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There is no mutual defense treaty between the U.S. and Israel. (Washington has broached the idea to Israel from time to time, but Israel has said no thanks. Treaties, you see, require internationally recognized borders, and--for obvious reasons--Israeli leaders avoid that subject like the plague.)
NATO member Turkey, on the other hand, is a U.S. ally. This could make things very awkward if Turkey sends its warships to accompany the next convoy trying to lift the siege of Gaza. It is possible that Washington may have to choose between a real ally and a synthetic one, if shots are fired.
Israel's Attack Illegal; What Now?
Craig Murray, a former British ambassador and Foreign Office specialist on maritime law (and VIPS member), has just weighed in with a helpful description of two clear legal possibilities, which take into account both international law and the Law of the Sea:
Possibility one is
that the Israeli commandos were acting on behalf of the
government of Israel in killing the activists in international waters.
The applicable law is that of the flag state of the ship on which the
incident occurred.
In legal terms, the Turkish ship
was Turkish territory. So in this case Israel is in a position
of war with Turkey, and the attack by Israeli commandos falls under
international jurisdiction as a war crime.
Possibility two is that, if the killings
were not military actions authorized by Israel, they were then acts
of murder and fall under Turkish jurisdiction. If Israel does not
consider itself in a position of war with Turkey, it must hand over
the commandos involved for trial in Turkey under Turkish law.
It is for Turkey, not Israel, to carry out any inquiry or investigation
and to initiate any prosecutions. Israel would be obliged by law
to hand over indicted personnel for prosecution.
Stay tuned.
Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. As an Army infantry/intelligence officer and later a CIA analyst, he spent almost 30 years in intelligence work. He is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).
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