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It’s Time to Review International Law
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to members of the Security Council during a meeting to address the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City, New York, US, April 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
JNS.org – The International Committee of the Red Cross explains the purpose of the rules of war by stating, “The rules of war or international humanitarian law are a set of international rules that set out what can and cannot be done during an armed conflict. The main purpose of international humanitarian law is to maintain some humanity in armed conflicts, saving lives and reducing suffering. To do that, international humanitarian law regulates how wars are fought.”
“The rules of war are universal,” it claims. “The Geneva Conventions (which are the core element of international humanitarian law) have been ratified by all 196 states.”
In his 1927 Nobel lecture, the German pacifist politician Ludwig Quidde wrote, “The security of which we seek is to be attained by the development of international law through an international organization based on the principles of law and justice.”
As early as the mid-19th century, the international community realized that without a set of standards in international warfare, millions of people would die unnecessarily. Thus, international laws were adopted to protect civilians in war and prevent war itself.
The rules of war were based on the assumption that both sides would observe them. Sadly, only democracies and other free societies tend to obey these rules. Indeed, for the most part, they do not go to war with each other at all. Tyrannical or authoritarian regimes, however, are another story. As a result, one side in almost every modern war has purposely ignored international humanitarian law.
In Israel’s Declaration of Independence, it reached out in peace to its Arab neighbors but found itself at war with almost all of them at various times. Palestinian terrorism, however, has been a greater challenge. This is because of the asymmetry and double standard involved: Israel is expected to observe the rules of war while its opponents are not.
The reason for this is that international humanitarian law itself is flawed. It was designed to apply to states that both observe it. It does not address the situation of a democratic nation at war with a non-state enemy that does not accept such laws.
In its current war with Hamas, Israel faces an enemy that not only does not observe international humanitarian law but deliberately violates it. Hamas uses its own people as human shields, targets Israeli civilians and engages in such abhorrent atrocities as weaponizing rape.
Yet António Guterres, U.N. secretary-general, has absurdly said “clearly, the response to terrorism and violent extremism must respect human rights and comply with international law. That is not just a question of justice but of effectiveness.” International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, who is currently engaged in the persecution of Israel’s leaders, has said: “This is the time to comply with the law. If Israel doesn’t comply now, they shouldn’t complain later.”
Guterres and Khan both ignore the fact that observing international humanitarian law while fighting an enemy that rejects that law is all but impossible. French diplomat Stephane Hessel understood this when he said, “As long as Palestinian violence exists but not a Palestinian state, Israel is in danger because it cannot obtain assistance from the international community against an entity that is not subordinate to international law.”
Thus, Israel is held to a standard that is not just unfair but essentially impossible to meet. Then, it is attacked for allegedly failing to meet the impossible standard.
The world must make a choice: It can either reform international humanitarian law in order to address the problem of terrorist entities that reject it or the world must recognize that Israel fights its wars as morally as it realistically can.
Either one will ensure that the risible double standard by which the world judges Israel is finally rejected.
The post It’s Time to Review International Law first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.