Observation: Under International Law Israel Can Kill Hezbollah Forces Trying
To Blind People In Metullah With Lasers
Dr. Aaron Lerner 23 January 2023

Kan 11 TV news reported this evening that the IDF is clueless how to prevent
Hezbollah terrorists from continuing their efforts to blind the residents of
Metula with strong laser beams which Hezbollah aims from a hill around 180
meter across the border.

Let's consider international law:

"Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of
individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a
Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures
necessary to maintain international peace and security."
Article 51 of the UN Charter

So what is an "armed attack"? Do blinding lasers qualify?

"An armed attack requires the use of significant force that causes or
threatens to cause death or injury to persons"
International Committee of the Red Cross - Interpretive Guidance on the
Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities

"An armed attack is a use of force that is both significant and direct, and
that causes or threatens to cause death or injury to people"
Dr. Jens David Ohlin, Vice Dean and Professor of Law at Cornell Law School -
"Defending Humanity: When Force is Justified and Why"

Those lasers, which can permanently blind people, most certainly qualify as
a use of force threatening to cause "injury".

So while Kan 11 reports the IDF is clueless how to stop attacks originating
180 meters across the border, international law allows the IDF to kill the
attackers if that's what it takes.

Have we returned to the approach that we need to wait for a very photogenic
Israeli to first be seriously wounded before defending ourselves out of PR
considerations?

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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il