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Israeli court upholds assassination policy

JERUSALEM, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Israel's High Court of Justice upheld the government's use of targeted assassinations but also said the government must compensate the innocents' families.

The three-judge panel ended five years of deliberations with the ruling, which stated emphatically that the killings were all unique and could not be planned without individual assessment, the Jerusalem Post reported.

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The judges referred to the Geneva Conventions and said civilians could only be targeted if they were known to be on their way to commit an attack against Israel or had planned an attack or were in between carrying out a series of attacks.

The ruling said there had to be strong evidence against the target and if a less lethal method, such as an arrest, would stop the threat, it should be taken. The judges said an independent investigation was mandatory after each assassination and families of any innocents killed must be compensated by the government.

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