Responsibility

Submitted by Dan Fendel (United States), Apr 12, 2005 at 23:01

Although the option of giving Israelis in Gaza the option to "decide their own future" seems reasonable on its face (and may ultimately be the best option), a nation also has a responsibility for its citizens abroad, and must take into account how the fate of those citizens may affect national interests.

If some Israelis were to choose to stay in Gaza, without the protection of the IDF, there is certainly a good chance that they would be in danger. If Israeli citizens in Gaza were killed, what would be Israel's responsibility to take action in response? Doesn't Israel have the right to take such responsibility into account in addressing the future of its citizens in Gaza?

This makes the situation analogous to the case where a nation orders the evacuation of its citizens, such as diplomatic personnel, when political instability in a foreign country makes the situation dangerous. I don't know the details of how this works, but my impression is that such evacuation is not necessarily voluntary.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".