Commentary

Collective Punishment and the Israeli Occupation

During the Second World War, the Nazis became notorious for their use of collective punishment to try and defeat their enemy. One of the most infamous incidents was the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto which the Nazis undertook in retaliation for acts of resistence led by the Jewish underground fighters. First there were random executions. Then, anybody who lived in the same street or worked in the same office as a captured resistence fighter was put to death. Finally, following a sustained campaign of heroic resistence, the entire Warsaw Ghetto was burned to the ground.

In recognition of this and other well-documented Nazi, the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War was adopted in August 1949. This outlined the responsibilities of occupying powers and specifically prohibits collective punishment.

Article 3 of the Geneva Convention states: "In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) Taking of hostages;

(c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;

(d) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

2. The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for."

Article 33 of the Geneva Convention states: "No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited. Pillage is prohibited. Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited."

Besides violating other tenets of international law and committing war crimes against the Palestinian people, Israel continues to subvert the Geneva Convention through its widespread use of collective punishment. Well-documented incidents include: wide scale demolition of houses; firing rubber bullets or live ammunition into crowds because some demonstrators are throwing stones which has resulted in the death or grave injury of hundreds of Palestinians, mainly children and youth; the establishment of checkpoints at which all Palestinians are submitted to humiliating and degrading treatment under the pretext of denying suicide bombers entry into Israel; ... the list goes on.

The following are just a few of the most recent instances:- In May the Israeli High Court of Justice rejected a petition by Gaza residents which asked the court to prevent the demolition of their homes by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). The petition also called for a full inquiry into the demolition of three homes in one neighbourhood. Instead of upholding international law, the High Court justices asked for a commitment by the commander of forces in Gaza to only demolish homes with prior notice given to the owners. However, the justices also stipulated that this most minimal of requirements will not apply when "operational needs require immediate demolition".

- In the Jenin refugee camp scores of civilians were killed when the IDF shelled or bulldozed homes with residents trapped inside. Many residents fleeing the shelling or seeking medical treatment were shot by Israeli snipers and left to die in the street without medical attention. Ambulances and medics were refused entry to the area for several days after the fighting ended. There were also reports of IDF soldiers using women and children as human shields while entering buildings. Despite official claims that no massacre took place in Jenin, some human rights groups state that this is strictly a political coverup and that under most accepted definitions the number of civilian deaths in Jenin acknowledged by the Israeli government would be labelled a massacre.

- Entering the West Bank city of Nablus on May 31 as part of a hunt for militants, IDF forces rounded up hundreds of Palestinian men and imposed a curfew on the entire city. While the IDF claimed all men detained were suspected of terror activities, no charges have been laid against any of them. The IDF is infamous for its policy of arresting as many Palestinians as possible and only releasing them when their innocence can be proven, in violation of both international and Israeli law.