End this culture of Israeli impunity
In the face of Palestinian deaths in Gaza, the UK government must be held to its commitments under international law
In the face of Palestinian deaths in Gaza, the UK government must be held to its commitments under international law
It is difficult to imagine how anyone watching Clancy Chassay's three short films on Israel's devastating attack on Gaza ("Operation Cast Lead") could deny that Israel has a clear case to answer on commission of war crimes.
The films tell the individual stories of those who are otherwise lost in the horrifying statistics. We learn of three teenage brothers used as human shields by the Israeli army, a Palestinian family killed by "precision weaponry" when drinking tea in a courtyard and a medic blown into pieces by the thousands of tiny metal darts, called flechettes, packed into each Israeli tank shell.
Recent estimates put the number of Palestinians killed in the bloody onslaught at more than 1,400 – including 430 children – and the number injured at more than 5,000. Israel's actions have been roundly condemned and demands from senior UN officials and human rights groups for Israel to be investigated for international war crimes over the "massive violation of human rights" are growing by the day.
In the face of such overwhelming evidence we might have expected a little more from our government than David Miliband's meek calls to "both sides" for an end to the hostilities. We might have expected our government to unequivocally condemn Israel's actions, cease all arms-related exports to Israel, cease giving financial assistance to Israel, cease trading with Israel on preferential terms, and we might have expected it to do everything within its power to halt the massacre and bring those responsible to account.
The failure of the government to do any of the above is insupportable both morally and (perhaps most important in terms of immediate accountability) legally. Under customary international law, the UK, as a result of Israel's actions which breach the principles of international humanitarian law, has a duty to act in certain ways. In the same way that an individual has a responsibility not to aid and abet murderers, states have similar responsibilities.
At Public Interest Lawyers, we are acting on behalf of Al-Haq, an independent Palestinian human rights NGO based in Ramallah, which is bringing a public law claim against the UK government for its breaches of international law and calling on it to fulfil its international legal obligations...
The films tell the individual stories of those who are otherwise lost in the horrifying statistics. We learn of three teenage brothers used as human shields by the Israeli army, a Palestinian family killed by "precision weaponry" when drinking tea in a courtyard and a medic blown into pieces by the thousands of tiny metal darts, called flechettes, packed into each Israeli tank shell.
Recent estimates put the number of Palestinians killed in the bloody onslaught at more than 1,400 – including 430 children – and the number injured at more than 5,000. Israel's actions have been roundly condemned and demands from senior UN officials and human rights groups for Israel to be investigated for international war crimes over the "massive violation of human rights" are growing by the day.
In the face of such overwhelming evidence we might have expected a little more from our government than David Miliband's meek calls to "both sides" for an end to the hostilities. We might have expected our government to unequivocally condemn Israel's actions, cease all arms-related exports to Israel, cease giving financial assistance to Israel, cease trading with Israel on preferential terms, and we might have expected it to do everything within its power to halt the massacre and bring those responsible to account.
The failure of the government to do any of the above is insupportable both morally and (perhaps most important in terms of immediate accountability) legally. Under customary international law, the UK, as a result of Israel's actions which breach the principles of international humanitarian law, has a duty to act in certain ways. In the same way that an individual has a responsibility not to aid and abet murderers, states have similar responsibilities.
At Public Interest Lawyers, we are acting on behalf of Al-Haq, an independent Palestinian human rights NGO based in Ramallah, which is bringing a public law claim against the UK government for its breaches of international law and calling on it to fulfil its international legal obligations...
More: Guardian, Tuesday 24 March 2009
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