What does the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have to say about that?
It is not the ICRC’s way to give advice to governments. However, we do have a duty to point out the consequences of certain actions. If the Palestinian authorities can no longer pay the salaries of 140,000 civil servants, then from five to ten times as many people – all those who until now have depended upon those salaries – will be punished, thus aggravating the economic crisis, making the humanitarian situation even more acute and further eroding security. Hamas does not recognize Israel’s right to exist. It referred to the latest suicide bombing in Tel Aviv as a “natural result” of the occupation. What should Israel do? Acts of terror intentionally target civilians or at least take no account of civilian deaths. That is explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law. The ICRC condemns such attacks. Israel clearly has a right and a duty to defend its population against such attacks. It can prosecute the presumed perpetrator, but must act within the framework of its obliga
