November 19, 2012

Gaza 2012: Proportionality and Collective Punishment

November 19, 2012  |  Eli E. Hertz
It would be a denial of reality to assume that only a small group of terrorists could be involved in the thousands of documented acts of terror in the past 10 years by Palestinian Arabs. In the seven years since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Hamas has launched thousands of rockets directly at civilian populations in Israel. It would be reckless to assume that these acts of terror are isolated, undertaken independently, without the direct involvement of the Palestinian populace and the leadership they opt to elect.
Israel often is portrayed in the media, by Western leaders, human rights activists and the many different organs of the United Nations as inflicting disproportionate and collective punishment on many Palestinians for the deeds of a few terrorists.
Ironically, the prohibition of imposing "collective penalties [punishment] ... intimidation and terrorism" that Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention [1] talks about, should be applied in this case to the millions of innocent men, women, and children of Israel that are collectively being punished day-in and day-out by Arab terrorists for "offenses" they never "personally committed." As to the "terrorism" Article 33 speaks about; it is the Israelis that fight to prevent Palestinian terrorism, and not the other way around.

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http://www.mythsandfacts.org/article_view.asp?articleID=249

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