AUSTRALIANS AT WAR

AUSTRALIANS AT WAR
THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY is a compelling factual history of neoconservatism and its influence on US Foreign Policy in the Middle East during the first decade of the twenty-first century. Click on image above for details.

Friday, August 01, 2014

WARNINGS DO NOT ABSOLVE WAR CRIMES

The Israelis have been in the habit of calling some Palestinian families to warn them that their homes are about to be bombed. Most of these homes are owned by civilians, most of whom have no connection to Hamas or any other political or militant organisation.

Deliberately bombing civilians is a war crime but, by warning the civilian occupiers that their homes are about to be destroyed, the Israelis believe that it somehow absolves them of any crime. Furthermore, not only do the Israelis think that it absolves them of crimes, but it also provides them with an opportunity to then accuse Hamas of using civilians as ‘human shields’.

How would it be, one wonders, if an Hamas operative telephoned the mayor of say Sderot and told him that the town hall was about to be bombed by rockets but, due to the fact that they can’t guarantee the accuracy of the rockets, it would be best if he evacuated the entire township within the next ten minutes. And if the mayor then refuses to evacuate could he not then be accused of using civilians as human shields?

No comments: