Comment on Hamas condemns US air strikes on Yemen, labels them as war crime
Opinionhaver@feddit.uk 3 days agoYou’re misrepresenting international law pretty severely here. The UN Charter does support the right of peoples to self-determination, and yes, that principle has been reaffirmed in various General Assembly resolutions, especially in the context of decolonization and occupation. But nowhere in the Charter - or in any binding international legal document - does it say it’s lawful to target civilians, including settlers, with indiscriminate weapons.
That claim usually stems from a misreading of UN General Assembly resolutions which acknowledged the right of occupied peoples to resist. But even those non-binding resolutions do not override the Geneva Conventions, which are binding and universally recognized. The Geneva Conventions make it crystal clear: civilians are protected from attack at all times, regardless of their location, nationality, or political status.
Launching unguided rockets into civilian areas is a textbook example of an indiscriminate attack, and it’s a war crime under international humanitarian law. The right to resist occupation doesn’t mean you get to ignore the rules of war.
stink@lemmygrad.ml 3 days ago
Settlers are not civilians.
Opinionhaver@feddit.uk 3 days ago
You’re moving the goalposts. I was clearly talking about civilians inside Israel’s 1948 borders - people Hamas has indiscriminately targeted for years, including with rockets and the October 7th massacre. Shifting the focus to “settlers” is a red herring.
Even then, the claim that settlers aren’t civilians is legally false. Under international law, civilians are anyone not directly participating in hostilities. That includes settlers, however one feels about the legality of the settlements. Civilian protections don’t vanish based on where someone lives.
Targeting civilians - whether in Tel Aviv or an outpost - is a war crime. The right to resist doesn’t override the laws of war. Trying to justify indiscriminate violence by redefining who counts as a civilian isn’t just wrong - it’s morally bankrupt.
stink@lemmygrad.ml 2 days ago
How did they get those 1948 borders exactly???
If I decide your house is mine, is it illegal to evict me because I drafted a paper saying it’s mine?
All settlers are provided weapons, they are not innocent in the matter, your case is also moot considering that they are mandated to join the IOF.
How many settlers run to the west bank, kill livestock, burn trees, and beat people all under IOF protection, even providing them weapons!
Using your logic, it was actually for Rhodesians to get attacked, since they drafted an illegitimate document stating they are a country.
Opinionhaver@feddit.uk 2 days ago
We started with a simple question: has Hamas committed war crimes? I answered with one of the most straightforward examples - targeting civilians inside Israel with unguided rockets. Instead of engaging with that, you’ve dodged into historical grievances, vague accusations, and tried to redefine civilians out of existence. That’s not a discussion - it’s deflection.
Even if you believe Israel was illegitimately founded, that has zero bearing on whether it’s lawful to intentionally attack civilians. Nothing in international law, Marxism, or basic ethics permits that. Squatting on someone’s land doesn’t make it legal to kill their children.
If your position requires denying the civilian status of an entire population and justifying war crimes as resistance, then you’re not debating in good faith - you’re rationalizing atrocities.