Israeli Ruling To Destroy Rafah Homes Illegal - Experts

"Israel is outright inflicting a genocidal war against the Palestinians," Boyle

By Khaled Mamdouh, IOL Staff

CAIRO, May 17 (IslamOnline.net) - The Israeli Supreme Court's rejection of a Palestinian appeal against the occupation army's plan to destroy hundreds more homes in Rafah is not only illegal, but also a repeated condoning of war crimes against the Palestinians, according to law experts Monday, May 17.

"There is a long history of the Israeli Supreme Court's rulings that condone and encourage the illegal practices of the Israeli occupation army against the Palestinians. The ruling concerning the Rafah demolitions is just a reminder of how the so-called Israeli justice works," Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the College of Law, University of Illinois, told IslamOnline.net over the phone.

"These outrageous demolitions (in Rafah) are not just a war crime, but also a crime against humanity which the International Court of Justice should be acting to stop immediately.

"Israel is outright inflicting a genocidal war against the Palestinians and everyone must do their best to try to save them. I personally would not hesitate to sue Israel before the International Court of Justice if authorized," the American law professor said.

"I appeal to the elected President of the Palestinian people, Yasser Arafat, to give me the authority to sue Israel," said Boyle, who obtained his PhD in political science specializing in international relations and international politics from Harvard University in 1983.

Plea To Sue Israel

Citing what he termed as a "hard political situation" that may prevent Arafat from giving him the necessary authorization to sue Israel Boyle made an impassioned plea, through IOL, to the leaders and governments of the Arab and Islamic worlds.

"I would also appeal to the government in any Muslim state, in the name of God, the Most Passionate, Most Merciful, to give me the authority to sue Israel over crimes committed against the Palestinian people. I swear I will do the job."

Boyle, who is also a political and human rights activist, urged action to "save the people of Palestinian from the genocidal war launched against them by Israel."

On Sunday, May 16, judges of the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the occupation military bulldozers could continue their demolitions , which it said have been carried out for "justifiable operational reasons" and were not a form of collective punishment.

Rafah residents were seeking a freeze to the demolition campaign, which according to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), has already left more than 1,000 Rafah residents homeless since late last week.

Since the outbreak of the Intifada in September 2000, UNRWA statistics show more than 11,000 people have been made homeless by Israeli house demolitions in Rafah.

Illegal

"Even though I have not studied the ruling thoroughly yet, the land on which the homes to be destroyed are occupied by Israel in violation of dozens U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding the Jewish state to withdraw and turn these lands back to the Palestinians," Ben Clarke, senior lecturer at the College of Law, University of Notre Dame, Australia, told IOL over the phone.

Based on this very simple legal reasoning, such ruling should be null and void, according to the law expert.

Refusing to extend a stay sought by a Palestinian rights group, the Israeli court appeared to set broad terms for bulldozing homes in the Philadelphi buffer zone, saying the occupation army could destroy houses for operational purposes or to protect soldiers, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"The Court apparently based its ruling on the fact that such homes constitute a danger to its army. However, Israel here has only itself to blame for such a dangerous situation. Had Israel abided by international laws and resolutions, such dangerous situations would have never occurred," he added.

“Collective Reprisal”

Asked whether mass demolition of homes constituted "collective punishment" measures, Clarke agreed saying such practices amount to "collective reprisal" which is legally condemned by both international and human rights law.

The Australian law lecturer who teaches International Law, Human Rights Law, and Criminal Law, insisted that the only way out of the current violent situation lies actually with the United States.

"Washington should condition its aide to Israel on the Jewish state's respect of international resolutions, allowing, as a first step, U.N. policing forces to deploy on the ground, withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the Palestinian territories and setting the scene for the preparation of the establishment of a Palestinian state.

"The mass gathering of Israelis over the weekend demonstrates that there is considerable support for such a withdrawal. Given this momentum, the opportunity should not be missed.

"Once such steps are taken, there will be no justification for terrorist attacks on Israelis or the continuous suffering of the Palestinians," he added.

Clarke, however, said that by "terrorist attacks", he referred to those targeting civilians on both sides, insisting that the only way for solving such a bloody standoff was that the international community, led by the United States, should start shifting pressure to the Israeli side.

“International pressure is needed to prevent both sides from perpetuating violations of international law through the targeting of non combatants".

Israel's policy of house demolitions has drawn condemnation from the United Nations, the Palestinian Authority, Arab countries, and even its staunchest ally, the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States opposed the demolition of homes in the Rafah refugee camp and urged an end to what he termed "the cycle of violence."