(Posted by John.)
Alan Dershowitz, for the defense:
There is a vast difference — both moral and legal — between a2-year-old who is killed by an enemy rocket and a 30-year-old civilianwho has allowed his house to be used to store Katyusha rockets. Bothare technically civilians, but the former is far more innocent than thelatter. There is also a difference between a civilian who merely favorsor even votes for a terrorist group and one who provides financial orother material support for terrorism.
Finally,there is a difference between civilians who are held hostage againsttheir will by terrorists who use them as involuntary human shields, andcivilians who voluntarily place themselves in harm's way in order toprotect terrorists from enemy fire.
Osama bin Laden, April 27 2006: ("Bin Laden calls for attacks on civilians" was a common headline.)
Furthermore, I say this war is a joint responsibility between thepeople and the government. War continues and the people [are] renewingtheir allegiance to their rulers and politicians sending their sons toarmies to fight us, and continuing the moral and financial supportwhile our countries are being burned, our houses bombed, our peoplekilled and no one cares about us....
Someone in the Israeli foreign service might want to put a phone call in to Mr. Dershowitz' office. This kind of help, they don't need. It's pretty much the only rule of war we have left that attacks on civilians are to be avoided, not rationalized.
