Changing the Rules of War By Mark Silverberg

Despite thousands of missiles being fired at Israeli cities, towns and villages, the European Union recently condemned Israel's "disproportionate use of force" and issued a communiqué urging Israel to "refrain from all activities that endanger civilians" in Gaza on the grounds that "such activities are contrary to international law.”

Earlier, Human Rights Watch issued a similar statement to the effect that civilians acting as human shields do not pose a direct threat to opposing forces and therefore retain their immunity from attack because they are not directly engaged in hostilities against an adversary. (Human Rights Watch, Backgrounder, International Humanitarian Law Issues in a Potential War in Iraq, accessed 20 February 2003).

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