This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
-- proportionality prohibits disproportionate, indiscriminate force likely to cause damage to or loss of lives and objects.
Israel willfully and maliciously violated international law by attacking 1.5 million people under siege, mostly civilians, indiscriminately and disproportionately, and continues to this day intermittently through incursions, bombings, expanding buffer zones preventing farmers from using up to 30% of their land, and other actions.
Unsurprisingly, the Commission concluded "that the Israeli military operation was directed at the people of Gaza as a whole, in furtherance of an overall and continuing policy aimed at punishing the Gaza population, and in a deliberate policy of disproportionate force aimed at the civilian population. The destruction of food supply installations, water sanitation systems, concrete factories and residential houses was the result of a deliberate and systematic policy which has made the daily process of living, and dignified living, more difficult for the civilian population."
Israel's Response
Unsurprisingly, Israeli officials condemned the report, dismissing it out of hand. President Shimon Peres called it "a mockery of history" and charged that it "fails to distinguish between the aggressor and a state exercising its right of self defense....The report legitimizes terrorist activity, the pursuit of murder and death. The report disregards the duty and right of self-defense...."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:
"The Goldstone report is a kangaroo court against Israel, whose consequences harm the struggle of democratic countries against terror."
Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon, called the report "a dangerous attempt to harm the principle of self-defense by democratic states and provides legitimacy to terrorism. (It's) a cynical attempt at role reversal in blaming Israel for war crimes instead of terrorist organizations." He added that Israel would enlist the support of Western democracies in a campaign "to prevent turning international law into a circus."
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
2
1
