Billo_Really, TakeAStepBack,
et al,
Oh, this is so much crap.
How very noble of Israel. To let those Innocent folks know their home is about to be destroyed and they are to be displaced.
That's a war crime.
You cannot target civilian infrastructure.
It doesn't matter how many warnings you give, you can only target military objectives.
Being a member of Hamas, does not automatically make them a military target.
(COMMENT)
FIRST POINT:
The laws of land warfare and armed conflict do not prohibit either civilian casualties or collateral damage. Warfare and conflict, by its very nature, involves the use of deadly force. The concept and purpose behind behind the laws of land warfare and armed conflict are not to create proportionality, establish a parity between the belligerent parties, or to assess violations of law. The concept and purpose of the laws are to minimize civilian casualties by creating a framework in which the each parties to the conflict all feasible precautions to minimize civilian losses.
Violations (as in the claim made above) of the laws of war are not measured in the number of civilian casualties, but whether each side is taking all feasible precautions to minimize civilian loss. When the IDF sends out notices to the civilian population, that is a "feasible precautions to minimize civilian losses." When HAMAS sends out notices to ignore the IDF warnings, that is NOT a "feasible precautions to minimize civilian losses."
SECOND POINT:
There are certain aspects which the Palestinians seem to think, make a difference in the discussion over the moral high ground or the legality of what they do. The disparities in between the IDF and HAMAS in terms of military capability, the projection of combat power, or the ability to engage in conflict, by whatever measure you use to establish a standard, are irrelevant to the Laws of Land Warfare and Armed Conflict. The fact that HAMAS, in comparison to the IDF, uses unsophisticated weapons does not justify failure to respect the laws of war, nor does an adversaryÂ’s use of sophisticated weapons provide a pass to its opponents to ignore those laws. The fact that the Israelis have a decisive military advantage in logistics, equipment and position, does not have a bearing on the applicability of Laws of Land Warfare and Armed Conflict.
FINAL POINT:
It is despicable to imply that the IDF purposely targets the civilian population or the surrounding infrastructure. The warning issued by the IDF are indicating that they are about to engage hostile Command and Control aspects, significant logistics activities, or activities directly involved in the projecting hostile fires
(missile, rocket and mortar launch sites as an example). Article 52 of Protocol I states that: "In so far as objects are concerned, military objectives are limited to those objects which by their nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military action and whose total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage."
PROTOCOL ADDITIONAL TO THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS OF 12 AUGUST 1949 said:
The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favour or impede military operations.
The Parties to the conflict shall not direct the movement of the civilian population or individual civilians in order to attempt to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield military operations.
SOURCE: Paragraph 7, Article 51 — Protection of the civilian population Page 38, ICRC
This is something that the Palestinians are constantly violating. They use the civilian population for cover and concealment, then when the IDF respond, they use the resulting civilian casualties as a media event.
Most Respectfully,
R
