is a pdf image of the actual letter with all the signatures; the text of letter is below.
March 30, 2009
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
United States Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C 20002
Dear Madam Secretary:
The undersigned Attorneys General write to convey our strong support for the State of Israel's actions in Gaza. The State of Israel's actions; are taken in furtherance of its right to self-defense provided under Article 51 of the United Nation Charter that provides that "Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual...'self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations..."
Since June 2005, when Hamas militarily expelled the Palestinian Authority from Gaza in a coup d'etat, Hamas has launched more than 6,300 rockets and mortars at Israeli civilians, killing and wounding 730, while disrupting the lives of hundreds or thousands of citizens. [Wall Street Journal December 29, 2008.] With the increased range of its recent rockets, more than 500,000 people in Israel have been included within their reach, with rocket attacks targeting not only Sderot, but also Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Be'er Sheva.
While Hamas is an acknowledged terrorist regime - recognized as such by Israel, the United States, and the European Union - it acts under the cover of a "sovereign state."
Hamas War Crimes in Violation of Article 48 of the Geneva Convention
By intentionally targeting 6,300 rockets against Israel's civilian population, Hamas is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of a war crime in that it has violated Article 48 of Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva Convention of 1949 which provides that "...the Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations: only against military objectives.
In addition to its war crimes committed against the Israeli civilian population, Hamas has also committed atrocities against the Palestinian civilian population under its control in Gaza by using these civilians as shields for its criminal conduct. As recently noted by the Wall Street Journal, "...Hamas deliberately locates its security forces in residential neighborhoods. This is intended to both deter Israel from attacking in the first place as well as turn world opinion against the Jewish state when it does attack."
Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but Hamas, instead of establishing a flourishing, independent Palestinian State, has used this occasion to cause a civil war with the Palestinian Authority, leading to a coup d'etat in 2007 - a1l to the detriment of the Palestinian civilian population living in Gaza.
Conclusion
Hamas's continuous rocket and mortar attacks on Israel's civilian population are a casus bellum. As in all wars, the appropriate response is not a "proportionate one," but one measured to bring an end to the acts of war. The United States did not bomb Tokyo Harbor and the Japanese fleet as a response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Seventh Fleet. It declared war on Japan. To Israel's credit, it launched a limited and directed action against the source of Hamas's military acts white allowing the entrance of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
It is an essential element in the common law that intent is a crucial element in the commission of all acts. Hamas's intentional acts of launching rockets at civilians were in no way comparable to Israel's acts in directing its response to the source of Hamas's military attacks that unintentionally caused harm to Palestinian civilians; Israel's acts were justified and, in our view, met the international legal standards required of a modern state.
Since 1988, many attorneys general have been members of delegations visiting Israel through the America-Israel Friendship League, an educational organization that organizes a lega1 exchange program in conjunction with the government of Israel and NAAG. Those of us who have been fortunate to embark on one or more of these missions have had memorable experiences, meeting with top Israeli officials to address issues of mutual concern, such as anti-terrorism initiatives, cyber crime, civil rights, criminal law, crimes against women, and youth crime, as well as encountering the people of this magnificent land, from the Golan Heights to Nazareth and from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
We are firmly supportive of your current efforts, Madam Secretary, and the work of all in the Obama administration involved in maintaining the cease-fire and sustaining a lasting peace in the region while upholding our nation's strong and enduring bonds to the State of Israel. In furtherance of NAAG's goals to "increase citizen understanding and law enforcement's role to ensure both protection of individual rights and compliance with the law," we did feel compelled to express our condemnation of Hamas' acts in Gaza and our support for the State of Israel.
Sincerely,
(Signed by the Attorneys General of the ten states listed above)
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