World Central Kitchen attack: tragedy, not a crime

There is no doubt that the attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza last April was a tragedy. The question that has been circulating in the court of public opinion since then is whether it was also a crime.

According to a recent statement published by Israel’s Military Advocate General’s Corps, the answer is no. The decision not to initiate criminal prosecution was later denounced in a joint statement from the governments of Australia, Canada, and the UK as “shameful”.

“The World Central Kitchen attack,” laments the statement, “is one of countless incidents in Gaza where there has been no accountability.”

In reality, it is the double standard expected of Israel created by narratives such as that reflected in this joint statement that is shameful.

Rhetoric demanding accountability based on the perceived outcome of attacks during the conduct of armed hostilities has become standard practice for human rights NGOs and other advocates with no responsibility for implementing in practice international law as it exists in doctrine. After all, many NGOs and similar special interests “typically exist for purely humanitarian purposes”, which means their perspective on the application of international law “is far from neutral”.