when the terrorists are not state actors. There is no right of self-defense against terrorists who operate from any territory whose status is not finalized, and who therefore attack across disputed borders. Where military action is perpetrated by "irregulars," self-defense does not apply if the "scale and effects" of the terrorism are insufficient to amount to "an armed attack...had it been carried out by regular armed forces." Self-defense does not include nonviolent acts such as the building of a fence or wall. These conclusions constitute a direct assault on the ability of every UN member to fight international terrorism. The UN Charter was not a suicide pact and Security Council resolutions in response to 9/11 were intended to strengthen the capacity to confront violent non-state actors, not defeat it. Anne Bayefsky is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.
2004-07-20 00:00:00
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