Billo_Really,
et al,
On the matter of "resistance:" What is this "right" you cite? Does it say "armed resistance?" Or, does it say: "refrain from the threat or use of force?"
You are deliberately trying to convolute this issue. There is nothing confusing about the right to defend your home against foreign invasion and there isn't a single international law that say's you can't. So why are you inferring there is one?
(COMMENT)
The Arab Palestinian is not defending their "home against foreign invasion." That is a misconception from the start. Who was invaded? Sovereign Jordanian territory was invaded; not Palestinian.
Special Note:
Occupation and the rule of law --- Establishment of occupation said:
The 1948 Hostage case
(United States of America v. Willem List, et al.) distinguished between invasion and occupation as follows:
The term invasion implies a military operation while an occupation indicates the exercise of governmental authority to the exclusion of the established government. This presupposes the destruction of organized resistance and the establishment of an administration to preserve law and order. To the extent that the occupantÂ’s control is maintained and that of the civil government eliminated, the area will be said to be occupied.
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[T]he
2004 Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in Occupied Palestinian Territory opinion, addressed the question of a broader interpretation of ‘occupation’ under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Under such an interpretation, the occupier must be in a position to carry out governance over the occupied territory even though it does not exercise sovereignty. However, where an occupation is established at law, the failure to set up an administration does not relieve the occupier of its obligations under IHL.
SOURCE: IRC International Review Volume 94 Number 885 Spring 2012
You are inferring that the Palestinian has some "right" to conduct "Jihad and Armed Struggle." I suggest that "every State has the duty to refrain from organizing or encouraging the organization of irregular forces or armed bands including mercenaries, Jihadist and Fedayeen" that threaten the sovereignty of other nations and regional peace.
The Hostile Arab Palestinian (HoAP) has no special right or dispensation that allows "organizing, instigating, facilitating, participating in, financing, encouraging or tolerating terrorist activities," or allow HoAP territories to be "used for terrorist installations or training camps, or for the preparation or organization of terrorist acts intended to be committed against other States or their citizens."
In fact, I am suggesting that international law does not encourage the use of force, but encourages the "settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security are not endangered."
You're arguing that it is legal to occupy a territory by force.
(COMMENT)
No, I did not say "Occupation is either legal or illegal." We were discussing the administration of an occupation and the duty of an Occupation Force to maintain law and order. We were also taking about the issue of "protected persons" like the Palestinians, when they turn into HoAPs and commit criminal activity under the guise of self defense while in an occupied status.
That's what Hitler did in Poland. If you think its legal for Israel to occupy the West Bank, then it was legal for Hitler to occupy Poland.
(COMMENT)
That is your opinion. But it is not what I said. In the case of the 1939 Invasion of Poland, the State of Poland was a sovereign nation and not posing a threat to German national security. In the case of the 1948 Invasion of Israel, the State of Israel was a sovereign nation and not posing a threat to Arab League national security. In the case of the 1967 Invasion of the West Bank, the State of Jordan was a sovereign nation. However, it threatened to intercede on behalf of the Egyptians and threatened Israeli national security.
Your analogy is not accurate to the issue at hand.
Then who built the over 500 roadblocks and checkpoints in the West Bank? Why can't Gazan's fish without getting shot at? Why can't they have trade with foreign nations without Israeli commando's boarding ships (flying under the flag of a sovereign nation) in international waters?
(COMMENT)
Is there some restriction that prohibits the Occupying Power from doing this. The Occupation Power may take what actions are necessary to achieve law and order, at the same time, securing the peace.
As far as the "specific complaint" pertaining to
(what I assume to by the Mavi Marmara Incident, wherein on 31 May 2010 a flotilla of six vessels was boarded and taken over by
Israeli Defense Forces 72 nautical miles from land), the UN Security Council directed Inquiry stated in part:
Report of the Secretary-GeneralÂ’s Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident said:
(Excerpt Paragraph 72)
Although a blockade by definition imposes a restriction on all maritime traffic, given the relatively small size of the blockade zone and the practical difficulties associated with other methods of monitoring vessels (such as by search and visit), the Panel is not persuaded that the naval blockade was a disproportionate measure for Israel to have taken in response to the threat it faced.
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(Paragraph 73)
73. The Panel now turns to consider whether the other components of a lawful blockade under international law are met. Traditionally, naval blockades have most commonly been imposed in situations where there is an international armed conflict. While it is uncontested that there has been protracted violence taking the form of an armed conflict between Israel and armed groups in Hamas-controlled Gaza, the characterization of this conflict as international is disputed. The conclusion of the Panel in this regard rests upon the facts as they exist on the ground. The specific circumstances of Gaza are unique and are not replicated anywhere in the world. Nor are they likely to be. Gaza and Israel are both distinct territorial and political areas. Hamas is the de facto political and administrative authority in Gaza and to a large extent has control over events on the ground there. It is Hamas that is firing the projectiles into Israel or is permitting others to do so. The Panel considers the conflict should be treated as an international one for the purposes of the law of blockade. This takes foremost into account IsraelÂ’s right to self-defence against armed attacks from outside its territory. In this context, the debate on GazaÂ’s status, in particular its relationship to Israel, should not obscure the realities. The law does not operate in a political vacuum, and it is implausible to deny that the nature of the armed violence between Israel and Hamas goes beyond purely domestic matters. In fact, it has all the trappings of an international armed conflict. This conclusion goes no further than is necessary for the Panel to carry out its mandate. What other implications may or may not flow from it are not before us, even though the Panel is mindful that under the law of armed conflict a State can hardly rely on some of its provisions but not pay heed to others.
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(Excerpt Paragraph 81)
The Panel therefore concludes that IsraelÂ’s naval blockade was legal.
SOURCE: Report of the Secretary-GeneralÂ’s Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident
The establishment of law and order, and the suppression of Hostile Arab Palestinian (HoAP) violence is not resistance (from an Israeli perspective).
Well that's the problem you need to fix.
(COMMENT)
So, you are suggesting that the Occupation should be more restrictive in order to better mitigate HoAP activity.
I'm not. The establishment of a Jewish State was a UN adopted recommendation.
With the caveat that you couldn't disenfranchise the indigenous non-Jewish population, but you didn't honor that part.
(COMMENT)
The Jewish Agency, in coordination with the UN Palestine Commission, fulfilled the prerequisite "Steps Preparatory to Independence" of the "Jewish State" as outlined and adopted. In contrast, the Arab Higher Committee refused to participate relative or cooperate with the UN Palestine Commission relative to the establishment of the "Arab State;" a territorial allotment significantly larger than what the Palestinians claim today.
It is not a case that the HoAP was "disenfranchised," as much as, the HoAP withdrew on their own volition. They instead chose armed conflict (Jihad) as their first choice for a solution. After several failed attempt to attain their objective through the use of force and external military combat power, THEN they decide to wage a war of International Law bantering.
First remember that the West Bank, at the time the occupation began, was not Palestinian Territory. It was sovereign Jordanian territory. There is a Peace Treaty with Jordan. The Israelis did not suppress the right of self-determination (Palestinian Independence).
You're full of shit! Palestinian's did not determine they needed 500 roadblocks to restrict their freedom of movement.
(COMMENT)
Yes, quite right. The internal security countermeasures were a decision made by the Occupation Power to achieve law and order, and mitigate the organization of irregular forces, armed bands, including mercenaries, Jihadist and Fedayeen" that threaten the sovereignty of other nations and regional peace; and of course, the security of Israel and her citizenry.
The territory is occupied for a number of reasons, least of all, it is strategic territory, critical to the protection of the Sovereignty of Israel; inhabited by a hostile indigenous people.
Critical to the protection of the only nuclear power in the ME?
(COMMENT)
I think we had a disconnect here. The Jordan Valley only has strategic value in terms of Second and Third Generation Warfare considerations. Asymmetric and Fourth Generation Warfare models are less of a concerned application in terms of more conventional war battlefield approaches.
I had not mentioned the Nuclear Weapons potential because that is merely assumption and conjecture. No one has reported seeing or detecting a tactical nuclear device under Israeli control. The application of the IAEA Safeguards in the Middle East is an ongoing process and Israel has been solidly behind the three-pillar mandate in the areas of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear safety and security. It is ONLY an ASSUMPTION that Israel had Nuclear Weapons.
Every State has the duty to refrain from the threat or use of force to violate the existing international boundaries of another State or as a means of solving international disputes, including territorial disputes and problems concerning frontiers of States.
And in this case, Israel has not refrained from the threat or use of force.
(COMMENT)
Who fires the rockets? The HoAP demonstrate on nearly a daily basis that they not only threaten to use force, but do use force.
The basic tenants of international law is to protect innocent civilians taking no part in hostilities. The blockade of Gaza, does just the opposite. It collectively punishes all 1.5 million residents for crimes they did not commit.
(COMMENT)
Report of the Secretary-GeneralÂ’s Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident said:
√82. The fundamental principle of the freedom of navigation on the high seas is subject to only certain limited exceptions under international law. Israel faces a real threat to its security from militant groups in Gaza. The naval blockade was imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law.
SOURCE: Report of the Secretary-GeneralÂ’s Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident
It is not collective punishment, but a countermeasure to the complex threat.
Is it necessary to maintain the security of Israeli sovereignty and for the protection of Israeli citizens. I say yes!
In Israel. Not in territories that are not Israel.
Israel has no right to protect anything on land that isn't theirs.
A population under occupation that is not even allowed to have weapons to defend itself, is not a threat to anyone.
(COMMENT)
There is no evidence of defensive strategies on the part of the HoAP; only offensive strategies.
Most Respectfully,
R