Switzerland: Israel violating law in Gaza
GENEVA - Switzerland accused Israel of violating international law in its
Gaza offensive by inflicting heavy destruction and endangering civilians in
acts of collective punishment banned under the Geneva Conventions. Switzerland
said Monday that Israel's destruction last week of the main Gaza electricity
power station and its attack on the office of the Palestinian prime minister
were unjustified.
It also urged Israel to free dozens of arrested officials of the ruling Hamas
group, including Cabinet ministers and lawmakers.
Israel has used tanks, troops, gunboats and aircraft to attack the Gaza area
over the past week to press militants to free a captured Israeli soldier.
"A number of actions by the Israeli defense forces in their offensive against
the Gaza Strip have violated the principle of proportionality and are to be
seen as forms of collective punishment, which is forbidden," the Swiss Foreign
Ministry said in a statement.
"The arbitrary arrests of a large number of democratically elected
representatives of the people and ministers ... cannot be justified," the
ministry added.
Switzerland also called for the "rapid release" of the captive Israeli
soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit. But it said Israel had an obligation "to respect
international humanitarian law in the measures it undertakes to liberate the
captured soldier."
Israel's ambassador to Bern said Switzerland's criticism was unfair, noting
that Israel was supplying Gaza's people with electricity, water, fresh food and
medicine even though the ruling Palestinian Hamas group is sworn to the Jewish
state's destruction.
"They have criticized us even though we are showing restraint," Aviv Shir-On
told The Associated Press. "We are disappointed that the Swiss government did
not issue such statements when Israel's civilian population was constantly
under attack from the Gaza Strip."
The Swiss statement did not name the Geneva Conventions but referred to
provisions of the 1949 treaty, which is regarded as the cornerstone of
international law on the obligations of warring and occupying powers.
Switzerland, as the depositary of the conventions, has a responsibility to
call meetings if it finds problems with the treaty's implementation, but it
does not have special powers to interpret the document.
Both the principle of proportionality and the ban on collective punishment
are found in the Fourth Geneva Convention, which spells out the obligations of
occupying powers toward the civilian population under their control.
Switzerland said it had earmarked an additional $820,000 to provide medical
supplies to civilians in Gaza.
___
Associated Press writers Alexander G. Higgins in Geneva and Daniel Friedli in
Bern, Switzerland, contributed to this report.
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