Two leading US experts on the law of armed conflict have concluded that IDF targeting complies with international law even where it was “contentious” and that IDF positions “on targeting largely track those of the US military.”
Although formally, the report says it is not judging specific instances from the summer Gaza War, the unmistakable conclusion of the report is to support the IDF’s approach almost across-the-board in the principles it brought to targeting during the war – principles at the core of the public debate over alleged war crimes.
Because of the authors’ prominence and the unprecedented inside access they were given to IDF operations, the impact of the report could be wide-ranging and even influence decisions by the International Criminal Court on the issues.
The two authors of the 52 page report, a summary of which was posted on the academic legal blog Just Security on Friday, but is being reported in the mainstream media in The Jerusalem Post for the first time now, are Michael Schmitt and John Merriam.
In the academic debate over how aggressively Western militaries can fight against adversaries, like Hamas or al-Qaida who purposely endanger civilians in war, Schmitt is one of the leading voices in the US and globally for a more aggressive posture.
Read more:
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Major-US-military-law-experts-IDF-contentious-targeting-complies-with-intl-law-399320
