Many of the news stories and editorials following the Yassin and Rantissi strikes denounced the Israeli actions (either directly or through prominent quotations) as ‘extra-judicial’ or ‘illegal’.
Here are recent articles that outline the legality of such strikes under international law:
* Joshua Muravchik, National Review: given Hamas’ genocidal ideology, the strikes are justified under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.
* Trevor Asserson, Globes:
Extra judicial killing is governed by the legal codes of all Western democracies, and under international law by the Geneva conventions, the Charter of the United Nations, the Manual of the Red Cross and elsewhere. For example, Article 51 of the UN Charter embodies “the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense.” This includes a right to a pre-emptive strike where carried out in self-defence once an attack has occurred.
* Anne Bayefsky, National Review: justified due to Yassin and Rantissi’s status as war combatants; Bayefsky also points out the egregious double standard at work in the United Nations vis-a-vis Israel’s right to self-defense.
If your local paper published an editorial denouncing the Israeli actions as illegal, consider writing a letter to the editor based on the arguments of Muravchik, Asserson and Bayefsky.
