'We Must Not Make a Scarecrow of the Law': A Legal Analysis of the Israeli Policy of Targeted Killings

73 Pages Posted: 28 Feb 2008

See all articles by Orna Ben-Naftali

Orna Ben-Naftali

T; The Emile Zola Chair for Human Rights

Keren Michaeli

College of Management (Israel) - School of Law

Abstract

The article analyses whether the Israeli policy of "targeted preemptive killings" is permissible under international law. Law being contextual, the narrative framework that informs the applicable law is discussed first. This discussion of the al Aqsa Intifada, discloses the two competing narratives of the parties to the conflict and gives rise to various questions pertaining to the appropriate normative regimes within which the legality of targeted killings should be analyzed. The article proceeds to identify the international legal texts that may be applicable to this context and offers an integrative approach, suggesting that the issue should be decided in light of the interaction between the laws of war, humanitarian law and human rights law, as they apply concurrently and inform each other. This analysis generates the conclusion that some actions of targeted killings are justified; others are not, entailing state responsibility, and others still amount to a war crime, generating individual accountability.

JEL Classification: K33

Suggested Citation

Ben-Naftali, Orna and Michaeli, Keren, 'We Must Not Make a Scarecrow of the Law': A Legal Analysis of the Israeli Policy of Targeted Killings. Cornell International Law Journal, Vol. 36, 2003, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1098459

Orna Ben-Naftali (Contact Author)

T ( email )

7 Yitzhak Rabin Blvd.
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972-3-9634112 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.colman.ac.il

The Emile Zola Chair for Human Rights ( email )

7 Yitzhak Rabin Boulevard
PO Box 25072
Rishon L’Tzion, 75190
Israel

HOME PAGE: http://www.colman.ac.il/English/TeachingResearch/research_institutes/Zola_Human_Rights/Pages/default

Keren Michaeli

College of Management (Israel) - School of Law ( email )

7 Yitzhak Rabin Blvd.
P.O. Box 25072
Rishon LeZion, 75190
Israel

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