Note: This is a cross post from Political Duo-ble.

The polemics of the debate on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) manifests itself on so many levels and ways that sifting through the chaff is an impossible task itself. Take for example the most commonly- held argument by Zionists that the state of Israel has a right to its own security in all circumstances. Palestinian activists would naturally decry that as morally deficit.

In this paper, Stork, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Division at Human Rights Watch (HRW), asserts that there is a need to find outspoken intellectuals in the Middle East who would be able to mobilise the public and pressurise Arab governments to adhere to international human rights and humanitarian laws, specifically pertaining to attacks against civilians.

While this is consistent with the aims of HRW (to promote parties’ such as armed groups and state’s respect and conformance to international human rights laws), he also discovered, in his research and role at HRW, that conflicting interests and geopolitics have made this an onerous task.

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