Spring Break
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations at YU
Elizabeth Bentley
Issue date: 11/25/09 Section: Israel
International law will need to change in order to confront an emerging warfare of terrorists using civilians as human shields, said Israeli United Nations ambassador Gabriela Shalev at Yeshiva University on Tuesday, November 10.
"This is… the modern warfare, where sovereign countries have to fight terrorist groups that use their own people, the people they have to protect, as human shields," she said. Shalev, the first female Israeli ambassador to the UN, cited terrorist groups including Hamas, the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the Islamic-funded Chenyan terror groups as combatants in this new warfare.
"You cannot apply the old norms of international law and the laws of war to this situation," she declared. "We need to know how to change… in order to face these challenges."
However, Shalev did not specify what changes should be made to international law. "This is something for the future," she conceded.
Shalev emphasized Hamas's use of civilian-based warfare tactics during last summer's Cast Lead Operation in Gaza, which has gained renewed attention since the release of the Goldstone Report. "Hamas used mosques, kindergartens, hospitals, schools and homes to put their own weapons and people and headquarters inside," she said.
The Goldstone Report continues to be a concern for Israel as it gathers increased support in the United Nations. The previous Thursday's endorsement of the report, carried by the vote of 114 states, permits UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to refer it to the General Council.
Shalev accused the report's authors of knowingly ignoring Hamas' civilian-based warfare tactics when charging Israel of war crimes. "Justice Goldstone admitted that they deliberately selected incidents so as to avoid the dilemmas of confronting threats in civilian areas," Shalev stated.
According to Shalev, several countries that did not vote against the Goldstone Report in the General Assembly privately sympathize towards Israel. "Behind closed doors they admit that they see eye to eye with us," she said. "This isn't how they vote."
"This is… the modern warfare, where sovereign countries have to fight terrorist groups that use their own people, the people they have to protect, as human shields," she said. Shalev, the first female Israeli ambassador to the UN, cited terrorist groups including Hamas, the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the Islamic-funded Chenyan terror groups as combatants in this new warfare.
"You cannot apply the old norms of international law and the laws of war to this situation," she declared. "We need to know how to change… in order to face these challenges."
However, Shalev did not specify what changes should be made to international law. "This is something for the future," she conceded.
Shalev emphasized Hamas's use of civilian-based warfare tactics during last summer's Cast Lead Operation in Gaza, which has gained renewed attention since the release of the Goldstone Report. "Hamas used mosques, kindergartens, hospitals, schools and homes to put their own weapons and people and headquarters inside," she said.
The Goldstone Report continues to be a concern for Israel as it gathers increased support in the United Nations. The previous Thursday's endorsement of the report, carried by the vote of 114 states, permits UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to refer it to the General Council.
Shalev accused the report's authors of knowingly ignoring Hamas' civilian-based warfare tactics when charging Israel of war crimes. "Justice Goldstone admitted that they deliberately selected incidents so as to avoid the dilemmas of confronting threats in civilian areas," Shalev stated.
According to Shalev, several countries that did not vote against the Goldstone Report in the General Assembly privately sympathize towards Israel. "Behind closed doors they admit that they see eye to eye with us," she said. "This isn't how they vote."
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