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The West should stop politicising the International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
I would like to introduce some examples of IHL rules that are highly manipulated; for propaganda purposes; by world Leftists, the Media and Islamist Militants within a context of Warfare in Urban Areas:
Rule 1. The parties to the conflict must at all times distinguish between civilians and combatants. Attacks may only be directed against combatants. Attacks must not be directed against civilians.
Hamas and Fatah (the birth parents of Al-Qassam Brigades and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, among others) do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, since not only they direct attacks against Israeli civilians but also commit indiscriminate attacks (a violation of Rule 11).
Hamas has been building, in Gaza, what Dr Jonathan Spyer (of the Gloria Centre) called a "one-party Islamist Statelet". Although Gaza is not yet internationally recognised as a Palestinian State, it isn't that absurd to consider it as a de facto Palestine and, therefore, its conflict with the State of Israel practically constitutes an International Armed Conflict. Hamas and Fatah are presently in the hybrid position of being both state-actors and non-state actors (given the Palestinian peculiar political situation); as such, in order to achieve illegitimate goals, the Palestinian Islamist groups aim at spreading terror among the Israeli civilian population; thus, breaking the IHL.
Rule 3. All members of the armed forces of a party to the conflict are combatants, except medical and religious personnel.
Al-Qassam Brigades' and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades soldiers who are doctors (and/or nurses) do not wear medical garments; they blend in the civilian population; they walk around with their Type 56 assault rifles across their shoulder and, in their spare time, they attack Israeli civilians by launching rockets against Israeli territory. They clearly lose immunity by "committing acts harmful" to the opponent.
Rule 5. Civilians are persons who are not members of the armed forces. The civilian population comprises all persons who are civilians.
Rule 14. [rule of proportionality] Launching an attack which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated, is prohibited.
There are Palestinian civilians who are involuntary human shields and those are protected by Rule 5 since they have not offered themselves to be members of the armed forces (i.e. they do not participate deliberately in the hostilities); meaning that the IDF must do whatever it can not to direct attacks against them; even though this may prove difficult when Islamic militants hide among them, in their homes and in mosques. On the other hand, there are also Palestinian civilians who offer themselves to serve as human shields (i.e. they deliberately participate in the hostilities) in civilian buildings, schools, hospitals and NGOs; thus, not being protected neither by Rule 5 nor by the Rule of Proportionality.
Lieutenant Colonel Christian de Cock said, in an INSS publication, that "IHL advocates argue that even voluntary human shields remain civilians, and consequently they may not be attacked and should be accounted for in the proportionality analysis" - if a civilian chooses to actively support one side of the conflicting parties by actively participating in hostilities, he/she no longer is a civilian but a member of the armed forces, thus eligible to be attacked within a context of war. Furthermore, when militants hide in civilian objects or use them as launch pads the proportionality rule should be invalidated.
After taking these small examples into consideration, it is always perplexing to hear President Abbas repeating that the Palestinians "adhere to the principles and rules of international law". It is even more perplexing to see certain Westerners insisting upon being puppets in the hands of Islamist Groups and facilitate their operations in the West.
Laurent Fabius, the socialist French Foreign Minister, reacting to the conflict intensification between Gaza and Israel, last week:
"It would be a catastrophe if there is an escalation in the region. Israel has the right to security but it won't achieve it through violence. The Palestinians also have the right to a state."
Pathetic; even for a politician. I'll leave it to you to analyse this French reaction...
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Jacques Chirac at least understood the pain caused by terrorist attacks, therefore on January 19th 2006 he was clear enough when he warned the sponsors of terror.
ReplyDeletePar contre, due to Sarkozy's wheeling and dealing Middle-East policies, france knew the face of terror by the hand of terrorist junior Merah.
So Laurent Fabius' response to the Hamas-Israeli conflict, does not surprise a soul; it's France being at her best: ludicrous...
Hi Lenny :D!
Delete"Jacques Chirac at least understood the pain caused by terrorist attacks, therefore on January 19th 2006 he was clear enough when he warned the sponsors of terror."
I remember. He said that he would drop a bomb on them if France would ever suffer a terrorist attack. That man had balls (pardon my French).
"Par contre, due to Sarkozy's wheeling and dealing Middle-East policies, france knew the face of terror by the hand of terrorist junior Merah."
Touché!
"So Laurent Fabius' response to the Hamas-Israeli conflict, does not surprise a soul; it's France being at her best: ludicrous..."
What else to expect from a French socialist government? I avoided analysing FM Fabius' words because I didn't want to be rude...because it was a very hypocritical comment to make.
Lenny, thank you so much for your outstanding comment :D.
Cheers
My general rule of thumb is that any law, no matter how well intentioned, can be twisted to evil purpose under the right circumstances. Anyway, the Introduction you liked to says this:
ReplyDelete"The importance attributed to customary law, despite, or because of, its partial codification, was most clearly seen in the reliance placed on it by the various war crimes trials after both the First and Second World Wars."
Am I too cynical to say that the purpose of international humanitarian law isn't to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground, but rather to facilitate legalistic posturing and moralizing after the fact?
Hi Looney :D!
DeleteMy general rule of thumb is that any law, no matter how well intentioned, can be twisted to evil purpose under the right circumstances."
You are not entirely wrong, you know? I view the law as being a game of rhetoric and precedent.
"The importance attributed to customary law, despite, or because of, its partial codification, was most clearly seen in the reliance placed on it by the various war crimes trials after both the First and Second World Wars."
You share the opinion that it is outdated...
"Am I too cynical to say that the purpose of international humanitarian law isn't to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground, but rather to facilitate legalistic posturing and moralizing after the fact?"
No, I don't think you are. After reading most of it (I will finish the last chapter this week), I posed myself more or less the same question. Furthermore, I concluded that it may not be applied entirely to the new Warfare scenarios; deserving thus to be updated. As it is, it is too open to interpretation and bias.
Looney, thank you ever so much for your outstanding comment :D.
Cheers
Shalom, Max! The western media is bias: it never condemns Hamas attacks and it rarely shows the Israeli suffering. I see people saying that the people in Gaza are oppressed and the monster Israelis attack them because of hatred because Palestinians die more than Israelis (what kind of an argument is that?). Palestinians die more than Israelis because:
ReplyDelete1- Hamas use their civilians as human shields (mainly women and children).
2- We are more organised, given our history. When we say "Never Again!" we actually mean it. 3 Israelis died since last week...3 Israelis too many.
Thank you, Max.
Shalom, Anonymous :D!
Delete"The western media is bias: it never condemns Hamas attacks and it rarely shows the Israeli suffering."
I would say that this time things are being slightly different. Even CNN sent reporters over to Jerusalem, Sderot etc to show the Israeli perspective - which didn't happen during Operation Cast Lead. But, generally speaking, it is true that the media is bias.
And no, they haven't condemned Hamas' constant rocket attacks.
"I see people saying that the people in Gaza are oppressed and the monster Israelis attack them because of hatred because Palestinians die more than Israelis (what kind of an argument is that?)."
I have heard/read many folks saying/writing such nonsense. I would like to see if they would be of that opinion if they were the targets of such attacks, in a country with obvious superior capacity of defence. It is a silly argument to make.
"Palestinians die more than Israelis because:
1- Hamas use their civilians as human shields (mainly women and children).
2- We are more organised, given our history. When we say "Never Again!" we actually mean it. 3 Israelis died since last week...3 Israelis too many."
You make a good case.
"Thank you, Max."
You are most welcome *bowing*.
Anonymous, thank you ever so much for your comment. I hope you do come back to us :D.
Cheers
Max, that image sums it all up. Hamas is a criminal supported by the international community. Abbas is getting ready to request UN recognition next week: if the UN votes in favor they will be making a huge mistake because Abbas will not change whatsoever and feeling empowered by the UN he will only worsen an already terrible situation.
ReplyDeleteHi Yolanda :D!
Delete"Max, that image sums it all up. Hamas is a criminal supported by the international community."
It does, doesn't it? I must agree that the international community does validate Hamas' actions by not calling things by their actual name. Last night I watch an American college professor justifying Hamas' actions and saying that Israel had to sit down and negotiate with them. She further used that settlements issue to explain this conflict and I asked myself "Did this professor read the Levy Report?"...it is appalling.
"Abbas is getting ready to request UN recognition next week: if the UN votes in favor they will be making a huge mistake because Abbas will not change whatsoever and feeling empowered by the UN he will only worsen an already terrible situation."
Perhaps that is why the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (Fatah's armed wing) placed explosive devices in a bus, in Tel Aviv, earlier today - to cause a greater reaction from Israel and then have the world validating Abbas' UN bid. A dangerous game, I say.
Yolanda, thank you ever so much for your outstanding comment :D.
Cheers
I totally agree with "anonymous". The western media is EXTREMELY biased. They promote the liberal agenda which seldom looks at reality, and seeks to indoctrinate people in to what is "politically correct", not necessarily what is right. And I say this as an American, not as someone who doesn't live there but THINKS they know what America is like. I hear people from other countries, like Canada, who give political advice without really knowing what we face.
ReplyDeleteHi D! :D
Delete"I totally agree with "anonymous". The western media is EXTREMELY biased. They promote the liberal agenda which seldom looks at reality, and seeks to indoctrinate people in to what is "politically correct", not necessarily what is right."
It is true. Although this time things appear to be slightly different (given that they are showing the Israeli side and perspective as well). Nevertheless, they still sway towards Hamas, Fatah, and their vain violent cause - the western media continue to refuse condemning their rocket attacks and, thus, they validate their message and actions.
"And I say this as an American, not as someone who doesn't live there but THINKS they know what America is like. I hear people from other countries, like Canada, who give political advice without really knowing what we face."
lol...well, people travel to America and stay there long enough to know how America is like; but yes, most do not know what they are talking about.
I so know what you mean; but that complaint is one expressed by everybody around the world whenever a foreign expert gives political or economic advice about their countries (I, personally, have done the same when Paul Krugman came to Portugal and offered advice without knowing entirely what the average Portuguese faces - he suggested that Portugal would lower its minimum wage of +/- US$615; when our cost of living is one of the highest in the Eurozone).
D, thank you ever so much for your outstanding comment :D.
Cheers
http://s17.postimage.org/nuw4z67lr/a_soldier_of.png
ReplyDeleteFix'd.
Hi Vid :D!
DeleteThank you for sharing the link. I confess, though, that I am a bit suspicious of it because you haven't explained what it is all about. I would appreciate it if you would before I click on it.
Cheers
It's a link to a "fix'd" version of the image with your post. Can't post the actual image in a comment, so I had to post the URL instead. Sorry about that.
DeleteHey Vid :D!
Delete"It's a link to a "fix'd" version of the image with your post. Can't post the actual image in a comment, so I had to post the URL instead. Sorry about that."
Thank you for having explained me, man. LOL of course not, you are quite right. No problem.
Cheers
Hello Max:
ReplyDeleteWith the news of the bus bombing and the cover of the NY Post this morning I am discouraged/disheartened. The Post picture was a group of Hamas thugs on motorcycles dragging the body of an alleged collaborator behind them. Brandishing pistols. As another IDF blogger informed me in reply to one of my comments. Hamas uses terror and brutality upon the citizens of Gaza to maintain their power. A terrible impasse as long as Hamas exists.
As for the link from vid, I have robust security so I opened it. a crude 'cartoon' of a 'palestinian warrior' pointing his weapon at an IDF trooper whilst the IDF trooper is aiming at a baby in a baby carriage.
Be well
Kind Regards
Hi Jeffrey :D!
Delete"With the news of the bus bombing and the cover of the NY Post this morning I am discouraged/disheartened. The Post picture was a group of Hamas thugs on motorcycles dragging the body of an alleged collaborator behind them. Brandishing pistols."
I understand why you would feel like that. When I saw the images of Hamas dragging the body of the alleged collaborator and then the pile of bodies (of all the alleged collaborators they dragged throughout the streets), with blood running from them forming thus a stream throughout the floor...*nodding*...I admit I was shocked. And they call themselves soldiers (when they do not even know the meaning of being a soldier).
"As another IDF blogger informed me in reply to one of my comments. Hamas uses terror and brutality upon the citizens of Gaza to maintain their power. A terrible impasse as long as Hamas exists."
It is true. Hamas must go. That is why whenever I read or hear "Free Palestine!", I reply "Free Palestine from Hamas!".
"As for the link from vid, I have robust security so I opened it. a crude 'cartoon' of a 'palestinian warrior' pointing his weapon at an IDF trooper whilst the IDF trooper is aiming at a baby in a baby carriage."
Aah, I remember that cartoon (it is a form of smearing the image of the most ethical army in the world. Only those who do not know anything about the IDF, or those who have a specific political agenda, fall for that image).
Jeffrey, thank you so much for having explained me what it was *bowing*.
"Be well"
Thanks, you too.
Jeffrey, thank you ever so much for your outstanding comment :D.
Cheers
The French have gone bonkers, but again with socialists in power we can expect worse political behaviours than this...for example, France is supporting Abbas at the UN vote - they think they are preventing a Merah case in the future; but they are not reading the situation quite well. Let's see how they will behave after the far-right begins attacking France and its socialists.
ReplyDeleteAbout Hamas,, we wish this subject would be simpler but its not. Hamas is not alone in this and they may not evn have started the conflict...cause we have several jihadist groups in Gaza now trying to hijack the palestinian cause, always for specific political goals: destroy Israel and its relationship with the US. I am glad the ceasefire is holding, but for how long?
Hi Kelly :D!
DeleteWelcome!
"The French have gone bonkers, but again with socialists in power we can expect worse political behaviours than this...for example, France is supporting Abbas at the UN vote - they think they are preventing a Merah case in the future; but they are not reading the situation quite well. Let's see how they will behave after the far-right begins attacking France and its socialists."
Oh, it's that what they think they're doing? I see. Do you predict that France will suffer a Breivik-similar-case?
"About Hamas,, we wish this subject would be simpler but its not. Hamas is not alone in this and they may not evn have started the conflict...cause we have several jihadist groups in Gaza now trying to hijack the palestinian cause, always for specific political goals: destroy Israel and its relationship with the US."
I understand where you are coming from and you do have a point.
"I am glad the ceasefire is holding, but for how long?"
For quite a while, we hope.
Kelly, thank you so so much for your outstanding comment :D. I hope to see more of you here.
Cheers
I have Muslim relatives. Not by choice but a fact of life that I have to live with. One of them, a young lad very attached to me, posted on my FaceBook page, a picture of one woman in burqa and some children all bleeding and obviously dead, purportedly from the Gaza strip with a request for prayers for the fellow Muslims in Palestine. I sent a message to him just to say that Hamas uses civilian women and children as human shields, like all other Muslim terrorists do all over the world. So far, there has been a deafening silence from his end but sooner than later a debate will follow which he would lose and he knows it.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that the non Muslim people of the world do not have the sense of brotherhood that the Muslims have. It is worth investigating why this is so.
Hi Rummy :D!
Delete"I have Muslim relatives. Not by choice but a fact of life that I have to live with."
We share that.
"One of them, a young lad very attached to me, posted on my FaceBook page, a picture of one woman in burqa and some children all bleeding and obviously dead, purportedly from the Gaza strip with a request for prayers for the fellow Muslims in Palestine."
And you know that that image may have not even been taken in Gaza - many of the pictures disseminated by the Palestinian PR machine were actually taken in Syria (or other areas of conflict) and then photoshoped to make it seem like the incidents portrayed in them have occurred in the Gaza Strip. It's complex.
"I sent a message to him just to say that Hamas uses civilian women and children as human shields, like all other Muslim terrorists do all over the world. So far, there has been a deafening silence from his end but sooner than later a debate will follow which he would lose and he knows it."
You spoke the truth. I understand your relative though: that sort of debate hasn't taken place in the Ummah yet, so Muslims in general (even the moderate ones) have a hard time decrying this sort of terror against the Submitters - the Quran forbids it but groups like Hamas justify it by accusing many Muslims of being false submitters...it's a conundrum.
"The problem is that the non Muslim people of the world do not have the sense of brotherhood that the Muslims have. It is worth investigating why this is so."
I agree.
Rummy, thank you so so much for your outstanding comment :D. Always a pleasure.
Cheers
Max, Operation Pillar of Defense was successful as far as I am concerned so congrats to the IDF and Medinat Yisrael! Now, Hamas: criminals, criminals, criminals. I was horrified to see to what they subject the Palestinian children and people in general and then blame it on Israel. Jeffrey is right: the way they dragged the alleged collaborators in the streets is awful and to think the world is demanding Israel to negotiate with a terrorist group.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, when Palestine becomes a State will their leaders be prosecuted for violations against Human Rights and crimes against Humanity?
Hi Ana :D!
DeleteIndeed, it was a success. Hamas is a presently despicable entity; they must go. Well, if Hamas recognises Israel as a Jewish State and rejects violence, then there will be no reason for Israel not to sit and talk to them openly, I mean (for they already have, in a way, to negotiate the ceasefire).
To answer your question: they might.
Ana, thank you ever so much for your superb comment :D.
Cheers