State of exception

Israel operates above law and in contempt of morality because massive US support has rendered it an exception to all international norms, writes Ibrahim Nafie

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Israeli occupation forces last week killed a Palestinian family on a Gaza beach. Dozens of international and local human rights groups denounced the crime, calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. In a damage limitation tactic, the Israeli army formed an investigation committee that absolved the army of all blame. Shocked by the outcome, Meretz-Yachad member of the Knesset Zahava Gal-On demanded an independent international investigation, pointing to contradictions between the army's story and information collected by Human Rights Watch about the case. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert brushed aside her demand, saying that he would never agree to an international investigation.

Only one member of the family survived, Hoda, a child. Scenes of Hoda crying near the bodies of her family reminded viewers of a Vietnamese girl once photographed running on an asphalt road, escaping a napalm attack. The family wasn't close to rocket launchers. The family wasn't passing by a military target. And yet the Israeli army offered nothing but vague explanations.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan doubted the Israeli story of the incident. And yet, he did not order the formation of an international committee to investigate the case. That's odd, considering how often the UN secretary-general reminds Third World leaders of the need to respect human rights and international humanitarian law. The secretary-general is of the view that the international community should meet any violation of human rights with stern action. True enough, African and Asian war criminals are being hunted down. Trials are being held for the war criminals of Rwanda and former Yugoslavia. The International Criminal Court has been created specifically for that purpose. So one wonders, why is it that Israel, and Israel alone, remains above the law? Why is no international body demanding that Israeli officials be placed on trial?

The answer is simple. The US sees Israel as a country above law. Israel has violated the UN Charter by holding on to occupied territories. Israel is changing the demographic composition of the land it occupies. Israel refuses to implement UN decisions. It ignores the rulings of the International Court of Justice. Israel owns nuclear arms, and is not even under pressure to join the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

Israeli officials feel that they're immune. That's why Israel is committing crimes of war. This is why we have tension and instability in this region. And, if I may add, this is why US policy is so hated in this region. American political scientists Steven Walt and John Mearsheimer have reached that same conclusion in their brilliant study of the Israeli lobby and US foreign policy.

Arab governments prefer not to act for pragmatic reasons. But Arab civil society organisations, especially those active in human rights, can and should take up the matter in international forums. They should ask international human rights organisations, including American organisations, for help in bringing Israeli war criminals to justice. Israel's submission to international law is a condition for peace. Israel must become an ordinary country, not one above the law.