Weekly Commentary: Terror gang or state in the making? Blanket prisoner
release demand inconsistent

Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 6 August 2009

The Fatah General Assembly being held in Bethlehem unanimously adopted a
resolution today demanding the release of all Palestinians being held in
Israeli prisons while at the same time asserting that all Palestinians being
held by Israel have the status of “prisoners of war and combatants” subject
to the Geneva Convention “as they are not terrorists or criminals.”

Here’s the problem:

The moment that the Palestinians argue that each and every terrorist now
being held by Israel should be subject to the international conventions that
apply to combatant they cannot also insist on a blanket release of all
Palestinians now being held by Israel.

International conventions set restrictions of what combatants can and cannot
do. And there are many Palestinian terrorists serving time in Israeli
prisons for actions that constituted gross violations of those international
rules of combat.

If these terrorists are “combatants” then they are also “war criminals”.

And war criminals don’t win a “get out of jail” card just because the war
they “fought” in is over.

Fatah has to decide what they are.

As a terrorist movement they can certainly argue that any and every
terrorist attack is legitimate in their eyes and thus those who carry them
out deserve praise as heroes and immediate release from captivity.

But if Fatah instead sees itself as the advance guard of a Palestinian state
in the making then they must not only acknowledge that there are limits and
restrictions that apply to the activities of “combatants” and that
“combatants” who violate these restrictions must be punished.

...
Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il