Israel Warned That Deporting Families Is A War Crime

Independent (UK) ^ | 7-20-2002 | Justin Huggler

[blam]

Israel warned that deporting families is a war crime

Human rights groups monitor army after homes belonging to the relatives of alleged Palestinian attackers are destroyed

By Justin Huggler in Jerusalem
20 July 2002

Human rights groups warned yesterday plans by the Israeli army to deport the relatives of two Palestinian men accused of being behind this week's militant attacks could be a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.

Israeli soldiers demolished the homes of two suspected Palestinian militants overnight, and took at least 16 of the two men's male relatives into custody.

Officials said the army was considering deporting some or all of those detained from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, as a deterrent to other militants - a plan that came in for rare criticism from the US government yesterday.

Israeli troops raided Askar refugee camp near Nablus, according to witnesses. They said soldiers blew up the home of Ali Ajouri, a commander in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Israeli officials accused Mr Ajouri of being behind Wednesday's double suicide bombing in Tel Aviv in which three people died, as well as the bombers.

The soldiers detained several of Mr Ajouri's male relatives. Among them, according to witnesses, was 72-year-old Mohammad Ajouri. The Israeli army closed the area to reporters yesterday.

The army also destroyed the home of Nasser abu Asida, an alleged Hamas militant, and arrested several of his male relatives. Israeli officials accused Mr abu Asida of planning Tuesday's bus ambush in which nine people died.

The two attacks came as a blow to Israelis after more than three weeks of calm. The Israeli army has reoccupied all but one large West Bank town and placed them under almost constant curfew, but the militants still slipped through, and the Israeli authorities have been desperately searching for a new response.

Demolishing militants' houses - also a breach of the Geneva Conventions, according to human rights organisations ( but not a war crime) - has been going on for some time, but this would be the first time relatives of suspected militants have been deported in the current intifada. Officials said deportations would not go ahead until the attorney-general, Elyakim Rubenstein, approved them as legal.

"Family members will be interrogated and whoever was connected to the attack, for example knew about it beforehand, would be considered an accomplice," an Israeli security source said. "Anyone who was directly involved in planning an attack would be put in jail, but anyone with only a linkage could be punished and deported."

Both international and Israeli human rights organisations said deporting relatives of militants would be a breach of international law. Neil Durkin, a spokesman for Amnesty International, said: This is a form of collective punishment. If these people have committed no crime then deporting them would be a breach of the Geneva Conventions.

Miranda Sissons, of Human Rights Watch, said: "Collective punishment is outlawed under the fourth Geneva convention. It is a fundamental principle of all legal systems that someone who committed a crime is individually responsible for it. People who weren't responsible for a crime can't be punished. Secondly, there is a question whether deporting people to Gaza counts as forced transfer of people against their will. If it does, that is a war crime."

B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation said: "A state engaging in such collective punishment, even in response to murderous attacks against its own innocent civilians, loses moral justification for its action. The punishment of innocent persons will constitute an unerasable moral blight on the State of Israel."

A US State Department spokesman said: "We expect that Israel's actions in its campaign against terror will be based on information related to an individual's culpability and not on personal or family relationships. We think that taking punitive actions against innocent people will not solve Israel's security problems and we will be raising that issue with the Israelis."

Shimon Peres, a leading moderate in Israel, said he would support deportations if they were declared legal.

The militant group Hamas threatened more suicide bombings if the army went ahead with deportations.

[zandtar]

A US State Department spokesman said: "We expect that Israel's actions in its campaign against terror will be based on information related to an individual's culpability and not on personal or family relationships. We think that taking punitive actions against innocent people will not solve Israel's security problems and we will be raising that issue with the Israelis."

So, if an Al-Qaeda leader was holed up in a cave with his family and other Al-Qaeda members, shooting at US troops, we wouldn't bomb the hell out of that cave, instead wait for them to come out individually?

[goldstategop]

On the other hand committing mass murder and genocide upon Jews is NOT a war crime. Its so refreshing to see exactly what the so called human rights organizations DO consider a major human rights violation: protecting oneself against those who assist, aid, and abet homocide bombers. Now that's being progressive!

[etcetera]

Let me get this straight. The Israelis have to abide by the Geneva Conventions because Israel has signed them, but the Arab terrorists don't have to because they didn't sign?

Or did I missed the part where the "human rights groups" have warned the Arabs that the bus bombing/shooting was outright murder and not a military action?

[goldstategop]

I don't think Dick Boucher would utter that errant nonsense if his entire family were wiped out by a homocide bomber and he learned the family of the homocide bomber considered him a hero and praised his deed and admitted they helped him to reach his target. At times like this, the State Department spokesman can be a total idiot. He should be glad Israel is trying to wipe the phenomenon out for if God forbid it succeeds, you don't want to imagine what it would be like here if it spread to our shores.

[Joe Boucher]

What is this, U.N. or U.S. State Department B.S.? Either way the Jews in Israel shouldn't expell the relatives of the murdering suicide scum, they should hang the family garbbage from a light pole like the Italians did to Mouselini. And leave them hanging to warn the palestinians.

As for the U.N. and the U.S. State Dept. They both should be destroyed.

[goldstategop]

Excellent point! I haven't seen the human rights watchdogs even ONCE censure the PLO for NOT abiding by the Geneva Convention during the Oslo War. And they make a fetish about Israel's not handcuffing herself with Marquis of Queensberry rules when her own citizens are being blown up on their busses and in the streets. No,you haven't missed anything. The bias of the so called human rights activists is there for all to see.

[Jhoffa_]

Calling the ICC! War criminals are afoot! sickem!

Oh, but leave the terrorists alone.. because (and this is true) "terrorism" IS NOT a war crime as far as the ICC is concerned.

[Jhoffa_]

...

[dennisw]

Both international and Israeli human rights organisations said deporting relatives of militants would be a breach of international law. Neil Durkin, a spokesman for Amnesty International, said: This is a form of collective punishment. If these people have committed no crime then deporting them would be a breach of the Geneva Conventions.
______________________________________

Friggin' deport 'em. To Jupiter for all I care. When Abdul kills Israelis his relatives get deported ... not killed. They get to live. More than they deserve really.

[Hugin]

Ok, so deporting a terrorist's family is a ware crime, but bombing a city flat is not. No problem, just start carpet bombing the nearest Arab village after each attack.

[dennisw]

Deprort them to Chiapas. Same place Mexicans should be deported to. It's all about the invasive 3rd world and it's all about Jihad. It's all about the explosive birthrates of Muslims and the 3rd world.

[stumpy]

No, carpet bomb the village or camp that the murdering terrorist came from. Then the neighbors will quit congratulating the families that raised these murderers.

[William Terrell]

The Geneva Conventions are like Murphy's Laws. Everybody quotes them but nobody follows them. The only place they find any use is for propaganda pieces written for people with no distance between eyebrow and hairline by writers with the same facial profile.

[2sheep]

Israel should not bow to "Human rights" groups, the U.N. or anyone other than G~d!  The kindest approach would be the export them, a more reasonable one would be to imprison the relatives as co-conspirators and accomplices.  The Palestinians can consider their martyring-murdering ways as prisoners of the war they started. 

[Cachelot]

No, carpet bomb the village or camp that the murdering terrorist came from

Well, that would make sense. Also carpet-bombing Saudi-Arabia would be good. Not for the Saudis, of course, but I would like it.

[Jhoffa_]

I am very concered that by not delivering a firm, solid blow to the ICC that we may be on the road to seeing not just sabre rattling and threats.. But trials, reperations, occoupations and executions.

[Jhoffa_]

Will it be shag or indoor/outdoor?

[blam]

"But trials, reperations, occoupations and executions."

If you're 40 or below, you're likely to see much of this.

[dalereed]

It's pretty tough to charge a palistinian terrorist that commits a bombing with a war crime since they are all dead.