Booby-trapped device terror is against UK and international law – but still silence from Starmer

Israel’s actions are grossly illegal – but the ‘human rights lawyer’ and his Foreign Secretary can’t even mention it, let alone condemn

At the time of writing Keir Starmer and Home Secretary David Lammy have still not even mentioned Israel’s waves of terrorist assaults in Lebanon, despite the deaths of well over thirty people – including two children – and the maiming of thousands more in the coordinated and indiscriminate detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies.

Let alone condemned it.

But UK and international law are absolutely unequivocal that Israel’s booby-trapping of devices is completely illegal. The UK’s “Joint Service Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict“, which tells this country’s armed forces what they can and cannot do, is crystal clear:

6.7.3 Where combat between ground forces is neither taking place nor appears imminent, booby-traps may not be used at all in populated areas unless … measures are taken to protect civilians from their effects, for example, the posting of warning [signs, the posting of] sentries, the issue of warnings or the provision of fences.

6.7.4 It is prohibited to use booby-traps in the form of apparently harmless portable objects which are specifically designed and constructed to contain explosive material. This prohibition relates to booby-traps made to look like watches, personnel audio players, cameras and the like.

Israeli sources have now told the Israeli and international press that the exploding pagers were made, at source, to contain enough military-grade explosive to kill or maim, before the devices were shipped to Lebanon from Israeli cut-outs. Combat was not imminent – on the contrary, this terror campaign is clearly designed to provoke war.

The prohibition is rooted in international law, not just British law. The United Nations’ genocide prevention “Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices as amended on 3 May 1996 (Protocol II to the 1980 Convention as amended on 3 May 1996” states:

It is prohibited in all circumstances to use any mine, booby-trap or other device which is designed or of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering…

7.It is prohibited in all circumstances to direct weapons to which this Article applies, either in offence, defence or by way of reprisals, against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians or civilian objects.
8.The indiscriminate use of weapons to which this Article applies is prohibited. Indiscriminate use is any placement of such weapons:
(a) which is not on, or directed against, a military objective. In case of doubt as to whether an object which is normally dedicated to civilian purposes, such as a place of worship, a house or other dwelling or a school, is being used to make an effective contribution to military action, it shall be presumed not to be so used; or
(b) which employs a method or means of delivery which cannot be directed at a specific military objective; or
(c) which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated…
10. All feasible precautions shall be taken to protect civilians from the effects of weapons to which this Article applies. Feasible precautions are those precautions which are practicable or practically possible taking into account all circumstances ruling at the time, including humanitarian and military considerations
11. Effective advance warning shall be given of any emplacement of mines, booby-traps and other devices which may affect the civilian population, unless circumstances do not permit

Israel used booby-trapped devices that it knew were extremely likely to explode in civilian areas, when civilians were near, and that civilians were likely to be harmed. It gave no warning and took no precautions at all to protect civilians from harm, detonating the devices in two waves when those carrying them would be in all kinds of places – and it used devices specifically designed to maim, blowing off hands, blinding people and destroying joints and genitalia.

Israel’s actions in Lebanon were in the grossest violation of international law and treaty obligations – and against UK law too. This is no surprise to those who have seen and condemned its genocide and other war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, but it is no less appalling for that.

Despite this, the UK’s PM and Defence Secretary have not said one word about them, let alone to condemn them. Lammy tweeted that he had spoken to his Lebanese counterpart about ‘rising tensions’, but his tweet did not even mention the exploding devices or Israel’s terrorist tactics.

Meanwhile, Starmer is misusing UK terror law to silence and intimidate journalists and others exposing Israel’s genocide and other war crimes and Starmer’s government abstained on a United Nations resolution attempting to halt those crimes. Israel is a rogue state, but Keir Starmer and his ideological allies are doing their damnedest to make the UK one too.

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