1) Mathilde Boussion (Johannesburg correspondent), “Lavrov visits South Africa: Pretoria defends military drills with Russia, China; South African authorities recently confirmed joint military drills with…
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UPDATE August 24, 2021 See, Ricard González (Túnes), “El presidente de Túnez prolonga indefinidamente sus plenos poderes; La decisión llega un mes después de la…
Hamas has been firing rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip in violation of international law. Specifically, it has been violating the prohibition of the use of force contained in article 2 paragraph 4 of the United Nations Charter. This prohibition is contained in a norm of jus cogens or peremptory law, from which there can be no derogation by agreement.
Israel has the right of self-defense against an armed attack in accordance with Article 51 if the U.N. Charter and general international law.
However, the exercise of this right is subject to two conditions:
First, the use of force in self-defense must be necessary to stop the armed attack to which the country is being subjected. Here, that means the force used must be aimed at stopping the armed attack, and rationally related to that objective.
Second, the use of force by Israel must be proportional to the threat posed by the armed attack by Hamas.
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Regardless of whether or not Israel can sustain its argument under international law, as interpreted by impartial experts, that its use of force against Gaza is a necessary and proportionate response to Hamas’ rocket attacks against Israel, Israel is legally obligated to comply with international humanitarian law (the laws of war).
International humanitarian Law prohibits the targeting of civilians, including news agencies. The Israeli military gave residents of a residential building in which the Associated Press and Al Jazeera had their offices one hour to evacuate the building before it was bombed.
This warning constituted undeniable evidence that this residential building, filled with civilian residents and workers, was deliberately targeted.
Consequently, the bombing of this building would appear to constitute an egregious war crime by Israel. Bombings of other civilian targets also represent presumptive war crimes.
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The United States should not veto any Security Council resolutions necessary to take these steps.
The steps suggested above would lead back to the path of international law and a cessation of hostilities.
The alternative is a continuation of the the illegal actions we have witnessed in recent days, and a progression toward a wider war.
First, because it is occupied territory it is far from clear that the U.S. extradition treaty with Israel would be held to apply. In any event, if an extradition request were made to Israel, the treaty’s dubious applicability to the occupied territories would offer Trump and his co-conspirators ample opportunity for litigation and delay–and, if need be, escape.
Second, if Trump becomes the object of an extradition request, or an INTERPOL “red ticket” for his arrest, should his West Bank settlement refuge become risky, he can always slip over the border into Saudi Arabia.
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If Saudi Arabia represents a strong and secure fall-back location for Trump and his co-conspirators, the West Bank represents a huge potential for real-estate and other developments by Trump and his minions.
One can easily imagine one or more West Bank Trump Tower and Golf Resorts in the West Bank. The weather is ideal during the winter months in Europe, which is a relatively short plane ride away (six or seven hours from Paris).
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But it is time to act. The clock is ticking.
Originally published on January 16, 2016 Today is Martin Luther King day in the United States, a national holiday. It is a good moment to…
Siehe / See: Alfred Hackensberger, “CHALIFA HAFTAR: Der unbeirrbare General,” Die Welt, 17 Januar 2020. Alfred Hackensberger provides in Die Welt a very sharp and…
The Second Coming (published 1921) Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;…
Since the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the foundational writings of Hugo Grotius, nations have paid attention to international law in…
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What is going on in the world? For two years Americans have been lost in an obsessive fixation on their lying president, the investigations into…
Originally Posted By: The Observer January 18, 2016 Today is Martin Luther King day in the United States, a national holiday. It is a good…
Extraordinary details regarding the composition of pro-government forces supporting Bashar al-Assad and their advances in Aleppo are contained in the following article published in Le…
