Palestinians threaten to sue Israel over settlements

[SherriMunnerlyn]

"Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention defines war crimes as: "Wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including... wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person, compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile power, or wilfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial, ...taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly."This, international lawyers say, is the basic definition of war crimes.The statutes of The Hague tribunal say the court has the right to try suspects alleged to have violated the laws or customs of war in the former Yugoslavia since 1992. Examples of such violations are given in article 3:Wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessityAttack, or bombardment, by whatever means, of undefended towns, villages, dwellings, or buildingsSeizure of, destruction or wilful damage done to institutions dedicated to religion, charity and education, the arts and sciences, historic monuments and works of art and sciencePlunder of public or private property.The tribunal defines crime against humanity as crimes committed in armed conflict but directed against a civilian population. Again a list of examples is given in article

5:MurderExterminationEnslavementDeportationImprisonmentTortureRapePersecutions on political, racial and religious grounds.

BBC NEWS | Europe | What is a war crime?

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

In the area of Occupations, The Fourth Geneva Convention specifically addresses what war crimes are, they are grave violations of the provisions of The Fourth Geneva Convention.

 

[Sweet_Caroline]

Speaking Sunday November 4th, Israel's Minister Yuval Steinitz said “the talks with the Palestinians were conducted according to the parameters that had been agreed upon in advance,” he said. “One of those parameters was that there would be no limit on Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria at all. I was with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu when this issue came up in the pre-negotiations with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who spoke on behalf of the Palestinians, and all agreed to this stipulation,” he said.

“It was clear to everyone that building plans would be announced from time to time,” he added. “Any complaints the Palestinians have about this now are out of place, as their demands violate the understandings that led to the talks.”


Akunis: Arrogant PA Wants to Break Off Talks - Defense/Security - News - Israel National News

 

[Kondor3]

"...You are really showing your Zionist Ignorance here, war crimes are not defined by a dictionary."

I don't know about Zionist ignorance, but I'm quite content to concede that I am largely ignorant of applicable international law and related definitions in this narrow context (war-time vs. non-war-time actions),
even to a lightweight automatic ad hominem colleague-attacker such as yourself.

Nolo contendere. No contest. Entirely true.

I am also quite happy to concede that International Court A or B might very well be able to charge Israel with Crimes Against Humanity in the narrow context of the actions being discussed here.

I merely disagree with the use of the phrase War Crime in its classical and literalist sense...

Rather than submitting to latter-day revisionist thinking on the subject that has not yet been vetted nor guaranteed to retain its utility once that revisionism has been challenged.

You call such actions potential War Crimes.

I call them potential Crimes Against Humanity - committed outside a wartime framework - more like Peace Crimes.

If, indeed, there is actually anything 'criminal' about them at all.

Both War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity can carry equal weight in an international venue.

It's merely a matter of precision, not untested revisionist and selective labeling.

I'm sure that, somewhere, I can find someone at the UN or the Hague to attest that hitting Palestinians in the ass with pellets shot from a Daisy air-rifle BB gun during peacetime also constitutes a 'War Crime'...

But that doesn't make it so.

Fair enough?