Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Israel has a right to defend itself, and judging its security decisions from a distance is “very difficult”, as Israel’s government vows to cut off food and water to the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Israel has a right to defend itself, and judging its security decisions from a distance is “very difficult”, as Israel’s government vows to cut off food and water to the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Well, looking at the Geneva convention and Article 8 “War Crimes” of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, “Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions.”
And one committing a crime doesn’t allow the other to do the same. So either get pissed at both sides for war crimes or get pissed at none. But trying to excuse war crimes for one side in a war is a disgustingly hypocritical thing to do.
Yeah, not many people are taking that step.
I tend to think of it this way, personally: stealing is wrong, but it’s more acceptable to steal when you’re poor than when you’re rich. Both sides are committing attrocities, but one does so to opress while the other to liberate themselves from opression. I will acknowledge that my understanding of the conflict is very limited though, so this might be oversimplified or outright incorrect.