len had directed me to this last post as a response to something I had written him regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict. There are several problems, although I believe he raises (implicitly) a few worthwhile issues about the current situation, which we had not been directly arguing about.
As regards the original point of our discussion, the laws of war have no bearing on the administration of a territory that is not "occupied", but is under the protection of a particular government due to a mandate from an international body, or which has in effect been subject to annexation, and is in limbo before final disposition. Thus, it has no bearing on British obligations under the Palestinian mandate.
It may have a bearing on Israeli administration of the occupied territories, but I am not sure how far it applies, without further research. First, is Israel a party to the relevant accords? Second, what is the status of territories which have been abandoned by their governments, even if not annexed? (Jordan renounced claims to the West Bank, and Gaza is similarly in limbo). Third, there are no clear guidelines to deal with retaliation against a population that abets terrorists, and where legitimate security concerns can be invoked in taking actions to search and destroy arsenals and deny terrorists safe havens. Fourth,there is no contemplation of exigent circumstances, such as where there are multiple groups attacking from a territory, and no clear line of authority to deal with in disciplining them, or when the terrorists are attacking civilians as "human bombs", in a bid to create as much carnage as possible.
Thanks for your patience as I try to address len's points...... |
