Rise of ISIS-A Threat We Can't Ignore by Jay Sekulow

Author:Jay Sekulow
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Politics, Non-Fiction
Publisher: Howard Books
Published: 2014-10-14T05:00:00+00:00

WHO ARE THE REAL WAR

CRIMINALS?

As explained previously, Hamas’s kidnap-

ping and murder of three Israeli teenagers

sparked the latest escalation in the ongoing

war between Israel and Hamas. 220 In re-

sponse to the kidnappings, Israel launched

Operation Brother’s Keeper in the West

Bank, a search-and-rescue mission to find

the missing teens. 221 The Israeli investigation

identified two Hamas operatives as sus-

pects. 222 While Hamas did not at first claim

responsibility for the kidnappings, Hamas

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officials publicly praised the kidnappings

and subsequent murder of the three Israeli

teens as “heroic,” 223 in itself a despicable act.

The kidnappings were followed by rocket

fire.

On June 28, six rockets were launched

from Gaza into Israel.224 In response, Israel

struck twelve targets in Gaza on June 29. 225

On June 30, the bodies of the three Israeli

teens were found. 226 Following the discovery

of the slain Israeli teens, a Hamas spokes-

man warned that if Israeli prime minister

Netanyahu “brings a war on Gaza, the gates

of hell will open to him.” 227 On July 1, Israel

launched 34 air strikes on Gaza in response

to 18 rockets fired at Israel from Gaza.228 On

July 7, Israel Defense Forces announced

from its Twitter account the commencement

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of “Operation Protective Edge in #Gaza

against #Hamas, in order to stop the terror

#Israel’s citizens face on a daily basis.”229

When it comes to the use of force against

or by nation-states, international law is

clear: the threat and the use of force against

a U.N. member state are prohibited. 230 Thus,

every Hamas rocket attack violates interna-

tional law. Every single one.

Article 51 of the U.N. Charter recognizes

“the inherent right of individual or collective

self-defense if an armed attack occurs

against a Member of the United Nations.” 231

It is essential to note that Article 51 does not

create the right of self-defense; it is an inher-

ent right of all states under customary inter-

national law.232 This inherent right of self-de-

fense (and the responsibility for determining

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when self-defense is appropriate) lies, as it

always has, with the government of each

state. Customary international law also re-

cognizes the right of self-defense against

nonstate actors, 233 like the terrorist group

Hamas and its Islamist allies in the Gaza

Strip.

Additionally, when one is acting in self-

defense, international law “does not require

a defender to limit itself to actions that

merely repel an attack; a state may use force

in self-defense to remove a continuing

threat to future security. ” 234 In other words, to use a historical example, when Imperial

Japan attacked the United States on Decem-

ber 7, 1941, our right of self-defense was not

limited to merely shooting back at the planes

attacking Pearl Harbor but included the right

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to declare war on Japan and fight its military

until it surrendered. Hamas’s rocket attacks

give Israel the right—should it choose to ex-

ercise that right—to destroy Hamas.

In addition, the standard for self-defense

does not limit the defender to a totally like-

kind response, but provides the necessary

flexibility to reduce or eliminate the threat.

In other words, the degree of force employed

in self-defense can be considerably greater

than that used in the original armed at-

tack. 235 So, yes, Israel can respond to rockets

with F-16s.

This means that Israel, as a sovereign

state, has the inherent right to defend its ter-

ritory and citizens. It was legally justified in

engaging in the 2014

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