Ignorance of international law is no excuse. Nor is taking laws out of context.

Submitted by DrRJP (United States), May 24, 2008 at 10:16

Since 1948, Israel has been the target of four major wars of extermination declared and waged by Arab states against it, has also been the target of two major intifadas, and unrelenting terrorist attacks by the NGO surrogates of Arab Nations. In short, in every conflict, Israel has been on the defensive.

Only a handful of people responding on this website have a clear understanding of International Law, the Law of Nations, and the Geneva Convention. Many have chosen either to deliberately ignore them, to make inaccurate and obscure references to them, or to parrot what someone else has said.

Here are the relevant aspects of these laws and how they affect the veracity of claims against Israel.

#1 - A country or nation that is fighting a defensive war, and that captures territory from the Belligerrent nation that attacked it, IS NOT OBLIGED IN ANY WAY TO RETURN THAT TERRITORY.

#2 - In the absence of any formal peace treaty, the nation that was attacked and that captured land in a defensive war, MAY LEGALLY ANNEX THAT TERRITORY.

#3 - In 1948, Egypt and Jordan ILLEGALLY CAPTURED, OCCUPIED, AND ANNEXED Gaza and the West Bank, respectively. BOTH Gaza and the West Bank were subsequently CEDED TO ISRAEL as part of several, formal peace treaties between these countries.

#4 - On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 242, establishing the principles that were to guide the negotiations for an Arab-Israeli peace settlement. The "the "inadmissability of the acquisition of territory by war" clause pertains to OFFENSIVE WARS ONLY! The resolution does not make Israeli withdrawal a prerequisite for Arab action. Moreover, it does not specify how much territory Israel is required to give up. T

#5 - GAZA and the WEST BANK are "disputed territories," not "occupied territories." They were "occupied teritories" prior to 1967 -- illegally occupied by Egypt and Jordan.

#6 - The Palestinians are not mentioned anywhere in Resolution 242. Nowhere does it require that Palestinians be given any political rights or territory. In fact, the resolution acknowledges that two refugee problems were products of Arab aggression. More Jewish refugees fled Arab countries than "PalestinianArab" refugees left Israel. Jews, however, were never compensated by the Arab states, nor were any UN organizations ever established to help them.

#7 - In a statement to the General Assembly October 15, 1968, the PLO, rejecting Resolution 242, said "the implementation of said resolution will lead to the loss of every hope for the establishment of peace and security in Palestine and the Middle East region."

#8 - UN Resolutions made by the General Assembly carry no weight whatsoever. Even a cursory glance at them reveals how one-sided they all are.

#9 -Israel is the only country or NGO in the Middle East to comply with all resolutions made by the UN Security Council, which are legally binding. countries like Syria, Libya, Iraq, and Iran, and NGO's like the PLO/Fatah, Hamas, and Hezboillah have never complied with any of the major provisions of any Security Council resolution, and, if they initially had, they have subsequently violated them shortly after their passage.

#10 - The Geneva Convention has very clear and strict definitions, and guidelines of what it considers to be "an occupying force," and its responsibilities to the people and territories it occupies. According to these definitions and guidelines, Israel, throughout its 60-year existence, HAS NEVER BEEN an "occupying force" in any part of the globe.

#10 - The Geneva Convention, and other international laws regulating conduct during warfare, makes clear distinctions of what is, or is not a "war crime." Using human shields is a war crime. Conducting warfare from population centers is a war crime. Engaging in perfidy, such as having armed militants dressed as civilians, having armed militants dressed in the uniforms of their opponents, using fake surrenders as a pretext to attack, is a war crime. Deliberately firing upon civilians, or deliberately directing fire towards civilian centers in an effort to produce civilian casualties, is a war crime.

If one were to add up all of these actions committed by Hezbollah and Hamas since 2006 alone, the number of clearly defined war crimes that they committed against Israel would exceed 100,000 separate instances.

Memo to David Letterman:

Here are the TOP TEN REASONS WHY ISRAEL'S NEIGHBORS WILL NEVER MAKE PEACE WITH IT.

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