Reply #13: First off

[azurnoir]

"I fail to see why you argue Hamas members can be treated as combatants while IJ members cannot. The Hamas forces are affiliated with the HAmas government but are not, AFAIK, formally designated as armed forces of the PA; thus, their legal status should be the same as IJ. Also, I should point out that only combatants have the right to attack enemy soldiers (except in cases of strict self-defense). So by your position, prior to the elections, any Hamas member attacking an Israeli soldier was guilty of murder? Because ISTR you arguing differently (granted, I may be confusing you with someone else - it's ahrd to keep track sometimes)."

How are Hamas combatants not "affiliated" with Hamas? Because it suits the purposes of the Israeli government to claim that? IJ is not the government in Gaza in fact Hamas was fighting them until recently. Using that logic any person in Gaza can be claimed to be a militant and there for punishable, which come to think of it they are being.

Most significantly to my mind, is that these circumstances fall between the cracks in international law*. Insurgents of this type are not soldiers, formally affiliated with the armed forces of a government, and thus in theory shouldn't be handled as combatants, but rather arrested, tried and punished according to the law. However, given that they have physical control of the territory they inhabit, arresting them becomes a very difficult proposition. Sure, the IDF can go into the Territories and make an arrest. In fact, they often do this - it's the more common state of affairs compared to an assassination. But try to imagine what would happen if they tried to do so someplace like Gaza City - it would provoke an instant and massive gunfight, almost certainly leaving more dead than even a particularly sloppy assassination (and that's not counting Israeli casualties), and with a much lower chance of success.

Falling between the cracks of of international law which I seen Pro Israel people on this board claim has no meaning when it works against Israel is the same logic used by the current American government to detain "combatants" at Gitmo for upwards of 7 years in some cases. However the incoming administration is closing Gitmo and giving trials to these people I believe some will be released outright though. Although gotta love the "we could hurt them a lot worse" that is reverted to when pressed.
There is also the fact that the blockade of Gaza's waters is an act of war or at least that is what Israeli government called it in 1967 when Egypt blockaded the Strait of Tiran. The Israeli government
IMO does not to fight this as a war then rules would apply.