Falk: "Israel" Violated International Laws, and US Holds Responsibility
Local Editor
In context of the international commentaries around the "Israeli" commando raid against the humanitarian fleet of unarmed ships, Pacifica Radio's Flashpoints show had an interview on Monday with UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories Professor Richard Falk.
Falk said that the "Israeli" raid is "As clear a violation of international humanitarian law, international law of the seas, and international criminal law, as we are likely to see in the early part of the twenty-first century."
In an assessment of the "Israeli" aggression in terms of human rights violations and international law, Falk said, "These were ships carrying humanitarian supplies for blockaded Gaza, the passengers were unarmed and were situated at the time of the "Israeli" attacks on the high seas, these attacks, therefore, were unlawful and by most interpretations would be regarded as criminal."
"The witnesses on the boats themselves claim that the commandos landed shooting, and that it was only after the initiation of that violence that there was some attempt at defense " Falk responded in response to a question about the aggression that took place on the boat.
Falk assured that, "The "Israeli" arguments are not really seriously plausible. Given the overall circumstances, it is very difficult to give them any kind of serious credibility."
He concluded, "It seems pretty clear that this was a deliberate attack designed, I suppose, to punish the effort to carry out this humanitarian mission, which would obviously have disclosed the brutality of the blockade of the Gaza Strip."
In a question about the "Israeli" rejection of informing countries about their seized citizens, Falk said, "I suspect that "Israel's" tactics are designed to prevent testimony by those that experience these attacks, which would presumably deepen the awareness of the world's public as well as the governments of what in fact did happen."
About the US responsibility in what happened, Richard Falk said, "We are certainly morally and politically implicit and responsible in these kinds of "Israeli" tactics and undertakings, there are American laws that forbid the equipment that we do provide from being used except in defensive roles."
In context of the international commentaries around the "Israeli" commando raid against the humanitarian fleet of unarmed ships, Pacifica Radio's Flashpoints show had an interview on Monday with UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories Professor Richard Falk.
Falk said that the "Israeli" raid is "As clear a violation of international humanitarian law, international law of the seas, and international criminal law, as we are likely to see in the early part of the twenty-first century."
In an assessment of the "Israeli" aggression in terms of human rights violations and international law, Falk said, "These were ships carrying humanitarian supplies for blockaded Gaza, the passengers were unarmed and were situated at the time of the "Israeli" attacks on the high seas, these attacks, therefore, were unlawful and by most interpretations would be regarded as criminal."
"The witnesses on the boats themselves claim that the commandos landed shooting, and that it was only after the initiation of that violence that there was some attempt at defense " Falk responded in response to a question about the aggression that took place on the boat.
Falk assured that, "The "Israeli" arguments are not really seriously plausible. Given the overall circumstances, it is very difficult to give them any kind of serious credibility."
He concluded, "It seems pretty clear that this was a deliberate attack designed, I suppose, to punish the effort to carry out this humanitarian mission, which would obviously have disclosed the brutality of the blockade of the Gaza Strip."
In a question about the "Israeli" rejection of informing countries about their seized citizens, Falk said, "I suspect that "Israel's" tactics are designed to prevent testimony by those that experience these attacks, which would presumably deepen the awareness of the world's public as well as the governments of what in fact did happen."
About the US responsibility in what happened, Richard Falk said, "We are certainly morally and politically implicit and responsible in these kinds of "Israeli" tactics and undertakings, there are American laws that forbid the equipment that we do provide from being used except in defensive roles."
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