Are Israel and Hamas guilty of War Crimes?


Amnesty International believes both Hamas and Israel are guilty:

Amnesty International has called on the United Nations to impose an arms embargo on Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.

In a new report, the human rights group accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes in last month’s conflict, and says both parties used weapons sourced from overseas in attacks on civilians.

AI singled out indiscriminate Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel as well as Israel’s use of white phosphorous in densely populated areas, which is prohibited under international law.

Israel receives three billion dollars a year in US military aid, more than any other country. Hamas is believed to get military backing from Iran.

Is it possible to wage a war of death without creating some sort of human misfortune?

Where is the bright line drawn between “War Crime” and “Necessary Deed” in order to secure a border and protect a people?

4 Comments

  1. ANNE – I live and teach on the upper West Coast of the United States. My interests are Philosophy, English, and Social Communication.
    ANNE says:

    We dropped the bomb and blew up the world in Japan. I’m not sure there’s any War Crime worse than that, David.

  2. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    Ouch! That’s a hard, but true, point, Anne. There are War Crimes and then there’s blowing up an entire people. Some comparisons pale in the study.

  4. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    In the case of Israel, Gordon, it seems “white phosphorous” was illegally used in areas with non-combatants. Is it fair to punish a civilian for the actions of a soldier?
    Should the military be allowed to hide in churches and mosques for protection with the civilian population?

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