I essentially agree with Carl and Justin on the subject. I'd further unpack the term "suicide bombings."
What Palestinian solidarity activists should take a position on (even if only to clarify the problem to themselves) is _not_ "suicide bombings" (which may not violate international law _if_ their targets are military ones, _if_ they avoid civilian casualties, etc.) _but_ deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians (which may be committed with or without "suicide bombings," by Palestinians, Israelis, or anyone else), in other words, war crimes in violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the provisions of Protocol 1 that are considered customary international law.
Imagine Palestinian militants committing suicide bombings to destroy the Apartheid Wall, attack IDF soldiers and military installations, etc., without causing any civilian casualties. This is not just a hypothetical case. Go to <http://www.btselem.org/>, click on "Statistics," click on "Detailed list until 4 August 03," and click on "Israeli security forces personnel killed by Palestinian civilians," and you'll see instances of Palestinian bombings of Israeli security forces.
I recommend the following position to Palestinian solidarity activists:
***** Under international law,1 and in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Palestinian people, as well as all peoples under colonial domination and foreign occupation, possess the right to self-determination and struggle for national liberation. We support the exercise of this right within the limits of international law but regard all deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians as war crimes.2
1. Consult United Nations General Assembly Resolutions 1514 (the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, December 14, 1960), 3070 (November 30, 1973), 3103 (December 12, 1973), 3246 (November 29, 1974), 3328 (December 16, 1974), 3481 (December 11, 1975), 31/91 (December 14, 1976), 32/42 (December 7, 1977), 32/154 (December 19, 1977), 33/24 (November 29, 1978), 34/44 (November 23, 1979), 36/9 (October 28, 1981), 37/40 (December 3, 1982), 37/43 (December 3, 1982), 40/25 (November 29, 1985), S-14/1 (September 20,1986), and 48/94 (December 20, 1993) among others. 2. Such attacks on civilians violate the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the provisions of Protocol 1 that are considered customary international law. ***** -- Yoshie
* Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/> * Calendars of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html>, <http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://solidarity.igc.org/>