July 24, 2006
To:
Mr. Amir Peretz
Minister of Defense
Re: Statements and orders issued by the Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz
We are writing to you in reference to statements made by the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, who, according to press reports, ordered Israeli Air force pilots to bomb ten 14-storey buildings in the Beirut neighborhood of Dahiya, as a response to every round of Katyushas that are fired at the city of Haifa.
Our appeal also follows a previous letter that we sent to you and the Prime Minister on July 20, 2006, which detailed the severe harm and suffering that has been inflicted upon the Lebanese civilian population as a result of the current IDF military operation in Lebanon. The letter urgently requested that you instruct the security forces to cease the indiscriminate injury to Lebanese civilians, and damage to their homes, property, and vital civilian infrastructure, and that the necessary steps be taken to reduce, to the absolute minimum, the impact of these attacks on civilians. The letter also states that:
Over the last few days the media has reported statements, including a statement made by the Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, claiming that Lebanon will pay a heavy price for the attacks that have derived from its territory, and that “it must expel the cancerous growth that is has consumed”. Such statements increase the fear that among the aims of this IDF operation is a desire to teach the Lebanese population a lesson for allowing a Hezbollah presence in Lebanon. It has also been reported that thousands of Lebanese civilians have been forced to leave their home as a result of, among other things, leaflets distributed by the IDF. These reports denote a thin line which absolute care must be taken not to cross, which differentiates between the alerting of a civilian population to danger that is inherent to their remaining in areas close to a conflict zone, and a deliberate policy of instilling terror in a civilian population, which is absolutely prohibited by international humanitarian law.
These latest statements made by the Chief of Staff do not represent, unfortunately, an isolated incident. With regards to statements made by General Halutz in similar circumstances in the past, when he was still Deputy Chief of Staff, the Supreme Court justices ruled that:
Reason would suggest that an individual who serves as an example for so many people, would realize the importance of ensuring that any comments made by him are clear, carefully considered, and that the individual has taken into account their potential impact, before they decide to word them in such a harsh and confrontational tone. (H.C.J. 5757/04 Hess v. Deputy Chief of Staff, General Dan Halutz (2005).
However, this time, even more than in the past, the extreme illegitimacy of the Chief of Staff’‘s statements stems not only from his position as a personal example to others, but also from that fact that these grave statements translate into operational orders that are currently being issued to IDF military forces.
The harming of civilians, the damaging of civilian infrastructure, and the undertaking of a deliberate policy to instill terror into a civilian population, is strictly prohibited by international humanitarian law, and is even liable to constitute war crimes. A red flag of egregious illegality hovers over the orders issued by the Chief of Staff. Furthermore, the grave and illegal attacks that are being carried out against the Israeli civilian population, cannot be cited as a means of justifying illegal orders such as these.
One cannot overstate the gravity of the situation that has resulted from the issuance of these orders, which, prima facie, direct the actions of the armed forces of the State of Israel.
In light of the fact that this is not an isolated statement by the Chief of Staff, we demand that it is made clear to General Halutz that revenge, as a motive for a military operation, does not only fail to serve any substantive purpose, but is also illegitimate and absolutely prohibited. We also demand that public reference be made of this clarification.
With regard to that set forth above, we request that you immediately instruct the Chief of Staff to rescind these unlawful instructions, and that you make clear to the security forces that the indiscriminate assaults on Lebanese civilians, their homes, property, and vital civilian infrastructure must cease, and that the necessary steps must be taken to minimize, to the bare and unavoidable minimum, the impact of such attacks on the civilian population.
Sincerely yours,
Dan Yakir
Chief Legal Counsel
last updated : 08/08/06
