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Israeli raids in West Bank fanning flames of hate

Israel's attempt to re-establish a deterrence in the West Bank through the use of force will backfire.

An Israeli border police aims his weapon at Palestinian stone throwers during clashes in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 22, 2014. Israeli troops killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Palestinian medics said, as Israel continued its crackdown on Islamist group Hamas, blamed for abducting three Israeli youths. Hamas, which refuses to recognise Israel's existence, has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for the disappearance of the youths, who went missing near an Israeli settlem
An Israeli border policeman aims his weapon at Palestinian stone throwers during clashes in Ramallah, June 22, 2014. — REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

The Israeli reaction to the disappearance, and most probable kidnapping, of three Israeli teenagers reveals once again a worn-out, failed deterrence policy that inflicts great pain and suffering by Israel on its supposed long-term neighbors.

Article 33 of the Geneva Convention (IV) specifically bans “collective punishment” by an occupying power to the people under its occupation, precisely because such punishment is aimed at “intimidating and terrorizing” innocent persons. The same article also considers revenge and pillage crimes of war.

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