A Decade Later and Still on Target: Revisiting the 2006 Israeli Targeted Killing Decision

Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, Volume 7, Issue 1, pages 88-128 (2016)

41 Pages Posted: 26 Mar 2017 Last revised: 14 Feb 2019

See all articles by Tamar Meshel

Tamar Meshel

University of Alberta - Faculty of Law

Date Written: 2016

Abstract

The increasing use by States of extraterritorial targeted killing as a counter-terrorism tool in recent years has given rise to controversial questions concerning its legality under international law. This article first explores the international legal regimes purporting to govern State-sponsored targeted killing and evaluates their ability to effectively regulate it. It then focuses on the use of targeted killing by States against members of non-State terror groups in an international armed conflict. In this regard, the article revisits the 2006 landmark decision of the Israeli Supreme Court in the Targeted Killing case and evaluates its influence and legacy over the past decade. It argues that this decision remains relevant and instructive since it exposes some of the lingering weaknesses of international law in governing the use of targeted killing as a counter-terrorism tool, while at the same time demonstrating how such weaknesses may be overcome within the existing international legal framework. The impact of the decision in this regard is clearly evident in the evolution of Israel’s targeted killing practice over the past decade.

Suggested Citation

Meshel, Tamar, A Decade Later and Still on Target: Revisiting the 2006 Israeli Targeted Killing Decision (2016). Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, Volume 7, Issue 1, pages 88-128 (2016), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2938946

Tamar Meshel (Contact Author)

University of Alberta - Faculty of Law ( email )

Law Centre (111 - 89 Ave)
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H5
Canada

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
80
Abstract Views
591
Rank
551,205
PlumX Metrics