Just a line to draw readers attention to a post at the blog of the European Journal of International Law by Marko Milanovic on various legal issues raised by the current conflict in Gaza. He pays particular attention to the question of proportionality.
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In his Sunday programme, GPS, Fareed Zakaria talked to Bernard-Henri Levy. On the question of proportionality:
“And number two, as the Israeli, for me the image of the Palestinian children killed is really heartbreaking. And for me it is the same. A Palestinian child killed breaks my heart as much, of course, as an Israeli child killed.
But the main difference is that Israeli army does not target the children. They do not target the civilians. The Hamas, when they bomb the cities of the south of Israel where there is not army, they really target the civilians. This is a huge difference.
The famous rockets, the famous Kassam of Hamas are targeting the civilians. So, it is a crime of war, “un crime de guerre,” a war crime. It is clearly that since months and months and months.
Till when this could be stood? Till when?
ZAKARIA: But do you believe that this is …
LEVY: And the real disproportion is that.”
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0901/04/fzgps.01.html
The problem of proportionality can easily be resolved by answering a very simple question: When someone is trying to kill you, what do you do to stop him? Answer: Whatever it takes. If he comes at you with a knife and you have a gun, you shoot. If he comes at you barehanded and you have a gun, you shoot. If he comes at you pushing a child before him and you have a gun, you try not to hit the child, but you still shoot. And if, in the heat of the moment, the attacker’s child is killed, so be it. Your first obligation is to your own. Israel is in an existential war not a game of golf. She doesn’t have to provide her enemies with a handicap because they have lesser resources. It would be immoral for her to play Russian roulette with her citizen’s lives. Hilel said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” Israel shouldn’t have to apologize for trying to defend herself and she should make no bargains that will give Hamas a chance to rebuild its capacities for future attacks. That is doing no favor to the Palestinians and it is a waste of every life expended in Israel’s defense. This is not the Middle Ages. Jews should no longer have to make an argument before the world court for their right to exist. Hamas rockets must be stopped. The proper porportion? Whatever it takes.
To the heart broken and the intelligent golfer.
What would israelies do if hamas was in control and they locked every gates in and out of isreal. There lives having to revolve around the hamas authority telling them when ther could go in o out. In top of that no one to listen to their voice.
Wont they be frostrated and do whatever they can to make their voices heard.
This is exatly what hamas did. They just wanted to make their voices heard. But it was no the right way to do so by firing rockets into israel. The constant blockade is too much, every man needs his freedom.
Israel must have heard the palestine’s voice and removed the blockades from their border, infact the land of palestine people.
The locked them starved them and now are finally killing them. No arab’s in the world, matter of fact me being a hindu, no other people will forgive israel for killind the innocient women, child and men of palestine.
It’s not about the propotion nor the justification, whatever israel politicians are doing for their political campaign, whshing their hands with the blood of innocent people will never bring peace to israel. This is inhumane as it gets. I hope to god the rott in hell for this.