Cutting off resources to Gaza amounts to collective punishment, prohibited by the Geneva Conventions
The United Nations is warning of a humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza, with at least 1 million residents displaced and. This, at a moment when the full wrath of Israel’s response to the heinous crimes of Hamas has yet to be seen. Last week, Israel’s Channel 13an unnamed defence official’s warning that “Gaza will eventually turn into a city of tents. There will be no buildings.”spoke to the citizens of Israel last week, it was clear that this time was different.
Israel has a right and a duty to defend its citizens in the face of atrocities committed by Hamas. We must, of course, support Israel’s right to defend itself. But we must also be clear that we expect Israel to act in a way that is consistent with the principles of international law, including the laws of armed conflict established by the Geneva Conventions. These laws recognize that if we can’t agree to end war, we can at least agree to establish some rules that limit its barbarity.
In 2009, Israel invaded Gaza in Operation Cast Lead, in response to rocket attacks on Israeli cities and towns. It left an estimated 1,400 Palestinians dead. Five years later, it was Operation Protective Edge that killed more than 2,000. Analysts have likened these periodic military incursions to “” – the routine maintenance required to degrade Hamas’s ability to inflict harm on Israel. But on Oct. 7, the Hamas rockets still came by the thousands.
No one should believe that when the bombing stops – when the last Israeli soldier leaves Gaza, when the gates are bolted shut once again on two million Palestinians – that this will be over, and Israelis will be safe. The brutal, unvarnished truth is that Israel cannot crush Hamas any more than the West could crush the Taliban. The only way to deliver security to both Israelis and Palestinians is through a negotiated settlement. Neither side can kill its way out of this quagmire.
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