|
Pager attacks ‘violated international law’ |
|
The detonation of thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, which killed 32 people and is believed to have been carried out by Israel, could constitute a war crime. That’s the opinion of United Nations legal experts led by Sydney University law professor Ben Saul, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism. They have labelled the incident “a terrifying violation of international law”, noting that there was no indication the victims posed an imminent threat to anyone. “Launching indiscriminate attacks is a war crime under international law.” |
|
It comes as Bulgaria and Norway became new focal points of a global hunt for who supplied Hezbollah with the sabotaged pagers, while the militant group’s leader vowed to keep launching rockets into Israel despite the deadly attack. Two days of back-to-back simultaneous explosions in Lebanon – beginning with rudimentary pagers bought by Hezbollah to circumvent Israeli surveillance and followed by walkie-talkie devices – led to 32 deaths and at least 3450 injuries, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Two children, including a nine-year-old girl, died in the attacks. |
|
Israel was not specifically named in the UN experts’ statement, which called for an independent investigation “to establish the truth and enable accountability”. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the attacks, but multiple defence and intelligence officials have said they believe Israel was behind them. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared the start of a “new phase” of his country’s war with Hamas as “the centre of gravity shifts to the north”, referencing Hezbollah in Lebanon. Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-executive chair Alex Ryvchin said that after Hezbollah launched rocket attacks against Israel for almost a year, “Israel has every right to target the operatives of a terrorist organisation.” Photo: Bilal Hussein/AP |
|
Israel has every right under international law to target the operatives of a violent militant organisation that is daily attacking Israel.
ReplyDeleteNo different from hitting Hezbollah network of radio transmitters.
Sydney University law professor Kangkung idiot Ben Saul was completely silent about Lebanon being used as launching platform to attack Israel.
ReplyDeleteIsrael has a right to defend itself.