Israel Violates Geneva Convention

In an editorial in The Nation magazine today Professor Richard Falk, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories writes of specific violations of the Geneva Convention perpetrated by Israel on the population of Gaza. These include:

Collective punishment – the entire 1.5 million people who live in the crowded Gaza Strip are being punished for the actions of a few militants.

Targeting civilians – the airstrikes were aimed at civilian areas in one of the most crowded stretches of land in the world, certainly the most densely populated area of the Middle East.

Disproportionate military response – the airstrikes have not only destroyed every police and security office of Gaza's elected government, but have killed and injured hundreds of civilians; at least one strike reportedly hit groups of students attempting to find transportation home from the university.

And the US government says NOTHING? Granted the missiles launched by Hamas acted as the catalyst for the attacks, but the overwhelming disproportionate response is the problem. Read the editorial and if you are not familiar with what is happeining, check this story.

Israel's Defense Minister has promised "war to the bitter end". Does he mean until all the palistinians are wiped from the face of the earth? I believe we call that genocide!

I am sure I will receive lots of flames regarding this, but it's time we really look at our relationship with Israel and how their government is treating this situation.