arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Article:

Dear Editor,


Israeli terrorist actions and the Palestinian resistance


It is striking that the Western newsinformation about the recent Israeli military actions in the Gaza-area is characterized by a significant lack
of journalistic objectivity.
Not only in most cases every fundamental criticism of the nature of the Israeli military actions is lacking, moreover the media are inclined to indicate every form of Palestinian resistance implicitly as''terroristic'',
without making a clear distinction between the legitimated militaryattacks on the Israeli occupation-army and the suicide-attacks on Israelicivilians, which are strictly forbidden according to International Law.
Also it is striking that the very cause of Palestinian resistance, the Israeli occupation to which is inherent oppression, humiliations and violations of human rights, being the main cause of Palestinian resistance,
is seldom clearly mentioned, with as a consequence, that Palestinian resistance seems to be some irrational phenomenon.

A Recent newsevents:


A1 Israeli miltary actions:

Last week largescale Israeli millitary operations took place as well in Gaza-city where the Israeli army invaded in Zeitoun with ranks, other army-vehicles, supported by fighting-helicopters, also Israeli ships fired
rockets and other missiles at Gaza-city.
Also the Israeli army invaded the refugee-camp Rafah with tanks and not only rockets were fired at the camp, also more than hundred houses were demolished which made more than 1000 Palestinians homeless.
Also several Israeli liquidations-actions took place, one at the car of a Palestinian who was instantly killed, another on a house of a Hamasleader who was also killed and recently two in Gaza, one at a flatappartment
and the other on a centre that gives help to the families of
suicide-committers.
The result pf those Israeli military actions was more than 30 Palestinian dead and more then 50 wounded.

A2 Palestinian military actions:

The recent Palestinian military actions as well in Rafah as in Zeitoun were bombing-attacks against invading Israeli soldiers with as a result the death of 11 Israeli soldiers.
In contrarily to the wrong allegations in the media those two bombing-attacks are no terrotistic acts at all but legitimate ways of resistance according to International Law which states that every people has the right to resist against the army of an occupation-power.


B International Law:

B1 Israeli military actions:


The Israeli military attacks on Zeitoun and Rafah however are very serious violations of International Law [4th Geneva Convention]According to the official Israeli government-declarations the respective actions took place to arrest ''Palestinian terrorists'' and ''to widen
the buffer zone between southern-Gaza and Egypt in connection with the smuggling of weapons'' [in the case of the house demolitions in Rafah]
Also in several cases liquidations on Palestinian leaders or activists took place.

2 The arrestation of ''Palestininan terrorists''

Not only in that case the used military means [tanks, military vehicles, fighting helicopters] ate extra-proportionnal for the purpose of arrestations, from far greater importance is the fact, that according to
the principles of International Law [4th Geneva Convention] those military attacks which are committed on densely populated living-areas as city parts and refugee-camps are as such striclty forbidden, because according to
International Law by all military actions a strict distinction must be made between combatants [soldiers and fighters] and non-combatants [civilians].
The committing of an indiscriminate military attack without making that distinction is stricly forbiien by International Law, being a war-crime.

3 House-demolitions because of ''the creating of a bufferzone with Egypt'':

The recent -demolitions are stricly forbidden according to International Law [article 53 of the 4th Convention] unless there is an absolute military necessity involved, which applies on military operations.
However in that case, the inhabitants must be temorarily evacuated and put in new houses.
When the refferred military operations are over, they must be taken to their original live-areas again and granted a complete finacial compensation for the suffered damage in the form of new houses and other belongings.
Also by their evacualtion they must be granted to take with them the most valuable possessions.

In the first place in this case there is no military necessity at all for creating such a buffer-zone, because there is no state at war with Egypt.
In the second place eventhough this military necassity would exist, the people had to be evacuated and given temporarily new houses.
In this case however, the houses of the people have been demolished without any compensation which is a war-crime according to International Law.

Seen from that light, it is highly regrettable, that the Israeli High-Court, that has recently forbidden those demolitions being illegal, has just approved of the house demolitions again because ''security reasons''
since the Israely army alleged the homes needed to be destroyed to prevent them being used by Palestinian militants.
Not only hereby the argument making a bufferzone with Egypt makes no sense anymore, even when it were true Palestinina militants made use of some homes to shoot at Israeli troops, it is no argument at all to demolis a home,
because the socalled required ''military necessity'' is appliable onlarge scale emilitary operations between to armies of mutual strength, not on incidental shooting from the sight of lightly equipped Palestinian
fighters against one of the tecvhnically most advanced armies of the world.
Moreover the demolitions of all the houses in the refered area because of the possible precense of a couple of Palestinian militants in some of them
is as a collective punishment a grave violation of International Law [article 33 of the 4th Geneva Convention]


4 Liquidations:

The liquidations on Palestinian leaders or activists which took place the recent week are as have been already noticed very serious violations of International Law, that states that every person has the right on a trial.
Yet apart from that, also in this case they were being executed in densely-populated civilian areas like flat-appartments, houses and streets with the unacceptable risk of innocent civilian-victims, in which case
war-crimes are involved because the probability of civilians in civlians area was to be foreseen.


C Conclusion:

C1 Recent Israeli and Palestinian military actions:

Comparing the recent Israeli and Palestinian miliutary actions, it is striking that the Israeli military operations are very serious violations of
International Law.
In this case the term State-terrorism, [by the State initiated indiscriminate attacks on civilians] is certainly appliable.
The recently committed Palestinina military actions however are in this completely legitimated according to International Law, since they were
directed against the Israeli occupation-army.

Seen in this light it would be highly recommandable when the Western media not only measure the illegality of the Palestinian suicide attacks against the values of International Law, but also emphasize athbe legitimacy of
the Palestininan military attacks against the Israeli occupation-power.

But then it is also of very great importance that the Western media not only refer clearer to the Israeli occupation as such, but also point out
the illegality of most of the Israeli military operations.

Only then the public gets a clearer view on the political situation in the Middle-East.

Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
The Netherlands