Sunday, June 19, 2011

Must A 'War Crime' Be Purposeful?

We all remember the Goldstone report's condemnation of Israel's defensive actions in Gaza and claims of purposeful targeting of civilians.

Here:

...we detail a number of specific incidents in which Israeli forces launched direct attacks against civilians with lethal consequences. These were, with only one exception, where the facts establish that there was no military objective or advantage that could justify the attacks.

The Mission looked closely and sets out in the Report statements made by Israeli political and military leaders in which they stated in clear terms that they would hit at the “Hamas infrastructure”. If “infrastructure” were to be understood in that way and become a justifiable military objective, it would completely subvert the whole purpose of IHL built up over the last 100 years and more. It would make civilians and civilian buildings justifiable targets.

These attacks amounted to reprisals and collective punishment and constitute war crimes.

...A word about accountability...The lack of accountability for war crimes and possible crimes against humanity has reached a crisis point; the ongoing lack of justice is undermining any hope for a successful peace process and reinforcing an environment that fosters violence. Time and again, experience has taught us that overlooking justice only leads to increased conflict and violence.

What do we make of this then:

NATO air strikes killed nine civilians in the Arada neighbourhood of Tripoli, which is a known anti-Gaddafi stronghold, the regime said Sunday. The incident occurred a day after the government accused NATO of specifically targeting civilians. NATO said Sunday it was investigating Libyan claims that nine civilians, two of them of toddlers, were killed in an alliance air raid and would be "very sorry" if that were the case.

Have you any conclusions?

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