You and many other people here on this forum may have a mistaken belief that I do not criticize Palestinian militants for their violations of international law and war crimes. (...more likely you are just deliberately inventing stuff about me to discredit me).
Unlike my critiques who only condemn Palestinian war crimes, I have condemned both Israel and Palestinian violations of international repeatedly in previous posts and if you don't believe me, see the referenced posts at the end of this post.
I admit I tend to focus on Israeli war crimes, but that's because unlike Palestinian war crimes, Israeli war crimes aren't reported in the MSM nearly as much as Palestinian war crimes and Canada's current government unshakably supports Israel despite their criminal activity, and is silent regarding Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity. All Canadians should have a problem with the position of our government regarding this conflict. Unfortunately, most Canadians are ignorant of Israel's criminal activity, which is why I tend to focus on filling that void with relevant verifiable information from reliable sources.
Since I am repeatedly accused of having "islamist terrorist buddies" and "supporting terrorism", I am making this post to end once and for all any question that I never condemn Palestinian war criminals. But to be fair and balanced, I'm going to list all the war crimes in this conflict and I challenge my critics to equally condemn both Israeli and Palestinian war crimes and crimes against humanity as I have...
For the record here is a list of illegal activities from this conflict that I condemn equally:
A) Palestinian war crimes and violations of international law.
1) Gilad Shalit is a soldier who belongs to the Israeli armed forces and was captured during an enemy incursion into Israel. Gilad Shalit meets the requirements for prisoner-of-war status under the Third Geneva Convention. As such, he should be protected, treated humanely and be allowed external communication as appropriate according to that Convention. ICRC should be allowed to visit him without delay. Information about his condition should also be provided promptly to his family.
2) Palestinian armed groups fail to distinguish between military targets and the civilian population and civilian objects in southern Israel. Since the launching of rockets and mortars which cannot be aimed with sufficient precisions at military targets breaches the fundamental principle of distinction. Where there is no intended military target and the rockets and mortars are launched into civilian areas, they constitute a deliberate attack against the civilian population. These actions would constitute war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity.
3) Gaza authorities (Hamas) carried out extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests, detentions and ill-treatment of people, in particular political opponents, which constitute serious violations of the human rights to life, to liberty and security of the person, to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, to be protected against arbitrary arrest and detention, to a fair and impartial legal proceeding; and to freedom of opinion and expression, including freedom to hold opinions without interference.
4) The Palestinian Authority’s (Fatah) actions against political opponents (primarily Hamas) in the West Bank violate international human rights law and Palestinian Law. Detentions on political grounds violate the rights to liberty and security of person, to a fair trial and the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of one’s political opinion, which are all part of customary international law. Also I am against torture and other forms of ill-treatment during arrest and detention and of death in detention in violation of Palestinian and international law.
B) Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity and violations of international law:
1)Israel does not take feasible precautions required by customary law reflected in article 57 (2) (a) (ii) of Additional Protocol I to avoid or minimize incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects. I refer to the IDF's indiscriminate use of white phosphorus, high explosive artillery and flechettes in densely populated urban areas and specifically on or adjacent to UN facilities, bomb shelters, hospitals, schools/universities and fire stations which violated articles 18 and 19 of the Fourth Geneva Convention because their use in these areas predictably caused excessive damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure. Israel had more precise weapons in their arsenal which could have accomplished the same military objectives without causing extensive civilian collateral damage.
2) Israel's deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects (individuals, whole families, houses, mosques) in violation of the fundamental international humanitarian law principle of distinction, resulting in deaths and serious injuries. These deliberate attacks in clear violation of customary law reflected in article 51 (2) and 75 of Additional Protocol I, article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and articles 6 and 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In some cases, these attacks clearly had no military purpose and were for the sole purpose of spreading terror among the civilian population. IN one attack, the IDF herded about 100 civilians into a building and then deliberately shelled it with high explosives, killing 35 people, the majority of whom were women and children.
3) Israel's deliberate attacks on ambulances and their deliberate targeting of medics and ambulance drivers are war crimes. Also, Israel's armed forces blocked the access of humanitarian organizations to evacuate the wounded and provide medical relief, in violation of customary international law reflected in article 10 (2) of Additional Protocol I.
4) Israel deliberately attacked police stations killing large numbers of policemen during the first minutes of the military operations. In one case, Israel bombed a police cadet graduation ceremony, killing most of the cadets as well as elementary school children who were just queuing up for class across the street. Israel's failure to respect the principle of proportionality between the military advantage anticipated by killing some policemen who might have
been members of Palestinian armed groups and the loss of civilian life (the majority of policemen and members of the public in the police stations at the time of the attack (parents and families of the cadets) and school children nearby.
5) Israeli armed forces extensive use of Palestinian civilians including young children as human shields. I refer to the common IDF practice of abducting civilians at gunpoint and forcing them to enter houses which might be booby-trapped or harbour enemy combatants (aka the “neighbour procedure”, or “Johnnie procedure”) during the military operations. This cowardly use of human shields is prohibited by international humanitarian law and is a war crime.
6) Israel's abduction of civilians, threats of violence and death, detention without cause, torture and summary execution of civilians are war crimes. Israel's use of severe beatings, constant humiliating and degrading treatment and detention in foul conditions under the control of the Israeli armed forces and in detention in Israel, constitute a failure to treat protected persons humanely in violation of article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as violations of articles 7 and 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights regarding torture and the treatment of persons in detention, and of its article 14 with regard to due process guarantees. The treatment of women during detention was contrary to the special respect for women required under customary law as reflected in the article 76 of Additional Protocol I. During Operation Cast Lead, the IDF rounded-up of large groups of civilians and their prolonged detention under the above circumstances constitute a collective penalty on those persons in violation of article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and article 50 of the Hague Regulations. Such treatment amounts to measures
of intimidation or terror prohibited by article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
7) Deliberate demolitions of civilian infrastructure are war crimes. IDF attacks against the Palestinian Legislative Council building and the main prison in Gaza constituted deliberate attacks on civilian objects in violation of the rule of customary international humanitarian law whereby attacks must be strictly limited to military objectives. The Israeli armed forces also unlawfully and wantonly demolished without military necessity food production, food processing facilities (including mills, farm land, barns, farm animals and greenhouses), drinking-water installations, farms and animals in violation of the principle of distinction. This destruction was carried out with the purpose of denying sustenance to the civilian population, in violation of customary law reflected in article 54 (2) of the First Additional Protocol. Israeli armed forces carried out widespread destruction of private residential houses, water wells and water tanks unlawfully and wantonly. In addition to being violations of international humanitarian law, these extensive wanton acts of destruction amount to violations of Israel’s duties to respect the right to an adequate standard of living of the people in the Gaza Strip, which includes the rights to food, water and housing, as well as the right to the highest attainable standard of health, protected under articles 11 and 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
8 ) Israel's humanitarian aid blockade which limits food an medical aid for four years which has artificially caused 1.5 million people to suffer disease and malnutrition is a crime against humanity. The blockade policies implemented by Israel against the Gaza Strip, in particular the closure of or restrictions imposed on border crossings in the immediate period before the military operations, subjected the local population to extreme hardship and deprivations that amounted to a violation of Israel’s obligations as an occupying Power under the Fourth Geneva Convention. These measures led to a severe deterioration and regression in the levels of realization of economic and social rights of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and weakened its social and economic fabric, leaving health, education, sanitation and other essential services in a very vulnerable position to cope with the immediate effects of the military operations. Israel has essentially violated its obligation to allow free passage of all consignments of medical and hospital objects, food and clothing that were needed to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the civilian population in the context of the military operations, which is in violation of article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The conditions resulting from deliberate actions of the Israeli armed forces and the declared policies of the Government with regard to the Gaza Strip before, during and after the military operation cumulatively indicate the intention to inflict collective punishment on the people of the Gaza Strip and a clear violation of the provisions of article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
9) Treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli security forces, included the use of excessive or lethal force during demonstrations. Israel has failed to fulfill its international obligations to protect the Palestinians from violence by private individuals (Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank) under both international human rights law and international humanitarian law. In some instances security forces acquiesced to the acts of violence in violation of the prohibition against cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. When this acquiescence occurs only in respect of violence against Palestinians by settlers and not vice versa, it would amount to discrimination on the basis of national origin, prohibited under ICCPR. Israel also violated a series of human rights by unlawfully repressing peaceful public demonstrations and using excessive force against demonstrators. The use of firearms, including live ammunition, and the use of snipers resulting in the death of demonstrators are a violation of article 6 of ICCPR as an arbitrary deprivation of life and indicate an intention or at least a recklessness towards causing harm to civilians which may amount to wilful killing. Israel's excessive use of force that resulted in injury rather than death constitutes violations of a number of standards, including articles 7 and 9 of ICCPR. These violations are compounded by the seemingly discriminatory “open fire regulations” for security forces dealing with demonstrations, based on the presence of persons with a particular nationality, violating the principle of non-discrimination in ICCPR (art. 2) as well as under article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel has failed to investigate, and when appropriate prosecute, acts by its agents or by third parties involving serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law. Israel's inaction of hold criminals accountable for assaulting and murdering Palestinians has created a culture of impunity where Israeli settlers and security forces can commit murder with little fear of criminal prosecution and as a result the level of settler and security force violence against Palestinians and their property has increased to the point where Palestinians cannot leave their homes without fear of being attacked and killed.
10) Israel's detention of political prisoners violates the right not to be arbitrarily detained, as protected by article 9of ICCPR. Israel has detained members of the Palestinian Legislative and members of their family based on their political affiliation and prevents those members from participating in the conduct of public affairs. Insofar as their detention is unrelated to their individual behavior, it constitutes collective punishment, prohibited by article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Information on the detention of large numbers of children and their treatment by Israeli security forces point to violations of their rights under ICCPR and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
11) Israel's extensive restrictions on the movement and access of Palestinians in the West Bank are disproportionate to any legitimate objective served and in violation of article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and article 12 of ICCPR, guaranteeing freedom of movement. Where checkpoints become a site of humiliation of the protected population by military or civilian operators, this may entail a violation of the customary law rule reflected in article 75 (2) (b) of Additional Protocol I.
12) Israel's continued construction of settlements in occupied territory constitutes a violation of article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The extensive destruction and appropriation of property, including land confiscation and house demolitions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly, amounts to a grave breach under article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Insofar as movement and access restrictions, the settlements and their infrastructure, demographic policies vis-à-vis Jerusalem and “Area C” of the West Bank, as well as the separation of Gaza from the West Bank, prevent a viable, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State from arising, they are in violation of the jus cogens right to self determination.
reference
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/12session/A-HRC-12-48.pdf
>>>>>>>
http://forums.canadiancontent.net/i...farting-around-iran-nukes-32.html#post1361026
http://forums.canadiancontent.net/i...onal-report-operation-cast-4.html#post1349332
and so on.....
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