While the United Nations has repeatedly shown its anti-Israel bias and Arabist taint, it does have one law in place that Israel can use to her advantage. The UN, like any other official institution, is only as credible as the enforcement of its own laws. This gives Israel a weapon to use against Yasser Arafat, as well as the members and supporters of all the other terrorist groups. It is also a means to combat the prevailing Arab flavor that permeates every anti-Israel motion.



In an ironic twist, the members of the UN Security Council, all being signatories of the Genocide Laws, are obligated to compel Israel to prosecute Yasser Arafat and his followers.



International law, signed by most members of the UN, defines the crimes of genocide thus:



Article I: The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.



Because Israel is a signatory of the Crimes of Genocide Law, this first article obligates her to prevent and punish the perpetrators who reside within her boundaries. Since Yasser Arafat now resides on Israeli land (said land, although in dispute, still belongs to, and is de facto administered by, Israel), Israel is obligated by UN convention to prosecute him, as well as all members and supporters of other terrorist groups. Whether or not the Arabs now occupying Israeli land in Gaza and the West Bank have formally declared war or not, they still can and must be prosecuted according to law.



Article II: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.




Regarding Article II, the Arabs now occupying Israeli property have committed innumerable documented crimes of sections (a) through (d). And lest anyone question section (d), they have deliberately targeted and murdered pregnant women as well as women of childbearing age, because they were Jews and because they were Israelis.



Continuing on:



Article III: The following acts shall be punishable:

(a) Genocide;

(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;

(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;

(d) Attempt to commit genocide;

(e) Complicity in genocide.



Article IV: Persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article III shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals.




Article IV means that Yasser Arafat or anyone he appoints is not immune to prosecution. Regarding Article III, even as I write this, the Palestinian Authority is publicly inciting and facilitating further crimes of genocide.



Now, the following two articles must be read with care:



Article V: The Contracting Parties undertake to enact, in accordance with their respective Constitutions, the necessary legislation to give effect to the provisions of the present Convention, and, in particular, to provide effective penalties for persons guilty of genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III.



Article VI: Persons charged with genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III shall be tried by a competent tribunal of the State in the territory of which the act was committed, or by such international penal tribunal as may have jurisdiction with respect to those Contracting Parties which shall have accepted its jurisdiction.




Taking these two articles in reverse order, Article VI along with Article I, demands that Israel bring action against Yasser Arafat, along with all members and supporters of the terrorist organizations (Israel being the territory where they reside). Israel would merely be fulfilling her obligations to the UN by filing genocide charges against Yasser Arafat, as well as all members, funders (including official governments) and supporters of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al Aqsa, etc.



As to Article V, Israel is in compliance, since she has in place the judicial means to try and punish those guilty of genocide, being the only crime for which Israel can invoke the death penalty. It is time for Israel to comply with the genocide laws that she agreed to uphold. Meanwhile, most of the Arab/Muslim world, as signatories to these same laws, is obligated to enforce Israel?s compliance.



Incidentally, this would make the UN?s most recent pronouncement that Israel was applying ?extrajudicial killings? null and void. All Israel must do is start prosecuting for the crimes of genocide, whether the defendant is present or in absentia. Once found guilty, any action Israel might take would no longer be extrajudicial. And the only thing the UN and Kofi Anan could do would be to praise Israel for her compliance with the genocide laws.



Ain?t life funny that way?