a village for an eye

It doesn't appear as if the joint proposal for a two state solution is going to gain much momentum as the Israeli army rattles its sabre at Syria and cuts electricity from many Palestinians. The army is now in control of parts of northern Gaza. The reaction to the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier is, in the words of the Israeli government, "extreme."

The following is an excerpt from the Guardian and describes some of the more relevant reactions:

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, called the destruction of Gaza's infrastructure "collective punishment and a crime against humanity". Human rights groups said it was in breach of the Geneva conventions which bar attacks on targets of no immediate military value and on reprisals against civilians.

The Israeli army seemed at a loss to explain the value of severing electricity to most of Gaza's population, and destroying bridges that will take weeks or months to repair, unless it is to make civilians suffer in order to pressure the armed groups holding Cpl Shalit. "This is part of an ongoing effort to cause disruption, it's all part of the same effort to get the soldier released," said aspokeswoman, Captain Noah Meir. "It's part of measures against those who are directly involved and those not directly involved." Asked about the impact on the civilian population, she said: "It was something we took into consideration. You do have to understand that we have to get the soldier back."

There are rules of proportionality in international law, in just war theory, in every civilized code of law. The kidnapping is, itself, a terrible crime, but how many innocent Palestinians have to pay for it? It seems that the correct answer should be none.