Comment: Collective punishment? More like genocide and ethnic cleansing.
------------------------------
Alex Kane
AlterNet
The worsening of life for people in Gaza is a deliberate goal of the Israeli military.
Israel is waging war on civilians in Gaza. Ordinary Palestinians, television stations, schools, hospitals, power plants and water facilities are all targets in the eyes of the Israeli army, one of the most powerful militaries in the world.
On Monday night, in what is being described as the most intense Israeli bombardment since the assault began three weeks ago, the air force bombed Gaza's sole power plant, and killed over 100 people.
It is a violation of international law to destroy civilian infrastructure and lives if there is no concrete military advantage in doing so. "Israel is repeatedly and flagrantly violating the law of armed conflict," a group of international legal scholars said in a statement released this week. "Most of the recent heavy bombings in Gaza lack an acceptable military justification and, instead, appear to be designed to terrorize the civilian population."
But Israel, shielded from accountability by the U.S., continues to violate the laws of war. In fact, it is following a specific military doctrine developed by Israeli military officials that calls for punishing the civilian population in the territory where resistance to Israeli actions emanates from. Its purpose is to restore Israeli deterrence; to make Israel's armed enemies think twice before resisting, a goal Israel attempts to meet by wantonly destroying civilian infrastructure. Another goal is to turn the civilian population against the authorities that rule them. In this war, it's Hamas Israel wants to weaken.
Read more
No comments:
Post a Comment