Israel-Hamas War

Stanford Law School holds forum on the rules of warfare amid Israel-Hamas war

NBC Universal, Inc.

The common saying “all’s fair in love and war” isn’t exactly true when it comes to actual combat. There are international rules of war, but they can often be tough to recognize when supporters of both sides interpret violations differently. 

And at the Stanford campus Thursday — where students and community members have been vocal about the Israel-Hamas war — its law school held a session on how the rules apply and how important it is that they’re followed. 

Many watched in-person or virtually at the “Rules of War” forum led by professors Allen Weiner and Scott Sagan, which was moderated by Janine Zacharia. 

The speakers focused on issues of proportionality, meaning how much is allowed in military attacks, and distinction, meaning who can be targeted. 

“Civilians and civilian targets are impermissible. You can only target military targets,” said Sagan. “And it’s left up to people to decide: is this military, is this civilian?”

“The rules of war are not human rights instruments, but they are designed to ameliorate or minimize the worst humanitarian experiences of war,” said Weiner. “Particularly to try to protect the people who are taking no active part in hostilities.”

NBC Bay Area spokes to students and observers who agreed, but still have different interpretations. 

“War has different rules,” said Leon Melamezou. “On 9/11, nobody said, ‘America, your hands are tired when thousands of innocent people were killed in those towers. This was our 9/11. Oct. 7 is our 9/11 and we have a right to defend ourselves.”

“I hope that the international war crimes court takes the suggestion of many countries around the world and proceeds to prosecute Israel for their war crimes against Palestinian civilians,” said Tenzin, a student who declined to give their last name. 

Actual enforcement and punishment for violations of the rules of war can be complicated and drawn out, according to Weiner. 

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