Amid a violent escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan this week condemned both Israel and
the Palestinians for serious violations of international humanitarian
law.
Addressing
a meeting of the Security Council on March 12, the Secretary General
said the recent toll of dead and wounded in the Middle East
particularly among innocent civilians could be described
without exaggeration as "appalling".
Annan
said he was "profoundly disturbed by the increasing use of
heavy weaponry by Israel in civilian areas" during the last
three weeks, and warned against "the unnecessary use of lethal
force". In addition, he said, "the International Committee
of the Red Cross and other agencies are reporting growing disregard,
on the part of the Israeli Defence Forces, for the safety of medical
and ambulance personnel who are attempting to treat and evacuate
wounded from conflict zones."
Annan
urged Israel to end what he described as the "illegal occupation"
of Palestinian lands the first time, according to his official
spokesman, that he has characterised Israels presence in the
occupied territories as illegal.
Turning
to the Palestinians, the Secretary General said he was "particularly
disturbed by suicide attacks which deliberately target civilians,
spreading fear and anxiety throughout the general population".
He added that the deliberate and indiscriminate targeting of civilians
was "morally repugnant".
The
Secretary Generals comments are the strongest he has made
to date about the situation in the Middle East. By couching his
criticism is such harsh terms, he added the weight of his office
to a growing chorus of voices asserting that important principles
of international law are being flouted by both sides in the latest
phase of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The
Geneva Conventions of 1949, together with their two Additional Protocols
of 1977, clearly forbid the deliberate
targeting of civilians and the use
of indiscriminate force. Direct
attacks on medical transports and personnel are also prohibited,
and forces are enjoined to facilitate
access for medical personnel and ensure their safety wherever possible.
(Although
Israel is not a party to the Additional Protocols, many of their
rules reflect customary law or simply add detail to the rules in
the 1949 Geneva Conventions, by which Israel is bound.)
According
to the Palestinian human rights organization LAW, at least 113 Palestinians
were killed by Israeli forces between February 28 (when Israel began
its current program of incursions into refugee camps) and March
10. On March 12, before Annans speech, 17 Palestinians were
killed during a single raid into the Jabalya refugee camp in the
Gaza strip. Palestinian and Israeli authorities differ on whether
some of those killed should be described as terrorists or civilians.
During
the same period, according to the Israeli government, 41 Israeli
civilians were killed by suicide bombs and other Palestinian attacks.
In
the last two weeks, at least five ambulances have been fired on
by Israeli forces, with six medical workers killed and twelve wounded,
according to information from the International Committee of the
Red Cross and LAW. There have also been allegations that ambulances
have not been allowed access to wounded Palestinians.
The
Israeli government has claimed that ambulances have sometimes been
used to carry Palestinian gunmen. It says that it allows medical
personnel access whenever the military situation permits.
More
generally, it has defended its actions as legitimate self-defence
against terrorism, and argued that Palestinian groups have deliberately
targeted civilians, unlike the Israeli army.
However,
some groups within Israel have been sharply critical of the governments
policies. On March 12, the human rights organization BTselem
warned that "a black flag of illegality" hung over the
actions of Israeli forces in the refugee camps:
"In
every city and refugee camp that they have entered, IDF soldiers
have repeated the same pattern: indiscriminate firing and the killing
of innocent civilians, intentional harm to water, electricity and
telephone infrastructure, taking over civilian houses, extensive
damage to civilian property, shooting at ambulances and prevention
of medical care to the injured."
The
Secretary Generals statement that Israels occupation
of the West Bank and Gaza is in itself illegal is challenged by
some authorities on the subject. According to Adam Roberts, Professor
of International Relations at Oxford University, "there is
no doubt that much of Israels conduct in the occupied territories
contravenes international law, particularly the establishment
of settlements, which is in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
But it is not clear that the fact of the occupation as such is illegal."
In
a press conference following his statement, Annan said that the
Security Council and the General Assembly have both "on various
occasions, declared aspects of the Israeli occupation illegal".
An
earlier discussion of the laws of war and the Middle East conflict,
which examines the general legal background to the current situation,
can be found in Expert AnalysisArab-Israeli
Conflict and the Laws of War.
Related chapters from the Crimes
of War: What the Public Should Know
Arab-Israeli
War
Israels
Views of the Application of IHL to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Civilians,
Illegal Targeting of
Indiscriminate
Attack
Medical
Transports
Medical
Personnel
Property:
Civilian, Destruction of
Related
Links
Amnesty
International Press Conference
Statement of Curt Goering, Deputy Executive Director, Amnesty International
USA
American Colony Hotel Jerusalem March 19, 2002
BTselem
The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied
Territories.
International
Committee of the Red Cross.
LAW
The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights &
the Environment.
Statement
of the UN Secretary General on the Middle East
12 March 2002
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