Wandering the information superhighway, he came upon the last refuge of civilization, PoFo, the only forum on the internet ...
Moderator: PoFo Today's News Mods
Pants-of-dog wrote:The measures include stopping genocide, preventing genocide, punish those who incite genocide, provide humanitarian aid. preserve evidence, and provide a report of the success of these measures.
Punishing those who incite genocide is a licence to commit genocide, or at the very least a license to commit atrocities. The term genocide has become so vague and meaningless that, the prevention and punishment of genocide provides an excuse for war anytime its wanted. When will Liberals and Lefties give up these pathetic idiotic fantasies about international Law. So called International Law is not a system of law at all, and there is no police force to enforce at as a system of law.Instead, the IDF is once again indiscriminately bombing urban populations,
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — More than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the territory’s Health Ministry said Monday, marking another grim milestone in the deadliest round of violence in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until “total victory” against Hamas, raising fears that troops will soon move into the southernmost town of Rafah on the Egyptian border, where over half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere. The United States, Israel’s top ally, says it is still working with mediators Egypt and Qatar to try to broker another cease-fire and hostage release agreement. But those efforts appear to have stalled in recent days, and Netanyahu angered Qatar, which has hosted Hamas leaders, bycalling on it to pressure the militant group.
The Health Ministry said 107 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours. That brings the total number of fatalities to 29,092 since the start of the war.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its records, but says around two-thirds of those killed were women and children. More than 69,000 Palestinians have been wounded, overwhelming the territory’s hospitals, less than half of which are even partially functioning.
The Health Ministry is part of the Hamas-run government in Gaza but maintains detailed records of casualties. Its figures from previous wars in Gaza have largely matched those of U.N. agencies, independent experts and even Israel’s own tallies.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage. More than 100 captives were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Militants still hold around 130, a fourth of them believed to be dead.
Israel responded to the attack by launching one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history on the besieged enclave, which has been ruled by Hamas since 2007.
Israel says it has killed over 10,000 Palestinian militants, without providing evidence. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames the high death toll on Hamas because the militant group fights in dense residential neighborhoods. The military says 236 of its soldiers have been killed since the start of the ground offensive in late October.
The war, which shows no sign of ending, has driven around 80% of the Palestinians in Gaza from their homes and has left a quarter of the population starving, according to U.N. officials.
On Sunday, Benny Gantz, a retired general and a member of Netanyahu’s three-man War Cabinet, warned that the offensive would expand to Rafah if the hostages are not freed by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin around March 10. The month of dawn-to-dusk fasting is often a time of heightened tensions in the region.
Israel has said it is developing plans to evacuate civilians from Rafah, but it’s not clear where they would go in the devastated territory, large areas of which have been flattened. Egypt has sealed the border and warned that any mass influx of Palestinians could threaten its decades-old peace treaty with Israel. The United States says it is still pushing for a truce and hostage-release, and that it would veto a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire because it conflicts with those efforts.
Hamas has said it won’t release all of the remaining hostages until Israel ends the war and withdraws from Gaza. It is also demanding the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top militants.
Netanyahu has rejected those demands, calling them “delusional.” In a speech before American Jewish leaders on Sunday, he said pressure should be applied on Qatar, which played a key role in mediating last year’s cease-fire and hostage release deal.
“Qatar can press Hamas as no one else can. They host Hamas leaders, Hamas is dependent on them financially,” Netanyahu said. “I urge you to press Qatar to press Hamas because we want our hostages released.”
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, dismissed Netanyahu’s remarks as “a new attempt to stall and prolong the war for reasons that have become obvious to everyone,” alluding to the Israeli leader’s domestic political troubles.
Qatar denies funding Hamas and says its provision of aid to Gaza in recent years was carried out in full coordination with Israel, the U.S. and other parties.
“The Israeli prime minister knows very well that Qatar has been committed from day one to mediation efforts, ending the crisis and freeing the hostages,” al-Ansari said. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/more-than-29000-palestinians-have-been-killed-in-gaza-since-wars-start-health-ministry-says
Palestinian Red Crescent slams Israeli claims about arrest of ‘terrorists’ at Gaza hospital
RAMALLAH, Palestine
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has dismissed Israeli claims about arresting 20 “terrorists” at Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip.
In a Thursday statement, the aid organization termed the Israeli claims as “slanders that aim to justify Israeli siege and raids on hospitals and medical staff.”
Israel “is desperately attempting to justify its war crimes by killing medical staff and bombing and destroying hospitals,” it added.
Israeli media published photos of medics and elderly patients being held at Al-Amal Hospital for alleged links with Hamas group.
Since Jan. 22, Khan Younis has witnessed a massive Israeli ground invasion, forcing tens of thousands of the city's residents to flee under heavy Israeli bombardment.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing at least 28,663 and causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/palestinian-red-crescent-slams-israeli-claims-about-arrest-of-terrorists-at-gaza-hospital/3138822
The following statement may be attributed to the American Red Cross:
“The days and months since October 7 have brought immeasurable heartbreak and endless devastation. As the hostilities in Israel and Gaza continue, we mourn the thousands of lives lost and continue to support the work of the global Red Cross Movement in the reunification of loved ones, as well as the critical delivery of humanitarian aid and essential medical services as the situation continues to deteriorate in the conflict zone. The fact that innocent civilians continue to be held hostage is unacceptable and their safe release must remain a top priority.
We implore all organizations and combatants in the region with the capacity, the influence, and the remit to please do whatever possible to deliver immediate relief for the innocent civilians, aid workers and emergency responders suffering from this devastation. As a neutral, humanitarian organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continues to pursue every possible avenue to secure the release of all remaining hostages, calling for urgent, immediate access to all those detained and for all sides to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.
The global Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement consists of three different factions – the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and individual national societies like the American Red Cross. Each play a unique role, working independently and in support of one another to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The ICRC works in conflict zones, helping to ensure that humanitarian law is followed during armed conflict and providing humanitarian protection and assistance for victims amid violence.
To support critical reunification efforts and essential medical and health services, the American Red Cross has pledged $10 million to the ICRC thanks to the generosity of our donors. ICRC technical experts remain in Gaza, including a war surgery team and a weapons contamination specialist. They have provided medical shipments and other critical supplies to hospitals including war-wounded kits, fuel for generators and ambulances, vital surgical equipment, foldable beds, chlorine tablets for safe drinking water, and mobility devices like crutches. Their installation of solar systems at 12 school shelters provides needed energy for water well pumps and desalination plants. Medical assistance is ongoing at the European Gaza Hospital, with the addition of a nutrition program aimed at supporting patients during their recovery.
In Gaza, the humanitarian situation is dire with shortages of water, food, fuel and medical supplies. The health system is unable to cope with the high demands for those wounded and sick, both in the north and south, The Egyptian Red Crescent is playing a crucial role in getting supplies into Gaza at the Rafah border, but it is not nearly enough for the over 2.2 million people in need. Delivering much-needed aid to people affected by this conflict is a collective effort, and the American Red Cross is working in close collaboration with partners in the global Red Cross Movement to get help where it is needed most.
We have pledged an additional $5 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to support passage of goods from Egypt into Gaza, as well as the urgent needs of evacuees arriving in Egypt, including healthcare services, water, shelter, sanitation, hygiene, and logistics support.
Since the violence escalated Magen David Adom in Israel and the Palestine Red Crescent Society have been responding, providing emergency assistance including health services, ambulance services and other critical needs. Sadly, many staff and volunteers from Magen David Adom, Palestine Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross have lost their lives during this conflict. The American Red Cross supports the heroic work of these dedicated humanitarians and grieves those killed while helping others. We stand firmly with the global Red Cross Movement in calling for civilians, medical workers, health facilities and aid workers to be protected.
Red Cross and Red Crescent teams from around the world are united in supporting this crisis and aiding those in need.”
Additional information:
For those trying to locate or get in touch with a U.S. citizen, please contact the U.S. Department of State Overseas Citizens Services call 1-833-890-9595 or 1-606-641-0131 to connect to the coordinating group.
For those who wish to help people affected by the humanitarian crisis resulting from the conflict in Israel and Gaza that escalated in October 2023, we ask that they write “Middle East Humanitarian Crisis” in the memo line of a check and mail it with a completed donation form to the address on the form or to their local Red Cross chapter. Your donation will be used by the Red Cross Movement where it’s needed most to help all those in the impacted region.
Currently, the American Red Cross and our global Red Cross partners are not accepting donations of in-kind goods such as food, clothing or blankets. These items can be difficult to manage on the ground and divert resources from our mission. Other charitable organizations are better suited to manage such donations.
During emergencies, the American Red Cross will ship blood products outside of the U.S. following a specific request from the U. S. State Department for U.S. citizens overseas, at the request of the United Nations, or at the request of the affected Red Cross or Red Crescent society abroad. We have not received blood product requests for Israel or Gaza at this time.
For those interested in learning more about international humanitarian law and its vital role in protecting the innocent during armed conflict, please visit http://www.redcross.org/ihl. The American Red Cross has a duty to fulfill the Geneva Conventions’ purpose of reducing suffering during armed conflict. As part of our duty, the American Red Cross leads the effort to ensure Americans are informed of these laws and the humanitarian principles they reflect.
For more information about how the global Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is assisting those affected, visit icrc.org. https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/press-release/2024/statement-on-conflict-in-israel-and-gaza.html
Since the devastating armed conflict escalated in October 2023, teams from Magen David Adom (MDA) in Israel and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in Gaza and the West Bank, have been working round the clock to support people caught up in the conflict.
Rooted in their communities, both MDA and PRCS have been able to respond from day one, treating casualties, driving ambulances and providing lifesaving first aid.
Many of the staff and volunteers have been personally affected by the conflict, and have risked their lives to save others. But who exactly are they?How do Magen David Adom and the Palestine Red Crescent relate to the Red Cross?
The Magen David Adom in Israel, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society, are part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is made up of three parts, each of which plays a distinct and complementary role.
National Societies, like the British Red Cross, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Magen David Adom in Israel (MDA), work throughout their countries to respond to humanitarian needs locally and nationally.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a membership organisation which unites the National Societies and provides support and coordination to its members.
The Movement is made up of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and 191 National Societies across the world. The MDA and the PRCS are both formally recognised National Societies.
All Societies within the Movement provide humanitarian assistance in accordance with our shared Fundamental Principles. This includes Magen David Adom and the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
As a part of the neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian Movement, all National Societies respond solely based on need and without discrimination.
What does Magen David Adom do?
The Magen David Adom in Israel is the recognised National Society of the State of Israel. It provides humanitarian assistance according to our Fundamental Principles.
Since the conflict escalated in Israel on 7 October 2023, Magen David Adom has mobilised all of its available resources to assist the injured. This includes 1,500 ambulances, and 10,000 first responders. All MDA ambulances are staffed and on call 24/7.
Since the conflict started, the MDA have confirmed that three of their members have been killed in the line of duty.
How Magen David Adom have supported communities during the conflict
Why does Magen David Adom use a different symbol?
When operating within Israel, MDA uses its official sign, the red shield of David (also called the red star of David). If operating internationally, MDA uses the red crystal emblem, often in conjunction with its official sign.
Find out more about the emblems and what they mean
What does the Palestine Red Crescent Society do?
The Palestine Red Crescent Society is also part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and is also bound by our Fundamental Principles.
It provides humanitarian support based on need and without discrimination.
Upon the recent escalation of armed violence, the PRCS activated its Central Emergency Operations Room at the main headquarters in Gaza, which continues to operate 24/7.
Since then, it has also been distributing vital supplies to the many men, women, and children in desperate need. These supplies have nearly gone
The Palestine Red Crescent Society is also the leading provider of emergency medical services in Gaza, treating thousands at PRCS run hospitals, providing vital first aid, and taking the injured to hospitals. It is also sheltering displaced people.
The PRCS confirmed that four of its paramedics have been killed while providing assistance during this recent conflict. Why does the Palestine Red Crescent Society use a different symbol?
The Palestine Red Crescent Society uses a red crescent symbol.
Under the Geneva Conventions, the red cross, red crescent, and red crystal are symbols of protection in armed conflict. International law protects the people who wear them, and the buildings and transport which display them.
These people aren’t part of a conflict – they’re simply there to help anyone who needs it. The emblems are not religious symbols. Who is the ICRC?
ICRC stands for ‘International Committee of the Red Cross’.
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the ICRC is an independent humanitarian organisation, whose role is defined in the Geneva Conventions. It is part of the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.
The ICRC helps victims of armed conflict and internal crises and works closely with National Societies in these situations. ICRC members also visit prisoners-of-war and civilian detainees to inspect their conditions.
During the conflict, the ICRC has been working round the clock to treat casualties, provide ambulances and lifesaving first aid to all those who need it, alongside the MDA and Palestine Red Crescent Society.
How does neutrality help the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement reach people in need?
The Magen David Adom in Israel, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and the ICRC were already present. That means they were able to respond immediately.
The neutrality of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is key in situations like this. It helps us to build trust with communities and to gain access to people in need. We do not pick or take sides. Our sole purpose is to deliver impartial support to those in need of humanitarian assistance.
On 20 October, the ICRC helped to facilitate the release of two hostages by transporting them from Gaza to Israel, and onwards. Two days later we helped facilitate two more.
The ICRC stated, “Our role as a neutral intermediary makes this work possible, and we are ready to facilitate any future release.”
Our neutral stance also meant that, along with the ICRC, the Palestine Red Crescent, and the Egyptian Red Crescent the ICRC were able to facilitate aid convoys into Gaza on 20 and 23 October 2023. This allowed a modest amount of vital aid to reach Gaza.
While access was welcome, the ICRC is calling for more aid to be allowed into Gaza. The humanitarian need there is desperate.
What is the Red Cross Movement?
Seeing the suffering of thousands of people on both sides of the Battle of Solferino in 1859, Swiss businessman Henry Dunant knew he had to do something.
He had the idea to create volunteer national societies that would be able to give neutral, impartial help in times of armed conflict. And he proposed an international agreement - the original Geneva Convention - to recognise the neutral status of medical services in armed conflict.
The committee he formed to put these ideas into action became the ICRC.
One voice of compassion, calling for people to receive help no matter which side they were on, was enough to start a movement that now spans 191 countries.
Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity , and universality are our unique principles.
They mean we can continue to access communities on all sides and deliver services to all those affected- by armed conflict and other emergencies. Around the world, we’re able to reach people that others can’t. https://www.redcross.org.uk/stories/disasters-and-emergencies/world/palestine-red-crescent-and-magen-david-adom-explained
wat0n wrote:@Deutschmania what was the Palestinian Red Crescent doing at the Erez Crossing on October 7? Was it aware of what was going to happen?
«The Palestinian Red Crescent played an active role in the massacres of October 7th». The Israeli Embassy to the Holy See entrusts to X - on the official account - a polemical message (not even too veiled) towards Pope Francis who just yesterday received Younis Al Khatib, President of the «Palestine Red Crescent Society», the Palestinian Red Crescent, the humanitarian organization of the international movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Palestine and Gaza. After the controversies of the past few days with Ambassador Raphael Schulz on the course of the war, the relations between the Vatican and Israel once again prove to be always agitated and tense. It is not the first time since the beginning of the conflict that Israeli exponents, authoritative diplomats, rabbis and academics have expressed disorientation for the diplomatic line of Oltretevere judged unbalanced. On X, this time, the footage taken on October 7th, the morning of the anti-Semitic Pogrom, at the Erez crossing, the only pedestrian crossing between Gaza and Israel, is posted, in which a wounded Hamas terrorist is rescued and evacuated by paramedics on a Red Crescent ambulance which, as the images show, were evidently part of the operational plan of the attack. The Israel-Vatican crisis is easing, the Israeli ambassador explains that the statement was translated badly for him About the audience with President Al Khatib the Vatican has not provided any details, nor wanted to make comments. Always on X the president of the Palestinian Red Crescent informed that the meeting with Francis served to offer the Pope a picture of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. In recent days, the Palestinian Red Crescent had denounced the killing of a woman due to shots by Israeli soldiers against the organization's building in Khan Younis. New diplomatic clash between the Vatican and Israel. «Deplore the words of Cardinal Parolin» For the Pope today is his last public appointment: after the Angelus, in fact, the Lenten spiritual exercises begin. He will be on retreat until Friday afternoon. Contrary to what he has always done in the past years (except for the biennium of the pandemic) the spiritual retreat takes place in a separate and personal form without any retreat with the curia in the religious house of Ariccia where Francis organized for cardinals and bishops even the transport all together on a bus. Even in this case the Vatican did not want to provide any explanation to this decision that surprised some members of the curia who expected the collective retreat at the gates of Rome. https://www.ilmessaggero.it/en/tensions_between_vatican_and_israel_over_palestinian_red_crescent_s_role_in_october_7_massacres-7943012.html
The Defense Ministry releases a clip showing Palestinian medics treating a wounded Hamas insurgent amid the October 7 onslaught, at the Erez border crossing.
The ministry says they are medics of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, although their uniform and ambulance appear to be of the Military Medical Services. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/defense-ministry-clip-shows-palestine-red-crescent-medics-treating-wounded-hamas-terrorist-at-erez-crossing-on-oct-7/
Is Your Hospital Prepared for Gang Violence and Injuries?
February 25, 2019 Amy Rock Jump to Comments
Los Angeles County has more than 1,300 gangs with over 150,000 members. In the city of Los Angeles alone, there are an estimated 450 active gangs with a combined membership of over 45,000 individuals.
In the last three years, there were over 16,398 violent gang crimes in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Those crimes included 491 homicides, 7,047 felony assaults, 5,518 robberies and 98 rapes.
For Los Angeles-based hospitals, treating patients with gang affiliations isn’t something new. Many of the active gangs in the area have been around for more than half a century.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, located in the heart of South Los Angeles, has provided medical services to many local gang members over the years.
5 Steps to Prepare for Patient Violence in Hospitals
According to Jonathan Westall, VP of Ancillary Services at MLKCH, South L.A. has been dominated by the Bloods and the Crips for decades.
“I would say quite a few of our [patients] are gang members or associated with different gangs,” Westall tells Campus Safety magazine. “Some of the largest housing projects in Los Angeles – Nickerson Gardens and Imperial Courts – are across the street [from the hospital].”
While outside influences and a simple lack of awareness might lead the average person to believe that gang-affiliated patients are usually at a hospital to receive medical attention for injuries sustained due to gang violence, Westall says most of the time, they are there to receive treatment for common ailments.
Campus Security Technology Trends to Watch in 2024
Take a peek at the hot technologies that should be on everyone’s radar this year. Download your copy now!
“The Crips and the Bloods formed in the 70s, so you have elderly gang members who have normal aging issues,” says Westall. “They have canes and walkers. These are old men. Now don’t get me wrong, there is violent crime and stuff does happen, but a lot of them are also here because their kid is sick, or their wife is pregnant, or their brother or mother is in. They have all these normal medical issues that all non-gang members have. So, at that point, they’re worried about their family member like anybody else would be.”
While violent occurrences are rare, hospitals still need to be prepared for the potential problems that can arise when a gang member becomes a patient due to gang-related injuries.
How MLKCH Has Handled Gang-Affiliated Patients
A 2018 guideline from the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS) surrounding gang awareness recommends hospitals establish a specific patient care plan that addresses the potential security risks when a known or suspected gang member presents as a patient or a visitor.
The association says protective measures and protocols based on situational threat assessments might include protecting the privacy of the patient’s identity, location and associated health information.
When treating a gang member who is admitted for injuries sustained due to gang violence, MLKCH will place them under an alias and assign a hospital employee to watch their room. In some situations, security personnel or police must be involved.
“We try to start from a medical standpoint with a ‘sitter,’ which is non-security personnel,” Westall describes. “But sometimes, especially if the patient has a history of violence or lashing out, we’ll assign them an officer. If the person is under police custody, then they hold them. Then the officer has a safety briefing and works with our security.”
Why You Should be Using Red Teams to Enhance Hospital Security
Related: Why You Should be Using Red Teams to Enhance Hospital Security
IAHSS also recommends a change in room location and other environmental modifications, such as patient transport and controlling patient visitors.
When rival gang members are injured in a fight, it is ideal to transport them to different hospitals to avoid potential issues. However, in California, most hospitals don’t own the ambulances.
“They are private contractors, so they bring the victims to the closest hospital. So oftentimes, they end up at the same one,” says Westall.
In situations like this, MLKCH locks down the emergency room and creates two separate waiting rooms.
“We won’t even address the gang affiliation,” says Westall. “We’ll find out who the visitor is here to see and put visitors for one family group in one room and the other visitors in another to keep them separated. We try to downplay the fact that they are in a gang as much as possible.”
Prior to joining MLKCH, Westall worked at a hospital in North Los Angeles. Between 2016 and 2017, there was a longstanding feud between the Pasadena Bloods and the Duarte Crips.
“We were having shooting and trauma victims brought in weekly,” he says. “Then there would be a memorial service for one of the gang members that got shot and killed and then the rival gang would shoot up that memorial service, which would, in turn, create another issue. It becomes a lot of crowd control, especially when there’s a shooting at a large event like that. We have to balance the needs of the family to be with their loved one as well as the safety and security of the institution.”
Best Practices for Handling Gang-Affiliated Patients in Your Hospital
Although each hospital’s patient population is different, it is important for all healthcare facilities — not only those located in inner cities — to adopt programs and training that emphasize gang awareness and prevention.
Overall, hospital security surrounding gang-affiliated patients requires cooperation, dedication and support from all stakeholders.
While the following best practices are recommendations regarding gang-affiliated patients, they can be applied to all types of security issues.
1. Community Involvement
Many hospital safety officials believe working with community stakeholders is the best course of action to prevent gang violence from spilling through their doors.
IAHSS agrees, stating that healthcare facilities should identify and monitor the presence of gang activity in the community through an established information-gathering mechanism.
The process may include:
Communicating with local law enforcement
Establishing an open line of communication with community leaders and those knowledgeable about gang activity
Monitoring social media and environmental signs of gang presence
Strong employee screening, including thorough background checks . https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/hospital/gang-member-patients/
In armed conflicts involving terrorists, should we consider medical care a form of illegitimate support to the terrorists? Should a state be allowed to punish those who provide impartial care to wounded and sick fighters—including terrorists—who are hors de combat (out of the battle) and to wounded and sick civilians in terrorist-controlled territories? Should a state be allowed to prevent such providers from traveling to conflict zones in the first place? Should organized armed groups defined as terrorists—under U.N. Security Council resolutions or domestic legislation—be allowed during conflicts to authorize and control their own medical personnel, who must then be recognized and protected by the other parties to the conflict?
In a new legal research briefing for the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict, we evaluate international humanitarian law (IHL) protections for wartime medical assistance concerning terrorists. We also look at the practice of several countries (Colombia, Peru, and the United States) regarding domestic prosecutions of medical treatment for terrorists. We show how IHL lays down extensive protections for medical care, which should constrain some domestic criminal proceedings, but we also expose gaps and weaknesses in the protections afforded by IHL itself.
Since 1864, states have put medical care above the conflict in key respects. The first step was establishing that the wounded and sick hors de combat of all parties to the conflict must be cared for. Over time, states further stipulated that wounded and sick prisoners of war—and, later, wounded and sick civilians—must be protected and cared for, too. Since protections for the wounded would be largely meaningless without access to medical personnel and supplies, IHL also shields those engaged in medical care and the means they employ to do so.
Yet our research reveals how IHL’s own commitment to these premises remains incomplete and creates fault lines in the protective landscape. Traditionally, IHL imposed many more medical-care obligations in international armed conflicts (IACs) than in non-international armed conflicts (NIACs). In the 1970s, states attempted to create a more uniform and comprehensive regime, but only for some types of NIACs. These efforts met success insofar as states opted into the resulting treaties flattening many of those distinctions. But because numerous states did not contract into the new treaties, those efforts simultaneously exacerbated the fragmentation between states (between parties to those treaties and non-parties to them) and across conflicts (both between IACs and NIACs, and between different types of NIACs). Meanwhile, an array of medical-care rules has crystallized into customary IHL (which binds all states, regardless of whether the state is party to a relevant treaty). Yet many rules have eluded sufficient states’ buy-in, and can therefore not be considered customary. Finally, even the most extensive IHL treaties do not exhaustively protect all facets of medical care. To date, for instance, IHL does not regulate the capture and retention of medical personnel in NIACs.
The significant variance in states’ IHL obligations concerning non-punishment of medical caregivers is a prominent example of this fragmentation. Under the First Geneva Convention of 1949, in an IAC no person may be convicted or ill-treated for having nursed a wounded combatant—irrespective of that combatant’s nationality and conduct. In 1977, states expanded that norm to prohibit all forms of punishment against any person who carries out medical activities compatible with medical ethics, regardless of who benefits therefrom (including, for instance, civilians in the conflict zone). The expanded norm is found, for contracting states, in Additional Protocol I (AP I), which governs IACs, and in Additional Protocol II (AP II), which governs NIACs meeting a certain threshold. But states that did not become party to AP I are not obliged under IHL to expand the protections to encompass a prohibition on all forms of punishment for ethically sound medical care in IACs. Nor are states that did not become party to AP II obliged under IHL to refrain from punishing ethically sound medical care in NIACs. Complicating the matter further is that even parties to AP II are not obliged to uphold the prohibition on punishment in NIACs not meeting AP II’s threshold of application.
The U.S., for example, is not a party to either of the Additional Protocols. In its June 2015 Law of War Manual, the U.S. Department of Defense did not include the expanded norm in AP I prohibiting all forms of punishment for providing ethically sound medical care in IACs. (The Manual did retain, in section 7.4.5.3, the narrower obligation prohibiting conviction or molestation for treating enemy wounded in IACs.) Nor—despite incorporating the bulk of AP II medical-care protections in sections 17.14–17.15—did the Manual include any protections against punishing a person who carries out ethically sound medical activities in NIACs. Rather, section 17.4.1.2 of the Manual, concerning NIACs, expressly gives “providing material support to the armed group” as an example of a form of conduct that may be punishable under a state’s domestic law.
Under U.S. law, “medicine” is exempted from the statute (18 U.S.C. § 2339B) criminalizing the provision of material support or resources to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). (Religious materials are exempted, too.) Yet courts have interpreted this medicine exemption very narrowly: in short, it “shields only those who provide substances qualifying as medicine to terrorist organizations.” (Italics original.) The statute proscribes certain other forms of medical support to FTOs. An American physician was convicted under the statute for volunteering to serve in Saudi Arabia as an “on-call doctor” for al-Qaeda. In principle, the statute also criminalizes the conduct of a physician who—while working in a field hospital in Syria—provides expert medical assistance to an hors de combat member of the al-Nusra Front by, for example, dressing his wounds (thus going beyond providing him with mere medical substances), so long as the doctor knows the wounded fighter is a member of a designated FTO. (The statutory definition of the proscribed form of material support to an FTO of “expert advice or assistance” is “advice or assistance derived from scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge.” According to the U.S. Supreme Court, “knowledge about the organization’s connection to terrorism, not specific intent to further the organization’s terrorist activities,” is the mental state required to prove a violation of the statute.)
Against the backdrop of the fragmented IHL landscape, states are taking more aggressive approaches to preventing, intercepting, and punishing terrorism. The U.N. Security Council has been a key driver of these responses, requiring member states to take more and broader steps to obviate terrorist threats. Yet so far, the Council has not required that, in doing so, states exempt protections for medical care in armed conflict found in some key sources of IHL. To the contrary, the Council seems to consider providing medical assistance and supplies to al-Qaeda and its associates as at least a partial ground for designating those who provide such assistance and supplies as terrorists themselves.
By rejecting some of the premises underlying IHL’s medical-care protections, state responses to terrorism exacerbate the fault lines in the IHL protective landscape. More broadly, counterterrorism policies threaten to weaken the ethical foundations of IHL protections for impartial medical care.
The overall result today is unsatisfactory. By prosecuting physicians for supporting terrorists in armed conflict, some states are likely violating their IHL treaty obligations. But in other instances where states intentionally curtail medical care there is no clear IHL violation. Both those actual IHL violations and the lack of clear IHL violations, we think, are cause for concern. The former represent failures to implement the legal regime. And the latter spotlight the non-comprehensiveness—or, at least, the indeterminateness and variability—of the normative framework. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/medical-care-armed-conflict-ihl-and-state-responses-terrorism
wat0n wrote:So you don't see anything wrong with the Palestinian Red Crescent being aware of the massacre in advance, given it was there from the very beginning, even though it's supposed to be neutral and not Hamas' medical unit.
Did the Palestinian Red Crescent provide any aid to Israelis wounded by Hamas, @Deutschmania? That's how a neutral body acts.
Unless, of course, you see nothing wrong with the massacre just like the other communist rape supporters here.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant released footage earlier today of what he said showed medics from the Palestine Red Crescent treating a wounded Hamas terrorist amid the October 7 onslaught at the Erez border crossing.
But analysis of the footage indicates that the medics and ambulance at the scene were from Hamas’s military medical service.
Moreover, the Red Crescent issues a statement saying, “The medical team and the ambulance shown in the video are not of PRCS.”
“The PRCS teams and volunteers are committed to abiding by the humanitarian principles of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement particularly neutrality and impartiality,” the agency tweets. “The PRCS asserts that medical treatment is a right for everyone, and it should be provided to all those in need regardless of their affiliation.”
The Red Cross issues its own statement echoing that sentiment, tweeting that “analysis of the video has been confirmed that the individual is not in a PRCS uniform, nor is it a PRCS ambulance. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gallant-accuses-red-crescent-of-treating-oct-7-perpetrators-but-footage-shows-otherwise/
Deutschmania wrote:I tried seeing what I could find regarding the as of yet unfounded suspicion of the Red Crescent having advance notice of the attack , and interestingly enough , found evidence of Israeli intelligence having prior awareness of the planned Hamas operation .
https://truthout.org/articles/report-israeli-officials-knew-of-october-7-attack-a-year-ago-but-didnt-act/
So I suppose that those in glass houses shouldn't be so quick to throw stones . And furthermore , from the Times of Israel , of all things .
Deutschmania wrote:And since the rest of your post was made in bad faith , in that it constitutes an ad hominem , I shall end this exchange right here .
Deutschmania wrote:Well that was hours I'll never get back. I had a lengthy response about ready to post , when I accidentally clicked off the page .So in short I will just state that the first speaker was a propagandist , who used emotionally charged loaded language , and whataboutism , complaining of "identity politics" , we he himself used his own sort of Jewish identity politics , and failed to appreciate the fact that the International Court of Justice seems to use an adversarial , rather than inquisitorial system of adjudication , unlike incidentally how things were handled in the old Soviet Union courts of law . And if he wants us to feel sorry for the hostages , Israel shouldn't have slaughtered some of them , during its military operations in the Gaza Strip. I felt that the second was boring , and that his loquacious pontification added nothing of special value to the proceeding .
The second and third engaged in victim blaming , and invoked the historic legal precedent of World War 2.
And the final speaker gave what amounted to a closing summation. I just wonder what these professional defenders of Israel would have had Jews do , if the shoe were on the other foot . Did not Jewish people offer up armed resistance , when they were confined to ghettos ? Under similar material conditions , how can Israel reasonably expect the Palestinian population of Gaza to behave any differently ? I am not sure though that the IDF will be able to be brought to account for its aerial bombardment of civilian areas , given that both sides , during World War 2 carried out comparable actions , the Luftwaffe in London , and the Allies in both Dresden , and Royan , among other targets . Which was why the German war pilots were never brought to justice , at the Nuremburg Trial. And though both Islam and Judaism , in terms of just war theory , condemns excessive destruction of human life , and asserts that those who exceed the rightful limits , and wantonly kill even one person is guilty of genocide, exactly what all should fall beyond the pale of international human rights law remains to be clearly established . This basically summarizes my previous more detailed commentary. The remaining links consist of my list of footnotes. https://archive.nyu.edu/bitstream/2451/61278/2/Jihad%20in%20Islam%20Just%20war%20theory.pdf , https://academic.oup.com/ejil/article/24/1/343/438602 , https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/history-ideas/2016/10/the-origins-of-the-precept-whoever-saves-a-life-saves-the-world/ , https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=2979&context=ilj , https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/organized-crime/module-9/key-issues/adversarial-vs-inquisitorial-legal-systems.html , https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/1654483# , https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/jewish-resistance , https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/if-warsaw-ghetto-in-1943-enacted-an-uprising-and-not-terrorism-so-did-gaza-in-2023-15671465 , https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/jewish-uprisings-in-ghettos-and-camps-1941-44 , https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/14/gaza-israels-open-air-prison-15 , https://www.wagingpeace.org/nuremberg-and-nuclear-weapons/ , https://www.facebook.com/pakistanidefence/videos/jon-stewart-destroys-israel/10152330001112663/
Pants-of-dog wrote:No rape is mentioned in that quote.
Consequently, accusing @Deutschmania of supporting rape is misrepresentation.
And the complete lack of any quote by me also shows misrepresentation.
Now, focus on arguments instead of attacking the person making the argument.
Yes, it does. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M[…]
- By Potemkin
Yes, we can thank this period in Britain--and Orw[…]
- By Puffer Fish
This is a story about a woman who was denied adequ[…]
He may have gotten a lot more votes than Genocide[…]
- By KurtFF8