75 years ago today, the Geneva Conventions were put in place to protect civilians in times of wars.They are the universal “Rules of War” meant to limit the devastating impact of wars & conflicts on humanity.The one set of rules we “all agree on”, but do we?In the past 10 months, these rules have been blatantly broken day in, day out in #Gaza by the Israeli Forces as well as the Palestinian armed groups including Hamas.More concerning, Member States- party to the Geneva Conventions- have failed in their responsibilities to respect the conventions and ensure that parties to the conflict respect them under all circumstances.Our shared values enshrined in the Conventions are at stake as is our shared humanity.It is time to re-instate those values + re-commit to the Conventions. They are the compass of international humanitarian law.The basics still apply:- Civilians, women, children, detainees must be protected.- Schools, hospitals, people’s homes, humanitarian + UN staff, facilities & operations must be protected.
This is libelous.
I responded:
Dear @UNLazzarini:I've read the Geneva Conventions. Israel is not violating any of them.The average @IDF soldier (and, indeed Western soldier) knows them better than you do.Israel has layers of international law experts at every stage of battle. it makes all its military decisions in full accordance with international law.Israel strictly adheres to the principle of distinction. It strictly adheres to the principle of proportionality. If you actually read the Conventions and how they have been interpreted in every other conflict, you would know that.The Geneva Conventions do not mandate suicide, whether personal or national. They allow soldiers to do what it takes to protect their lives and the lives of their fellow fighters and civilians.The high casualty rate in Gaza is due to one reason and one reason only: Hamas has made dead Gazans (real or imagined) part of its strategy. And you are playing your part by using these deaths that result from Hamas using innocents as human shields into trying to pressure Israel into allowing a terror group - one that coincidentally @UNRWA cooperates with - to continue to murder Jews in the future.About half of those killed in this war have been terrorists. For urban warfare, especially a war where the enemy is hiding tens of meters underground and always emerges wearing civilian clothing, this is unprecedentedly high. It should be praised. Indeed, western militaries are learning a great deal from Israel how to wage war morally in their own future battles. Every military expert who visits Israel and discusses the war with IDF brass and lawyers comes away impressed, and more than one is a little frightened that their own militaries will be expected to adhere to Israel's sky-high standards in the future, which - in their words - often go beyond what international law requires.You are pretending to be objective by comparing Israel's actions, with its extensive legal framework and moral underpinnings, with a group that celebrates murdering Jewish civilians.That is not objecivity: that is antisemitism.
This is without even going into UNRWA's own culpability for terrorism. I'm just addressing his claims that Israel is violating Geneva, a manifest lie. The only way it is true is if you make the assumption a priori that Israel intends to hurt civilians - and that is an antisemtic assumption.
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