US Attorneys Challenge Israeli Assassinations

[Resistance]

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0307/S00068.htm

Portland, Oregon, July 7, 2003. Two Portland attorneys today announced that they, on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, are challenging Israel’s assassinations of Palestinians in an “amicus,” or “friend of the court,” brief submitted to the Israeli Supreme Court.

Steven Goldberg, Co-Chair of the International Committee of the NLG, stated, “The NLG has long stood for basic human and civil rights, and Israel’s routine use of assassination of Palestinians is a clear and material breach of international law.”

The assassination issue arose when Israeli attorneys representing the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and LAW, both Israeli non-governmental organizations, filed a lawsuit against the State of Israel, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and the Israeli Defense Forces alleging widespread and wanton extra-judicial killings of Palestinians during the current intifada, or uprising. In a Petition filed by attorneys Avigdor Feldman and Michael Sfard, the two NGOs list hundreds of instances in which the IDF targeted and killed Palestinian individuals; in some instances, many innocent bystanders were also killed and injured.

For example, the Petition points out that in the early morning hours on July 23, 2002, an Israeli pilot flying an American-made airplane dropped a 1000-kilogram bomb on the al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza, the most densely populated area in the world.

The attack was aimed at Hamas member Salah Shehadeh, who was at home at the time. The bomb caused the collapse of many apartment buildings, the death of 14 human beings, and injury to over 150.

(snipped the rest - follow link for more)

[Poll_Blind]

1. Extra-judicial assassinations are not a tool of democracies.

Should anyone feel otherwise, I'd be interested in knowing your reasoning.

PB

[Darranar]

2. I feel otherwise...

If you are a soldier standing on a battlefield, and someone is firing at you, do you ignore the fire because to return it and kill the man would be "extra-judicial?" It is the same here. Israel is being fired upon by these militants. They plan terrorist attacks that kill dozens of innocents. Israel responds by returning fire and killing them.

[newyorican]

4. population centers are not "battlefields"

And no offense, but you are really horrible with analogies.

[Darranar]

6. They can be...

and in this situation they are. Anyway, no offense taken.

[Muddleoftheroad]

3. Safest

To try and capture these criminals who hide in Palestinian territory would result in more casualties on both sides. It is the safest method.

[DavidMS]

5. Does not matter.

Israel is the occupying power and as such its a police issue (they can arrest militians) however because its not a war and they know civilians are around the targets, attacking with missles or bombs is illegal as per the Geneva Convention.

Therefor the suit is valid and the Israeli goverment and army are exposed to legal claims based on the Geneva Convention. What is more intresting is that the PA also has not signed it (making it harder to prosecute such a case). It would be wise for them to sign on and to sign onto the ICC while they are at it. They are not a state yet, but its a higly symbolic move that would make the Israeli occupiers uncomfortable but would have no real pratical on the ground value at this point.