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| Increasing pressure for peace and justice in Gaza | Increasing pressure for peace and justice in Gaza |
| (about 21 hours later) | |
| The ceaseless use of overwhelming military force on Gaza by Israel’s military in complete disregard for any reasonable interpretation of international humanitarian and human rights law is an outrage of unspeakable proportions (Outrage after third strike on Gaza school, 4 August). The massive loss of civilian life in the last four weeks includes over 400 children, over 200 women, over 70 elderly people, four Palestinians killed in an intensive care unit, and two severely disabled adults residing in a care centre. | |
| An acutely abhorrent practice at the forefront of Israel’s brutally destructive military campaign is the deliberate targeting of family residential homes in apparent grave violation of international law. Since the launch of this Israeli military operation, it is estimated by the United Nations that over 900 houses have been totally destroyed or severely damaged, causing vast civilian casualties, including multiple members of the same families. By the end of 30 July 2014, at least 76 families had lost three or more family members in military attacks against family homes. | An acutely abhorrent practice at the forefront of Israel’s brutally destructive military campaign is the deliberate targeting of family residential homes in apparent grave violation of international law. Since the launch of this Israeli military operation, it is estimated by the United Nations that over 900 houses have been totally destroyed or severely damaged, causing vast civilian casualties, including multiple members of the same families. By the end of 30 July 2014, at least 76 families had lost three or more family members in military attacks against family homes. |
| This deliberate and systematic targeting policy is an obscenity against humanity and clearly appears to amount to the commission of war crimes, and further to crimes against humanity, due to its apparent serious violation of the basic laws of war principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution. | This deliberate and systematic targeting policy is an obscenity against humanity and clearly appears to amount to the commission of war crimes, and further to crimes against humanity, due to its apparent serious violation of the basic laws of war principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution. |
| We urge the UK government to publicly condemn Israel’s policy of directly targeting family homes in Gaza, and indirectly targeting whole families, confirming such actions as being unlawful, given that no such homes constitute a legitimate military target. We further urge the UK government to lead the international community in ensuring that credible investigations and full legal accountability is secured for all serious violations of international humanitarian law during this horrific conflict. A thorough implementation of independent investigation and judicial processes is critically important to provide justice for innocent victims, accountability for grave criminal wrongdoing, and deter the types of atrocities which characterise this terrifyingly cruel conflict from being repeated.Tareq Shrourou Director, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, Daniel Machover, Michael Mansfield QC, Professor Bill Bowring, Rachel Waller, Andrea Becker, Charlotte Dollard, Hannah Rought Brooks, Claire Jeffery, Nusrat Uddin, Alicia Araujo Mendonca, Sumiya Hemsi, Laila Hamzi, Geoffrey Bindman QC, Tom Short | |
| • Geoffrey Robertson is absolutely right (International law might yet punish Gaza’s war crimes, 2 August). In present circumstances, the crucial requirement is justice: a lasting peace cannot be established if justice is denied, and therefore taking the warring parties to the international criminal court is essential. The Rome statute – at article 8 para 2b (iv) – defines as a war crime “intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects … which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated”. | • Geoffrey Robertson is absolutely right (International law might yet punish Gaza’s war crimes, 2 August). In present circumstances, the crucial requirement is justice: a lasting peace cannot be established if justice is denied, and therefore taking the warring parties to the international criminal court is essential. The Rome statute – at article 8 para 2b (iv) – defines as a war crime “intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects … which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated”. |
| Israel claims its response to the alleged storage and launching of Palestinian rockets close to or from UN-declared safe zones is justified but, as the Rome statute specifies unequivocally, the benefit to Israel of destroying a few Hamas rocket launchers must be sufficient to justify the civilian damage caused. Moreover, the reportedly highly effective Iron Dome system gives Israel a means of protecting Israeli citizens without any civilian damage. As Robertson points out, there can be no possible advantage to Israel that would justify the knowing killing of so many children. In the horse-trading that preceded the successful Palestinian application for statehood, it seems that the Palestinian Authority agreed with the US not to take Israel to the ICC: the subsequent horrific events amply justify abandoning that undertaking and the PA making a request to the ICC for an investigation of war crimes in the Gaza war.Professor David E PeggYork | Israel claims its response to the alleged storage and launching of Palestinian rockets close to or from UN-declared safe zones is justified but, as the Rome statute specifies unequivocally, the benefit to Israel of destroying a few Hamas rocket launchers must be sufficient to justify the civilian damage caused. Moreover, the reportedly highly effective Iron Dome system gives Israel a means of protecting Israeli citizens without any civilian damage. As Robertson points out, there can be no possible advantage to Israel that would justify the knowing killing of so many children. In the horse-trading that preceded the successful Palestinian application for statehood, it seems that the Palestinian Authority agreed with the US not to take Israel to the ICC: the subsequent horrific events amply justify abandoning that undertaking and the PA making a request to the ICC for an investigation of war crimes in the Gaza war.Professor David E PeggYork |
| • Nick Clegg’s article is accurate and even-handed (Israel has to talk to Hamas, 2 August). A political solution is the only answer, but what incentive does Israel have to enter such a process when the US provides $3bn worth of arms to it annually while posing as a broker of peace? Europe should make a combined effort to put pressure on America to stop being Israel’s arms dealer and rather to insist on Israel leaving all occupied Palestinian territory. Europe will fail, of course, but will be seen at least to have done what is right and may just strike a chord somewhere that will lead to peace.Jacqueline WarnerYarmouth, Isle of Wight | • Nick Clegg’s article is accurate and even-handed (Israel has to talk to Hamas, 2 August). A political solution is the only answer, but what incentive does Israel have to enter such a process when the US provides $3bn worth of arms to it annually while posing as a broker of peace? Europe should make a combined effort to put pressure on America to stop being Israel’s arms dealer and rather to insist on Israel leaving all occupied Palestinian territory. Europe will fail, of course, but will be seen at least to have done what is right and may just strike a chord somewhere that will lead to peace.Jacqueline WarnerYarmouth, Isle of Wight |
| • “The Jews under siege in the Warsaw ghetto” did indeed “dig a network of tunnels” (Letters, 2 August), but the comparison with Gaza ends there. The Jews of Warsaw were not facing a siege, they were facing total extermination. They had no rockets to launch at German civilians. Hamas, by contrast, uses rockets and tunnels to attack Israeli civilians, both Jewish and Arab (Israeli Bedouin have come under fire) as part of its campaign to destroy the country whose very existence it refuses to recognise, hence the siege. | • “The Jews under siege in the Warsaw ghetto” did indeed “dig a network of tunnels” (Letters, 2 August), but the comparison with Gaza ends there. The Jews of Warsaw were not facing a siege, they were facing total extermination. They had no rockets to launch at German civilians. Hamas, by contrast, uses rockets and tunnels to attack Israeli civilians, both Jewish and Arab (Israeli Bedouin have come under fire) as part of its campaign to destroy the country whose very existence it refuses to recognise, hence the siege. |
| While a negotiated settlement is clearly essential and the suffering and loss of life deeply disturbing, it is difficult to see how any resolution can be effected so long as Hamas eschews the route of dialogue in favour of its stated objective of eliminating Israel.Jeremy BeechamLabour, House of Lords | While a negotiated settlement is clearly essential and the suffering and loss of life deeply disturbing, it is difficult to see how any resolution can be effected so long as Hamas eschews the route of dialogue in favour of its stated objective of eliminating Israel.Jeremy BeechamLabour, House of Lords |
| • Ed Miliband is right to criticise David Cameron for not sending out “a clear and unequivocal message to both sides in the conflict” in Gaza (Miliband rounds on PM’s failure to condemn Israel, 4 August). Israel’s indiscriminate and disproportionate use of military force, and the terrible suffering of the people of Gaza, well documented in recent weeks, has been met with government silence. | |
| Unlike many countries in Latin America, which have recalled their ambassadors from Tel Aviv to protest against the continuing slaughter of innocent people in Gaza, the UK government has not even summoned the Israeli ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to express concern. | Unlike many countries in Latin America, which have recalled their ambassadors from Tel Aviv to protest against the continuing slaughter of innocent people in Gaza, the UK government has not even summoned the Israeli ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to express concern. |
| Surely the time has come for Britain to take more robust action. It should consider an immediate recall of Matthew Gould, our ambassador to Israel. Politicians might pretend his continued presence is necessary if Britain is to have any influence in securing a ceasefire. Surely the opposite is true. The withdrawal of our ambassador would send out a strong signal that would clearly demonstrate the disgust felt by the majority of UK citizens.Judy CumberbatchLondon | Surely the time has come for Britain to take more robust action. It should consider an immediate recall of Matthew Gould, our ambassador to Israel. Politicians might pretend his continued presence is necessary if Britain is to have any influence in securing a ceasefire. Surely the opposite is true. The withdrawal of our ambassador would send out a strong signal that would clearly demonstrate the disgust felt by the majority of UK citizens.Judy CumberbatchLondon |
| • This article was amended on 5 August 2014. In an earlier version, the first letter referred to “three patients killed in their hospital beds”; that has been corrected to “four Palestinians killed in an intensive care unit”. |
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