03/25/2004: "WCC: Don't touch terrorists"

I don't know why it took them so long, but the bureaucrats in Geneva finally delivered themselves of their judgement against Israel for killing Hamas terror master Sheik Yassin. From Peter Weiderud, director of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, here it is in full:

Through the targeted assassination of Sheikh Yassin, Israel has chosen to violate international law once again. This action fosters hatred and will likely lead to more bloodshed. It can neither ensure peace nor human security.

Yes, well. Given the unconventional nature of the conflict (is Hamas a criminal gang or an arm of a quasi-government, the PA, that carries out "extra-judicial executions" of unarmed civilians?), cries of "international law violations" are weirdly inapplicable. As for the second part, Bret Stephens, writing in OpinionJournal, may have something relevant to contribute:

The results, in terms of lives saved, were dramatic. In 2003, the number of Israeli terrorist fatalities declined by more than 50% from the previous year, to 213 from 451. The overall number of attacks also declined, to 3,823 in 2003 from 5,301 in 2002, a drop of 30%. In the spring of 2003, Israel stepped up its campaign of targeted assassinations, including a failed attempt on Yassin's deputy, Abdel Aziz Rantisi. Wise heads said Israel had done nothing except incite the Palestinians to greater violence. Instead, Hamas and other Islamic terrorist groups agreed unilaterally to a cease-fire.

In this context, it bears notice that between 2002 and 2003 the number of Palestinian fatalities also declined significantly, from 1,000 to about 700. The reason here is obvious: As the leaders of Palestinian terror groups were picked off and their operations were disrupted, they were unable to carry out the kind of frequent, large-scale attacks that had provoked Israel's large-scale reprisals. Terrorism is a top-down business, not vice versa. Targeted assassinations not only got rid of the most guilty but diminished the risk of open combat between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian foot soldiers.

So the assumption that this or any other targeted killing of Palestinian terrorists will necessarily lead to more bloodshed hardly represents a certainty, yet the WCC (as well as most of the world's prominent politicians) simply asserts it as if it is as sure as the next sunrise. Now, back to our press release:

We are appalled that the State of Israel continues to resort to extra-judicial executions. Every attack has resulted in the unlawful killing of innocent bystanders, including children. These actions as well as Israel�s public official threats to continue to assassinate Palestinians with impunity are totally unacceptable by the WCC and will always be condemned as unlawful.

"Extra-judicial executions." Isn't that a lovely phrase? It suggests that Israel is not in the middle of a war, but has a crime problem. Normally you don't have to try an enemy combatant before killing him.

As for the deaths of children, those are terrible, of course. What the WCC doesn't take note of is that Palestinian terror leaders routinely surround themselves with children when they appear in public, thinking that doing so will ward off attack. What they also don't seem to understand is that if Israel treated terrorism as a crime problem, and sought to arrest someone like Yassin, those around him would fight, and the number of casulties in such a street operation would be ten times worse.

We therefore call on Israel to put an immediate end to its policies of targeted assassinations. The Council also calls on Palestinian armed groups to immediately stop targeting Israeli civilians in indiscriminate suicide bombings and other attacks. We reaffirm our strong conviction that non-violent means of resistance and peaceful negotiations are the only way to achieve peace and security for both the Palestinians and Israelis and a lasting, viable solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

And, oh, yes, we almost forgot�it would be nice if the Palestinian "armed groups" (the word "terrorist" just sticks in their throats) would stop their little games and play nice as well. No outraged condemnation, no total unacceptability, no weeping and gnashing of teeth. In fact, to my recollection, I've never seen a full-throated, pull-out-all-the-rhetorical-stops condemnation of Palestinian terrorism, minus the weasel words. Until such time as the WCC can bring itself to do that, Israel has no more reason to listen to Geneva than they have listening to Hamas.