THE deteriorating situation in Palestine—after Israel’s one year ferocious military actions/offensive— is marked by significant tensions and conflict, often described in terms of illegal occupation and humanitarian crises. Israel’s policy of humanitarian aid blockade on Gaza, including the mass killing of more than 43000 Palestinian civilians constitutes a severe crime of genocide and the crimes against humanity, raising serious concerns about their legality under international law. The words of UN’s humanitarian official Joyce Misuya will suffice to resurrect the conscience of world’s nations. ‘’The entire population of Gaza is at risk of dying in a genocide that has been announced and executed udder our watch.’’
The Israeli policy—reflected in the post October7, 2023—Tel Aviv’s non-stop offensive in the Gaza Strip —is fully rampant of international law transgressions. According to the UK’s OXFAM, Israel is using starvation as weapon of its genocide in Gaza. Further, as an occupying power, Israel’s counter-offensive also breaches its international human rights obligations, thereby by breaching the very fundamentals of the IHL, IHRL and the Fourth Geneva Conventions.
The UN chief, Antonio Guterres, has termed Israeli’s retaliation as a clear breach of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which is underscored by the fact that attacking civilian targets and using prohibited weapons like white phosphorus is in blatant breach of core provisions under the Geneva and Hague Conventions. Additionally, the ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan has requested arrest warrants of Israel’s Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yaov Gallant. Meanwhile, the Hague-based UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ), has rightly discerned the Israeli actions as plausible to committing genocide, and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. Israelis accused of violating three basic fundamentals of international law.
Firstly, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) This body of law regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to protect those who are not participating in hostilities, such as civilians. Secondly, Human Rights Law: There are ongoing allegations of violations against civilians, including excessive use of force and attacks on civilian infrastructure, which may breach international human rights standards.
And thirdly, the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War or the Fourth Geneva Convention (hereinafter ‘GCIV’), aims to delve into humanitarian protections for civilians in a war zone. The ICJ has affirmed that the Geneva Conventions constitute ‘intransgressible principles of international customary law. “Art. 49 of the GCIV blatantly prohibits the occupying power to forcibly transfer its civilian population into the occupied territory, regardless of their motive. Israel has been consistently accused of such deportations and evacuations because of its illegal settlement policy…under the GCIV, with Art.27 detailing that protected persons are ‘entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and practices, and their manners and customs.’’
Needless to say, the United Nations makes Israel accountable to international law through various mechanisms, including issuing reports and resolutions calling for accountability for alleged violations, such as potential war crimes. The UN Human Rights Office in Geneva has emphasized the need for justice and accountability, and the UN Human Rights Council has adopted resolutions addressing these issues, demanding that Israel be held accountable for its actions in conflict situations.
In a broader scale, the scale of destruction of Palestinian landscape —and urban fabric, including schools and universities, hospitals, the violations of housing, land and property, the pollution and degradation of the environment, and exploitation of natural resources—is extreme in Gaza and spreading across the rest of the occupied territory, prompting allegations of domicide, urbicide, scholasticide, medicide, cultural genocide and, more recently, ecocide. Extreme violence and intimidation against Palestinians in the West Bank, and military assaults against the cities of Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem Tubas, including BeitulLiyah, are all escalating. Both legally and morally, international law often questions Israel’s assertion of the right to self-defence in the context of the Gaza conflict, especially when Israeli actions are viewed as responses to threats from occupied territories. According to interpretations of international law, actions taken in self-defence must respect the principles laid out in the UN Charter, which includes proportionality and necessity. And obviously, Israel’s military actions do not meet these legal standards, particularly against populations in a territory that Israel occupies.
Moreover, on Monday, Israel’s Knesset piercingly passed a law banning UNRWA in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, thereby limiting its humanitarian activities. The Israeli generals also have a plan to evacuate the northern Gazans. While there are brutal calls for evacuation, the situation remains complex and severe with continued bombing and humanitarian concerns in the area. Now, while attacking Lebanon, Syria and Iran, Israel not only doubled down hostilities in Middle East, but also tattered fabric of international law. Israel’s latest violations of state sovereignty, have been described as a “dangerous precedent” by various officials and organizations. This Israeli notion reflects concerns about escalating regional tensions and potential implications for international norms regarding the state sovereignty and military engagement.
Make no mistake, by making an extension to the Gaza war, Netanyahu and his war cabinet have sent a clear message to the international community that might is right. Notably, Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the Iranian Foreign Ministry have both condemned the attack, citing breaches of international law and the UN Charter. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has described the incident as a violation of Iranian sovereignty. Saudi Arabia on Saturday strongly condemned Israel’s latest military attacks on Iran, calling them a “violation of Iranian sovereignty” and a breach of international law. Pakistan has strongly condemned Israel’s recent airstrikes on Iran, describing them as a violation of Iran’s sovereignty and international law. Without a lethal delay, the US and UK must join the other UNSC members to end the Israeli war in Gaza.
—The writer, based in Pakistan, an independent IR & International Law analyst, also an expert in Conflict and Peace Studies (with special focus on Palestine, Kashmir), is member of European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR), including the Washington Foreign Law Society/American Society of International Law. He also deals with the strategic issues.
