Civilian deaths are indefensible

Re:The way of terror and the response

Alan Baker, the Israeli ambassador to Canada, finds
that "no reasonable people can be expected to suffer
constant, daily barrages of missiles and the deliberate
murder of its civilians without the right to defend itself."

Does he think that the daily sonic booms and far-deadlier
attacks by Apache gunships, Merkava tanks,
naval vessels and F-16 fighter jets are not
"indiscriminate," do not "terrorize a civilian population"
and are "not merely illegal and immoral, but ... a violation
of the most basic norms and principles of international law"?
Does he think they do not constitute "a war crime of the
first dimension, going against all accepted norms of civilization"?

The current high ratio of Palestinian to Israeli deaths belies
the mantra that Israel doesn't target civilians. Israel does
target civilians and civilian infrastructure. How else could one
explain the deaths of so many children, and the destruction
of hospitals, schools and homes?

"Defending itself" does not release Israel from its obligation
to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to
civilians and civilian property during military operations.
Israel has been acting outside the rule of law with impunity
for far too long. The illegal occupation of Arab lands, targeted
assassinations – effectively acting as prosecutor, judge and
jury in a secret process where the death sentence can't be
appealed – and collective punishment are all violations of
international and humanitarian law. It is ironic that Baker
invokes the importance of international law for Palestinians,
while seemingly putting Israel high above it.

Civilian deaths, be they Israeli or Palestinian, must be
condemned with the same vigour; human beings must be
treated equally in death as in life. This is the only way to
maintain our humanity and that of the victims, and to
ensure that a just peace can be achieved.

Bahija Réghaï, President,
National Council on Canada-Arab Relations,

Ottawa