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…and fueling the fire

Sir, – Although Daoud Kuttab’s "The futility of deterrence" (March 12) provided an interesting perspective on Israel’s current Gaza dilemma, it also hid dangerous and false assumptions about international law.

Kuttab flatly blames Israel for a "clear case of collective punishment‚" mirroring the erroneous claims made by a coalition of UK-based NGOs. No wonder Kuttab cited Human Rights Watch (HRW), and in particular Joe Stork, to support his argument.

As reported by NGO Monitor, HRW is adept at using pseudo-legal rhetoric to further its politicized agenda, with Stork one of its worst offenders.

In reality, Israel’s guilt is far from clear and there exists a complex legal debate – which NGOs, including HRW, choose to ignore – over the definition of collective punishment.

Kuttab calls for resolving the Gaza impasse: Replacing NGOs’ hijacking of legal terminology to condemn Israel with an overdue, honest appraisal of the complexities of international humanitarian law would be a good first step.

DAN KOSKY
NGO Monitor
Jerusalem