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International Law Supports Israel's Strikes on Terrorists

(Telegraph-UK) Arsen Ostrovsky - When U.S. Navy Seals flew deep into Pakistan to eliminate Osama bin Laden in 2011, the world cheered. Few stopped to ask whether Pakistan had consented, or the strike violated its sovereignty. Yet when Israel takes on Hamas leaders in Doha, who were responsible for orchestrating the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Western voices rush to castigate Jerusalem. What was deemed legitimate self-defense for the U.S. is suddenly branded "reckless" or "unlawful" when it is the Jewish state. The Hamas terrorists that were targeted were not "political leaders." They were terror masterminds, involved in the planning, execution and direction of every facet of the war that Hamas launched on Oct. 7, including the ongoing captivity of hostages. That made them legitimate military targets under international law. Qatar is no Mother Theresa here. Under the Hague Convention V of 1907, neutral states must not permit belligerents (or terrorists) to use their territory as a base of operations. But Qatar grants sanctuary to Hamas leaders, peddles propaganda through Al Jazeera, and allows its territory to be used to plan attacks against Israel, thereby becoming complicit in Hamas's war against Israel. The writer is an Israel-based human rights lawyer who is CEO of the International Legal Forum.
2025-09-14 00:00:00
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