ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES AND THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
Without distinction - attacks on civilians by Palestinian armed
groups
1.
Introduction
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[...]
The current
situation
Among Palestinians and supporters of their cause, there is considerable support
for armed resistance by Palestinians, aimed at ending the occupation of the
territory occupied by Israel in 1967. Commonly, advocates express support for
the use of violence by Palestinians against Israel in general terms, drawing no
distinction between attacks against military objectives and against civilians.
In Palestinian media and in public displays, there has been considerable praise
for those who have been killed in the course of attacking Israelis even if the
attacks were targeted against civilians. ''Suicide bombers'' are commonly
referred to as ''martyrs'' and their actions as ''martyrdom operations''. Armed
groups appear to find it relatively easy to recruit people prepared to kill
themselves while committing attacks.
[...]
The United
Nations General Assembly has recognized the legitimacy of the struggle of
peoples against colonial and alien domination or foreign occupation in the
exercise of their right to self-determination and independence. (5) However, as
detailed in section 5, international law requires the use of force to be in
accordance with certain basic principles that apply in all situations. In
particular, the parties involved in a conflict must always distinguish between
civilians and people actively taking part in the hostilities and must make every
effort to protect civilians from harm.
[...]
Amnesty
International has for many years documented and condemned violations of
international human rights and humanitarian law by Israel directed against
the Palestinian population of the Occupied Territories. (6) They include
unlawful killings; torture and ill-treatment; arbitrary detention; unfair
trials; collective punishments such as punitive closures of areas and
destruction of homes; extensive and wanton destruction of property;
deportations; and discriminatory treatment as compared to Israeli settlers.
Most of these violations are grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention
and are therefore war crimes. Many have also been committed in a widespread
and systematic manner, and in pursuit of government policy; such violations
meet the definition of crimes against humanity under international law. However, no violations by the Israeli government, no matter their scale or gravity, justify the killing of Sinai Keinan, Danielle Shefi, Chanah Rogan or any other civilians. The obligation to protect civilians is absolute and cannot be set aside because Israel has failed to respect its obligations. The attacks against civilians by Palestinian armed groups are widespread, systematic and in pursuit of an explicit policy to attack civilians. They therefore constitute crimes against humanity under international law. They may also constitute war crimes, depending on the legal characterisation of the hostilities and interpretation of the status of Palestinian armed groups and fighters under international humanitarian law. (see section 5) Many Palestinians who support armed resistance, as well as those who support non-violent action, believe that targeting civilians is morally and/or strategically wrong. A number have been outspokenly critical. But the critics have in general not been as open or prominent in public as advocates for armed attacks who support, condone or do not criticize attacks on civilians. (7) As Palestinian political leader Dr Hanan 'Ashrawi has noted, Palestinians ''have remained silent or whispered in the privacy of closed-door discussions'' about the morality and effectiveness of such attacks by armed groups, among other issues [...] |