A simple question: when is a war crime not a war crime? Answer: when it’s done by an allied nation. And when it kills some of your own citizens (Charities halt Gaza aid after drone attack that killed seven workers, 2 April), it’s a “tragedy” (Benjamin Netanyahu).
Before the first Geneva convention (1864), no law protected civilians or prisoners in wartime. Instead, there existed informal rules. If you surrendered your city before the besieger launched an assault, you might escape with life and property; if you waited too long, you were at the conqueror’s mercy. Medieval civilians had better chances than those of today’s Gaza, where the Israeli government and armed forces ignore international law, outrage and finger-wagging from allies. The only thing that will stop them is when those who supply the bombs pull that plug.
