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Jerusalem, April 11, 2002
Terrorist Penetration and Armed Combat in Holy Places - Legal Perspectives
(Communicated by the Foreign Ministry Legal Advisor)
1. In recent days, Palestinian armed combatants and terrorists
have been hiding out in churches and other holy places and their
vicinity. Places of worship are offered special protection in
accordance with international law. The penetration of armed
terrorists into churches and other places of a religious character
for the purpose of hiding out and/or carrying out acts of hostility,
are a gross abuse of the immunity and the special protection granted
to such places. Such acts are grave breaches of the First Additional
Protocol (1977) to the Geneva Conventions, and constitute war crimes
by any standard of international humanitarian law.
2. The presence of armed combatants and terrorists who do not
distinguish themselves from the civilian population, and the
deliberate perpetration of hostile acts from within places of worship
constitute grave violations of the rights of the clergy residing in
such buildings. These actions endanger the protected status of such
buildings in which the armed terrorists hide out, and turn the places
into a legitimate "military objective", for as long as the armed
terrorists continue to abuse the immunity of these buildings. This
conduct directly endangers the lives and security of religious
personnel and civilians residing, working or worshipping in these
areas. It constitutes a fundamental breach of the requirement that
combatants distinguish themselves from civilians, pursuant to the
provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, in particular, and
international law, in general.
3. Finally, the armed terrorists are holding religious officials
in the Church as hostages, to shield themselves from military
attacks. This conduct constitutes a war crime in accordance with
international law, and is a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions
and its Additional Protocols.
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