Are the "Geneva Conventions" Irrelevant?

The Geneva Conventions - the bedrock of the laws of war, and one of the world's most widely ratified treaties - at least among the civilized nations of our world, turned 60 last month. Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, states that it is Israel's view that one prevails in "asymmetric warfare" only by pummeling rather than protecting civilians, though that concept is not only illegal but also counterproductive. Contrary to Netanyahu's claim, what needs rewriting is not the Geneva Conventions but Israel's abusive and illegal war strategy. Shortly after a UN fact-finding mission led by former South African Justice Richard Goldstone issued a report this fall lambasting Israel, as well as Hamas for war crimes, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed his government "to examine the facilitating of an international initiative to change the laws of war in keeping with the spread of terrorism throughout the world." The Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols have long imposed strict rules on the conduct of hostilities designed to protect civilians from these conflicts." But not, it seems, in land coveted by Israel!
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