International law, my tuches
The JPost publishes the pontifications of one Dr. Daphne Richmond-Barak on the 'international law' implications of IDF troops opening fire on invading Syrians on Sunday. The breach of the Israeli border by Syrian protesters was an unprecedented act in modern history and a clear violation of Israeli sovereignty as determined by article 51 of the UN Charter, an international law expert said on Sunday.Please tell me this woman isn't representing us in any international forum. How the heck is the IDF supposed to know who is coming over a hostile border at them, whether they are armed or unarmed, who might have allowed or ordered them to cross the border and what their intentions might be? Are the troops supposed to try to arrest them and take them in for questioning before deciding to open fire? What if a few of them are suicide bombers - do we have to question them first too? Are we supposed to wait to see the whites of their eyes to try to make a determination as to their intent? And then will we Goldstone the IDF to examine their actions with 20-20 hindsight?
At the same time, Dr. Daphne Richmond-Barak from the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, said that firing on civilians was also a breach of international law, and that once the details of the event were made clear, Israel would have to explain its actions.
“Most of the details surrounding the shooting are not yet known. Important considerations are whether the protesters were armed or not, whether they were an organized association of a paramilitary nature, whether the soldiers who fired felt they were in immediate danger and shot out of self-defense, and a series of other possibilities that are too vague to judge,” said Richmond-Barak.
While there were legal questions to be considered, the most urgent concern was a deterioration of the relations between the countries, she added.
“We must remember the current situation in Syria, where there is an absence of law and order because of the popular uprising against [President Bashar] Assad. It is conceivable that the guards who were supposed to man the border on the Syrian side were not at their posts because of the uprising,” she said.
The uncertainty in Syria could be a mitigating factor in allowing the soldiers to shoot at the protesters, Richmond-Barak, but she stressed that it was completely illegal for anyone to order the firing on unarmed civilians. Other factors that need to be considered are the number of people who tried to cross the border and the manner in which they did so.
Absurd. Completely, totally and utterly absurd. These people are living in a laboratory and they need a lobotomy.
Labels: Daphne Richmond-Barak, Naqba day, Syrian border breach
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:29 AM
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