After the atrocities and carnage of the second World War, and the mistreatment of civilian populations (including

mass extermination and the Holocaust), the international community gathered in Geneva and ratified a set of principles to which all nations must abide, and which is now known as the Geneva Conventionso that it may never happen again.

In the Middle EastToday

The recent Israeli reoccupation of major Palestinian civilian towns has been accompanied by the violation of every principle of the Geneva Convention.

The following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever
Geneva Convention

Article 1.a : Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture
In the recent incursions, temporary asphyxiation, beating, deliberate bone breaking, and psychological violence upon Palestinian prisoners have been reported.

Torture [of Palestinian prisoners and detainees] is indeed an official, sanctioned and concealed Israeli policy.
Israeli Official Fact Finding Report on Shin Bet (security services) practices. Released February 9th, 2000.

Article 1.b: taking of hostages

Confirmed reports from Ramallah and Nablus have documented the use by IDF soldiers of Palestinian civilians (including women) as human shields in their incursions into Palestinian homes and towns

Article 1.c: Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment

Sick men, women, and children were prevented from accessing critical hospital equipment and vital medical supplies.

Refugees were made refugees once more

Article 1.d: the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment
The army has operationalized a policy of extrajudicial execution against Palestinians. Official Israeli military officers.

State sponsored assassination policy

Arrested

No trial. No proof. No defence. No rights. only execution.

Controlled... Stripped

Executed.

2: The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for

Medical personnel have been prevented from their life saving duties
International Red Cross

The ambulances are not allowed to move either. We have a full team here, but we are not able to get to anyone who needs treatment or help."

The Israeli Defence Forces are not allowing any humanitarian agencies to operate in areas under their control

Marie-Louise Weighill, Save the Children

Point
The Geneva Convention of 1949 had the clear aim to protect civilian populations, So that Nazi atrocities during the Second World War are never repeated. As in the motto of Holocaust Survivors: never again.

Conclusion
Israeli military actions in the occupied territories are in gross violation of every single item of the Geneva Convention. Nothing justifies the mistreatment, humiliation, degradation and abuse of civilian populations. Act now. Stop supporting Israel.

The main tenets of the Geneva Convention

(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; (b) taking of hostages; (c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; (d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples. (2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.

Web links and references

Geneva convention text can be found at:
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/91.htm http://www.asociety.com/geneva1.html

International Human Rights agencies:

International Red Cross (and Red Crescent societies) http://www.ifrc.org/ Amnesty International: http://www.amnesty.org/ UN High Commission on Human Rights http://www.unhchr.ch/

Regional Human Rights Sources: Israeli source:

The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories http://www.btselem.org/

Palestinian source:
Palestinian center for human rights http://www.pchrgaza.org/

See also the electronic intifada at:

http://electronicintifada.net/new.html