Sunday, December 03, 2023
Elder of Ziyon
I've gone over many of these issues, but there are some points they make that I had not covered nearly as well.
Not only is Hamas clearly guilty of genocide, but that status obligates all nations to assist Israel:
Hamas further committed crimes of genocide, the most serious crime in international law. In fact, modern laws of war were drafted after the Second World War primarily to prevent genocide. Under the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, genocide is the killing of people "with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such".' Thus, there is no doubt Hamas committed the worst of war crimes.The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which has been accepted as binding customary law, obligates all states to prevent genocide and punish its perpetrators. As such, international law enjoins all states to act in assisting Israel to prevent any chance of a repetition of the threat carried out in the October 7th massacre, and to act to punish all those involved in it and in the Hamas decision making apparatus.It should be noted that in addition to the monstrous actions which speak for themselves, Hamas has also officially declared murdering Jews to be one of its central objects (Article 7 of the Hamas charter, and countless words to that effect by Hamas officials)."
And this:
Is the Compulsory Movement of Noncombatants to the South of the Gaza Strip Israel's Humanitarian Duty or, in Fact, a War Crime?As mentioned, the principle of distinction between combatants and noncombatants is the guiding principle of international law. Israel's efforts at moving noncombatants out of battle zones is not only legal but its duty under the law of war, in order to minimize collateral damage and unnecessary civilian casualties. The actions taken by Hamas to prevent noncombatants' movement southwards constitute a war crime and a violation of the principle of distinction.Since the beginning of the war, the IDF repeatedly urged North Gazan residents to move southwards to protect themselves from Israeli strikes. Some international organizations, amongst them the UNHCR, Amnesty International and the International Committee of the Red Cross, condemned the Israeli warnings and called them "forced evacuation orders". There is a difference between various international institutions, which are at times hostile to Israel, and the international law in and of itself, under which Israel and all other Western countries abide. The US and the coalition forces employed similar calls to the citizens to evacuate Fallujah and Mosul before commencement of the military operation.Israeli warnings are not "orders" since Israel has no jurisdiction over Gaza residents. Israel warns Gazans but has no means to enforce action. According to Rule 15 of the ICRC International Humanitarian Law Database there is a duty to take "all feasible precautions" to avoid civilian harm. Rule 20 recognizes advance warning as an accepted measure to minimize such harm.Hamas has the duty to assist in evacuating noncombatants from battle zones." In calling on the residents of Northern Gaza to stay in place Hamas violates its international duties.The only reason to demand that civilians stay in the killing fields is to endanger and use them as human shields.
Read the whole thing, and save it for reference.
