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An Embargo on Gaza: Economic Sanctions Are Permitted by International Law

[Ynet News] Dov Weisglass - There is overall consent that Israel must respond forcefully and with resolve to the Hamas rampage in Gaza. Since Israel disengaged from Gaza, Israeli occupation there came to an end. Israel is not currently positioned in Gaza; it is not occupying it and is not responsible for the welfare of its residents. Control of Gaza, in practice, is in the hands of the Hamas administration. Although no one recognizes it, de facto, Gaza is being run as a state under the rule of that regime. The "State of Gaza" is conducting a war against the State of Israel: A daily barrage of rockets on Israeli territory is a blatant act of aggression, and therefore the State of Israel has the right to employ every means of defense and assault accepted by international law as an appropriate response to such acts. Economic pressure (embargo) has for years been recognized by international law as a legitimate act for a country to resort to in times of conflict. Such measures inevitably harm innocent civilians. The international embargo on Iraq during Saddam Hussein's reign harmed innocent Iraqis who were Saddam's victims; the American embargo on Iran is harming tens of millions of Iranians who have absolutely nothing to do with military nuclear development. An embargo, by definition, is collective punishment imposed against a country and which primarily harms the civilian population with the aim of coercing the government. The UN charter lists economic sanctions in chapter 6. Israel is entitled to respond to attacks by imposing economic sanctions on the residents and regime of Gaza, and to cease or cut back supplies of goods, fuel, food, raw materials, communication services and other infrastructure-related services, including electricity and water. This is a harsh response but a necessary one, and is nonetheless preferable to a military maneuver inside Gaza. Ultimately, every regime is sensitive to the will of the population, its desires and distress. It is hard to believe that a scaled yet resolute and significant economic embargo would not force the Hamas rulers to consider their ways. And of course economic sanctions are a proper response to the criminal incarceration of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. This is the only means that could lead to a change in the "balance of power" required for his release. The writer, a lawyer, was former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's bureau chief and senior adviser.
2007-09-07 01:00:00
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