“proportionality”
This obscure law of war was almost entirely ignored by the media,
political classes, and academia until the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
It is a relatively useless and impractical concept of the law of war,
not even mentioned in the Hague Conventions, the 1949 Geneva Conventions,
and is noted only in commentary to the 1977 Protocol Additional.
It is “ambiguous, lacks useful precedent, and as a
practical matter nearly impossible to interpret or enforce.”
It appears to only apply to Israel.
Here’s what the proportionality rule actually says: attacks must be
proportionate to the military objective sought. That’s it. Nobody mentioned
this rule until it became a seemingly legitimate excuse to bash Israel. But
it is pointless because almost all competent military organizations,
including the Israel Defense Force (IDF), follow the principle automatically
for their own benefit. In military doctrine it is called “economy of force.”
No competent military leader wants to disproportionately apply force to an
objective — it wastes time and resources. Sometimes by mistake it is done,
as, say, in the bombing of Monte Casino during World War II. But even that
is not a war crime, because the attack must be intentionally
disproportionate, not just a mistaken application of force.
“Israel has not provided a shred of evidence”
Change your news services, they’re cheating you.