#Gaza - ..warnings generally ineffective .. even result in further fatalities .. they appear to be a pre-fabricated excuse by Israel to portray people who remain in their homes as human shields. The Guardian: 9 minutes ago - International law experts, including John Dugard and Richard Falk, former UN special rapporteurs of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, have said the civilian population of the Gaza Strip is under attack. They say that the launch of rockets from Gaza is illegal under international law as well as morally intolerable but that Israels actions are of incomparable magnitude. A statement signed by 143 people, says Most of the recent heavy bombings in Gaza lack an acceptable military justification and, instead, appear to be designed to terrorise the civilian population ... Contrary to Israel’s claims, mistakes resulting in civilian casualties cannot be justified: in case of doubt as to the nature of the target, the law clearly establishes that an object which is normally dedicated to civilian purposes (such as schools, houses, places of worship and medical facilities), are presumed as not being used for military purposes ... It is inherently illegal under customary international law to intentionally target civilian objects, and the violation of such a fundamental tenet of law can amount to a war crime. Issuing a warning – such as Israel’s so-called roof knocking technique, or sending an SMS five minutes before the attack – does not mitigate this: it remains illegal to wilfully attack a civilian home without a demonstration of military necessity as it amounts to a violation of the principle of proportionality. Moreover, not only are these warnings generally ineffective, and can even result in further fatalities, they appear to be a pre-fabricated excuse by Israel to portray people who remain in their homes as human shields. theguardian/world/live/2014/jul/29/gaza-israeli-prime-minister-vows-no-let-up-in-attacks#block-53d77780e4b00fb5a109b433
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 10:51:52 +0000
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