Civilians being the first victims, the FIDH recalls that international law regards suicide attacks as war crimes, the authors of which must be prosecuted and handed over to the law. In this respect, the FIDH urges the Palestinian Authority to do its utmost to prevent the recurrence of such acts, in full conformity with international law.
The State of Israel shall not use the fighting of those acts as an excuse to exempt itself from its obligations as an occupation force, which are defined by, among others, the Geneva Conventions. In this respect, the FIDH recalls that executions aimed at specific categories of the population, collective punishments such as destruction of dwellings, attacks against medical facilities, etc., constitute war crimes as well. The individual responsibility of the authors of such acts is involved.