Will the Turkel Commission Report help Israel make its case to the world? If the Palmer Commission endorses its fundamental findings, that the occupation is over and the blockade is necessary, proportionate and legal, Israel’s actions enforcing it will be vindicated in the eyes of many. However, if the Palmer Commission finds that the occupation continues despite the absence of Israeli troops on the ground, and that the blockade is therefore illegal, efforts to enforce it would likely also be declared illegal, and so Israel would be seen as having no right to interdict ships in international waters and no right to use force in defense of its troops engaged in that interdiction.
But the ramifications could go far beyond the Israel/Hamas conflict. If Israel is condemned in the international arena, the nations of the world may have to deal with a situation in which international law makes it very difficult to blockade weapons-smuggling into territory dominated by non-state military combatants anywhere.
READ MORE: http://bit.ly/1pLrCHU
From the Turkel Report to the Palmer Commission
Will the Turkel Commission Report help Israel make its case to the world? If the Palmer Commission endorses its fundamental findings, that the occupation is over and the blockade is necessary, proportionate and legal, Israel’s actions enforcing it will be vindicated in the eyes of many. However, if the Palmer Commission finds that the occupation continues despite the absence of Israeli troops on the ground, and that the blockade is therefore illegal, efforts to enforce it would likely also be declared illegal, and so Israel would be seen as having no right to interdict ships in international waters and no right to use force in defense of its troops engaged in that interdiction.
But the ramifications could go far beyond the Israel/Hamas conflict. If Israel is condemned in the international arena, the nations of the world may have to deal with a situation in which international law makes it very difficult to blockade weapons-smuggling into territory dominated by non-state military combatants anywhere.
READ MORE: http://bit.ly/1pLrCHU
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Edward Rettig