Among
the most heartfelt stories to have emerged from the slaughter in Gaza
is that of a father writing his daughter's name on her arms and legs.
His explanation: When she is blown up, he wants to collect all of the
pieces and give her a burial so that he can have a grave to visit to
talk to her to console himself.
Yes, war is appalling and a one-sided killing is hardly a propaganda coup for Bibi Netanyahu. Going by the spontaneous demonstrations supporting Palestinians on almost every continent, he has already lost in the court of world opinion.
Moreover as UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierres has already pointed out the laws of humanitarian war call for proportionate response. Promulgated in 1949 after extensive debate, the Geneva Convention is an extensive document but the basic principles require that wars be fought with honor, i.e. with conduct clearly within the rules of war.
The
Geneva Convention states these as follows: (1) Amelioration of the
condition of wounded and sick in battle and (2) Applying the same at
sea. (3) Reasonable treatment of prisoners of war and (4) Protection of
Civilians.
Grave breaches include wanton destruction of property as applicable in Gaza, also using a poison weapon (read phosphorous bombs in Netanyahu's case); taking hostages which applies to Hamas; attacking humanitarian workers or UN Peacekeepers (Netanyahu); and allowing settlers on occupied territory, hence the term illegal settlements used by UN and other observers.
The
killing of civilians applies against Hamas except in the case of armed
farmer settlers, who apart from terrorizing Palestinian farmers also
claim to be defending the borders of Israel.
If our esteemed president is among the most enthusiastic cheerleaders for Netanyahu and the slaughter, (refusing for a long time to call for an end to the killings) he should be aware that being an accessory to war crimes can have consequences. It only requires a formal complaint naming them filed against the two countries with the International Court of Justice, and the indictment will make them fugitives from justice, restricting travel opportunities. Well, he likes to be first and this would become a legal test putting him in the history books.
The
vice president is no less a cheerleader and she, too, continues to
express vociferous support for Israel and Netanyahu's response in Gaza.
The latest death count is over 7000 of which about 3000 are minors.
One would guess the rest are mainly women and old men since the young
will be probably facing the Israeli onslaught -- a prospect of death or
prison given the imbalance in weapons, and the human conscience in
abeyance. The death count rises by the day and may well be much higher by the time this is published.
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