U.S. and Israel responsible for international war crimes

In humanitarian international law, the United States is a "High Contracting Party" of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

As such, it has the obligation under Article 146 to prosecute those responsible for grave breaches of the Convention.

Considering this, the United States has forsaken its legal and, indeed, moral obligation to work within its power to stop Israeli war crimes.

The Convention, created in 1949 to protect civilians from the horrors of war, has been systematically disregarded by Israel over the past 30 years.

The applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the occupied territories of Palestine-affirmed by Theodor Meron in 1967, the UN Security Council, and the ICJ in 2004-is not in doubt: Israel is an occupying force.

This means virtually everything the United States and Israel do there is in violation of international law. Of the innumerable examples, this includes illegal settlement within Palestine; the building of annexation walls; restricting the freedom of movement within Gaza; and the attack on Gaza earlier this year, which was condemned as representing "severe and massive violations of international humanitarian law" by UN Rapporteur for Human Rights, Richard Falk.

Unfortunately, the U.S. government cheers on Israel's oppressive violence and expansionist policies, supporting it publicly, materially, diplomatically and monetarily.

The American media and general public, firmly in lockstep with U.S. foreign policy, also ignorantly defend Israel, usually blissfully unaware of Israeli war crimes.

Noam Chomsky, one of the most important public intellectuals of our time, explains these sentiments: "The basic doctrine is that Israel has been a hapless victim of terrorism, of military attack, of implacable and irrational hatred. Israel is sometimes chided for its response to terrorist attack, a reaction that is deemed wrong though understandable. The belief that Israel may have had a substantial role in initiating and perpetuating violence and conflict is expressed only far from the mainstream, as a general rule."

These words, though written nearly 30 years ago, remain true today.

Educate yourselves: review the facts, read the documents, and stand firmly against all aggressive violence.