Hands Off Cain
NEWS ARCHIVE·DEATH PENALTY·DECEMBER 5, 2001
Israel

The European Union's 15 member states were among 114...

The European Union's 15 member states were among 114 countries that agreed an unprecedented declaration reaffirming the illegality of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories and calling on Israel to respect international humanitarian law

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The European Union's 15 member states were among 114 countries that agreed an unprecedented declaration reaffirming the illegality of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories and calling on Israel to respect international humanitarian law.
The declaration on the Geneva convention urged Israel to "immediately refrain from committing grave breaches of the convention", which count as war crimes in international law, including summary executions and wanton destruction of property. However, it stopped short of directly accusing Israel of war crimes.
The declaration concluded a conference convened by Switzerland - the depository state for the Geneva conventions - to consider compliance with the fourth convention governing the treatment of civilians in occupied lands. Of the 189 signatory states, Israel, the US and Australia, did not attend the conference arguing it was an unhelpful politicisation of humanitarian principles.
Israel claims that the fourth Geneva convention does not apply to the occupied territories because the land is not occupied but in dispute.
Mary Robinson, United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said "neither the Israeli policy of targeted assassination of Palestinian civilians nor Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians can be reconciled with provisions of international humanitarian law".
SOURCES
  • (Sources: Financial Times, 06/12/2001)