Just Independence Wars and the October 7th Massacre

Yitzhak Benbaji*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This essay explores a view held by many critics of Israel, which posits that the October 7th massacre is a war crime that is part of a just war of independence, fought by Palestinians against Israel for over a century. Raef Zreik recently presented such a view in these pages. However, this essay argues that a proper understanding of traditional just war theory renders this view false. Even if Zionism is considered a colonial wrong, Palestinians did not have a just cause for war against Zionism until after the Six-Day War in 1967 and perhaps later. Furthermore, the essay contends that the massacre is not a part of this war, as Hamas lacks the moral power to represent the Palestinian people and to fight in their name.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)343-364
Number of pages22
JournalAnalyse und Kritik
Volume46
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Nov 2024

Keywords

  • Benny Morris
  • colonialism
  • independence war
  • just cause for war
  • legitimate authority in war
  • War by Agreement

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Just Independence Wars and the October 7th Massacre'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this