From: wmuhanna@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Waleed A Muhanna)
Subject: Re: Israel and the Fourth Geneva Convention (was: Israeli Nazism?)
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 22:31:27 GMT

Here we go again.  It seems that, Hank, an Israeli settler, thinks that
by repeating something over and over, it somehow makes it true or sensible.

In article <92363.065733HANK@BARILVM.BITNET> Hank Nussbacher <HANK@BARILVM.BITNET> writes:
>Since Article 49 has been brought up let us look at what it states:
>
> The Geneva Convention, Article 49, paragraph 6 states:
>
>      The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its
>      own population into the territory it occupies.
>
>        In the book "International Law: A Treatise, Vol II, Disputes,
> War and  Neutrality", by  L. Oppenheim  (1952), page  452, he writes
> "The occupying power  must not deport  or transfer parts  of its own
> civilian  population  into  the  territory  occupied  by  him  -   a
> prohibition intended to cover cases of the occupant bringing in  its
> nationals  for  the  purpose  of  displacing  the  population of the
> occupied territory".

The conventions are very clear, and they do not allow for exceptions,
either in expulsions or settlements.  The psycological dispositions and 
stated intentions of the settlers are not relevant to the issue of the
legality of settlements.  The Israeli government's only line of defense 
is to deny that the West Bank and Gaza are occupied.  How many sane persons
and impartial jurors do you think you can convince of that?

Besides, on whose land are these settlements being established?  Many of
the settlements were set up on land confiscated from private Palestinian
owners.  Moreover the settlements use resources (land and water) that could
otherwise be used (in the present or future) by the legitimate inhabitants 
of the land.  As such, settlements certainly contribute to the displacement 
of the local population.

The last time you posted your regular crap, Shari VanderSpek responded
with the following:

 Here's another bit of information for Hank, who thinks that Arab villages
 aren't destroyed for settlements.
 
 In a speech made on October 10, 1982, Mordechai Zippori, Israeli minister of
 energy, said at the opening ceremony of Inav, a new settlement built
 on land seized from the village of Anabta:
 
 "The continuation of settlement is the backbone of the Zionist
 movement in the West Bank and is the only means to defeat any peace
 initiative which is intended to bring foreign rule to Judea and
 Samaria. ....The presence of an Arab majority in the West Bank should
 not prevent the Israeli authorities from accelerating the settlement
 process in the occupied territories.  ...I was born in Petah Tikva
 [one of the earliest Jewish colonies established in Palestine] which
 was surrounded by many Arab villages such as Kufr Anna, Abu Kisheh,
 and Khayriyeh - and no trace has been left of those villages today,
 but Petah Tikva remained."
 
 Those closing words clearly define what lies ahead for the Palestinians in
 the West Bank if the settlements are allowed to continue.
 
>
>Hank Nussbacher
>Karnei Shomron
>Israel

Waleed Muhanna
Columbus
Botswana