The Holy Land Justice and Peace Commission rejects the “just war” argument put forward by political leaders to justify the ongoing devastation and killing of thousands of civilians in Gaza.The Justice and Peace Commission of the Holy Land has decried the weaponization of the term “just war” in the ongoing war waged by Israel in Gaza.
They must also employ a proportionate use of force, “which cannot easily be said of a war in which the Palestinian death toll is tens of thousands of people higher than that of Israel, and one in which a clear majority of the Palestinian casualties have been women and children”, the Commission deplored.
“The manipulation of the language of just war theory is not only about words: it is having tangible, fatal results.”Recalling Pope Francis’relentless appeals for an immediate ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages, the statement insisted that Israeli right to self-defence in the wake of the Hamas’ attack “must be guided by the principles of distinction and proportionality and comply with international humanitarian law.