How Israel Uses Its Legal System For Genocide

The Israeli Supreme Court’s ruling to deny a request to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip is a crucial component of a well-functioning colonial system designed to perpetrate the crime of genocide against the Strip’s people.

The ruling made 27 March is further evidence that the Israeli judiciary—which has never served as a tool of justice for Palestinians—functions as a part of a system in which all state institutions participate, whether Israel’s government, army and other security forces, military prosecution, courts, or media. All of these institutions blatantly violate international legal and humanitarian norms by committing crimes against Palestinians, aiding in the commission of such crimes by coordinating their activities, and/or providing a false legal cover.

The Israeli Supreme Court has explicitly and directly legitimised Israel’s illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip. This blockade has denied food, water, medicine, fuel, and electricity to over two million people—half of whom are children—for nearly 18 months. Meanwhile, human rights organizations have warned that Israel’s refusal to allow humanitarian aid and basic supplies into the enclave for more than three consecutive weeks has accelerated famine in the Strip and led to the deaths of infants from starvation.

One of the most obvious examples of the complicity of all Israeli state institutions in the crime of genocide is the use of starvation as a declared weapon against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has now been made an official policy through a “political” decision validated by a court ruling.

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To support its ruling, the Israeli court used the argument that the State of Israel is exempt from the obligations of belligerent occupation under international law in all cases pertaining to the Gaza Strip. This blatantly violates established international legal norms that are acknowledged to apply to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It also goes against the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion and gravely breaches the ICJ rulings in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.

The Fourth Geneva Convention, which applies to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the Gaza Strip, is gravely violated by the Israeli court’s recent decision. The occupying power is required by the Convention to provide food and medical supplies to the occupied population. It is also required to permit relief efforts for the benefit of these populations in the event that local resources are insufficient, and to allow for the supply of facilities, including those conducted by states or humanitarian organizations, especially those involving food aid, clothing, and medical supplies.

Euro-Med Monitor emphasizes that the decision is a flagrant disregard of the rulings of the International Court of Justice in the South Africa v. Israel genocide case. In January and March of 2024, the Court mandated that Israel take prompt and decisive action to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid and essential basic services to alleviate the terrible circumstances faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In coordination with the United Nations, these measures included providing food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, humanitarian aid, clothing, hygiene, and sanitation needs, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians across the Strip, including by expanding the number and capacity of land crossing points and keeping them open for as long as possible.

The International Court of Justice affirmed that Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip constituted a real and immediate threat of genocide to the Palestinian people there, as well as the possibility of irreversible harm and violations of Palestinians’rights to be protected from genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

The Israeli court’s rationale is therefore in direct opposition to the advisory opinion issued on 19 July 2024 by the International Court of Justice, the highest court in the world.

The ICJ unequivocally affirmed that Israel’s legal obligations were not terminated by its military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, as Israel still maintains effective control over key areas of the Strip, such as the buffer zone, the land, sea, and air borders, restrictions on the movement of people and goods, and tax control. Since 7 October 2023, this control has become much more intense. As a result, Israel continues to be the occupying force in accordance with international law and is responsible for providing humanitarian aid and other necessities to the civilian population in the Strip. 

The rejection of these fundamental legal precepts by the Israeli court is not just a misreading; rather, it is a deliberate judicial intervention aimed at denying the existence of the Israeli occupation and undermining the laws that safeguard the rights of the people who are subject to it. Viewed within the larger framework of institutional complicity that helps to enable and carry out Israel’s crime of genocide against the Palestinian people, this intervention turns the international legal system from a tool of protection into a cover for impunity.

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Israel has a legal duty to the people it governs, and this duty extends beyond its legal relationship with the territory. Instead, it necessitates a steadfast obligation to uphold and defend human rights and the principles of preemptive international law under all conditions. Israel’s responsibilities under fundamental human rights conventions, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other international instruments, extend beyond the regulations of occupation law and include duties pertaining to preventing population starvation and allowing the entry of humanitarian aid.

Regardless of a state’s legal standing under international law, its effective control over a territory serves as the foundation for its legal accountability for actions that impact this territory’s residents.

The presence of a state of occupation alone does not negate the duties of an occupying power to prevent the occupied population from living in substandard conditions or from suffering from severe physical or mental injury. 

Instead, these duties are enforced by preemptive standards of customary international law, such as the outright ban on crimes against humanity, such as apartheid and genocide. Whether in times of peace or conflict, these standards require all states to uphold these rights and guarantee their protection at all times.

All Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are experiencing a dire humanitarian situation, especially since Israel’s genocidal campaign of direct killings in the Strip resumed on 18 March. This occurs at a time when Israel has been using other tools of genocide against the Strip’s people for a year and a half now.

These tools include starvation, blockade, deprivation of virtually all means of survival, severe physical and psychological suffering, and the imposition of living conditions that are destructive, all of which are intended to destroy the Palestinian people there.

Not only does the ongoing situation in the Gaza Strip violate Israel’s legal obligations, but it also directly calls into question all other states’ adherence to their own obligations, whether these states are directly involved in the genocide or have not acted decisively to stop Israel if in a position to do so. The Fourth Geneva Convention, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and customary international law all bind these states. These regulations require states to actively work to prevent genocide and to abstain from any actions that facilitate, encourage, or open the door for its occurrence. 

The international community must stop enslaving the Palestinian people to a state that is using all of its official institutions to destroy their lives, drive them off their land, and threaten their shared national identity. Given its decades-long failure to uphold international law and apply it equitably to, and without discrimination against, Palestinians, the international community is directly responsible for the disastrous reality that Palestinians face today, wherever they may be. This failure reveals the biased foundations upon which the international system was established, as this system has deprived Palestinians of their most fundamental rights, most notably their right to exist.

All states must take up their individual and collective legal obligations and act quickly to put an end to the genocide in the Gaza Strip. They must do everything they can to protect Palestinian civilians there, i.e. enforce all necessary measures to force Israel to immediately and fully lift the blockade; permit unhindered freedom of movement of people and goods; open all crossings without arbitrary conditions; and take decisive action to protect Palestinians from forced displacement and swift or slow-motion killing. This entails launching an immediate response to address the population’s pressing and pertinent needs, such as offering suitable temporary housing for displaced people.

The international community must impose economic, diplomatic, and military sanctions on Israel due to its systematic and serious violations of international law. These sanctions, which willincrease pressure on Israel to stop its crimes against Palestinians, should include barring arms exports to Israel; stopping military cooperation with Israel; freezing the financial assets of officials involved in crimes against Palestinians; and suspending trade privileges and bilateral agreements that give Israel economic benefits.

In addition to acting to stop Israeli policies that violate the most fundamental humanitarian principles and endanger the lives of millions of civilians, the States Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention should fulfil their duty under Common Article 1 to uphold and guarantee adherence to the Convention under all circumstances.

The International Criminal Court must issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials involved in international crimes in the Gaza Strip, and expedite its ongoing investigations. Additionally, the Court ought to acknowledge and specifically address Israel’s crimes as genocide. The Rome Statute’s States Parties should fulfil their legal duties to assist the Court in every way possible;make sure that arrest warrants against Israeli officials are carried out; bring these officials to international justice; and make sure to end the policy of impunity that has been granted to these officials thus far.

Along with fulfilling its legal obligations, the international community must take immediate action to end the root causes of the suffering and persecution endured by the Palestinian people forthe past 76 years: Israeli occupation and settler-colonialism in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The international community must compel Israelto guarantee the Palestinians’ right to live in freedom, dignity, and self-determination in accordance with international law; to dismantle the system of apartheid and isolation imposed on the Palestinians; to lift the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip; to hold Israeli perpetrators and allies accountable and prosecute them; and to ensure Palestinian victims’ rights to compensation and redress.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor

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Trump’s Statement on Deporting Gazans is Explicit Support to Israel’s Genocide

United States President Donald Trump announced his plan to expel the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from their homes there, and has called on neighbouring nations to accept the Palestinians into their countries. These remarks, which were made after Israel egregiously violated international law by committing genocide against the Palestinian people in the Strip for over 15 months—including by destroying all essential necessities for life in the enclave—are deeply concerning.

The Palestinians, who are already suffering from the devastating effects of Israel’s attempts to annihilate them, should not have to pay a further price for this genocide by being forcibly displaced outside of their homeland. Israel, as the occupying power, is the only entity that must take moral and legal responsibility for the crimes it has committed in the Gaza Strip, pay reparations to the Palestinians, and rebuild the Strip as quickly as possible.

Since the Fourth Geneva Convention expressly forbids the forced displacement of populations under occupation, any plans to do so would be a blatant violation of this agreement. The facilitation of these plans would also violate the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to stay on their land and in their homeland, a right which is protected by international law, and would be crimes against humanity and war crimes. In addition to being an international crime, the forced displacement of Palestinians is a component of a larger plan to strengthen the systematic expulsion and forced relocation crimes Israel has been committing against Palestinians for many years.

In addition to directly supporting Israel’s expansionist and colonial policies, which systematically aim to remove Palestinians from their lands in favour of its illegal colonial settlement projects, Trump’s statements call for the evacuation of Gaza’s population by forcing neighbouring countries to absorb refugees from the Strip. This runs counter to the strong historical and cultural ties that bind Palestinians to their land.

For months, Israel has been committing genocide by carrying out mass killings against civilians and methodically demolishing Gaza Strip cities, neighbourhoods, and infrastructure in an effort to drive Palestinians from their land and force them to flee. In order to weaken the Palestinians’ ability to survive on their land, and to establish a coercive environment that forces them to flee, these policies have gone beyond simply killing, destroying, and starving them. They have also included destroying the essentials of life, such as access to water, electricity, education, and health care.

Trump stated today (26 Sunday) that more Palestinians from the Gaza Strip should be sent to Jordan and Egypt, and that he is pleading with the leaders of the two nations to allow them to do so because the Strip is “in a state of chaos”.

Since the reopening of the Rafah land crossing with Egypt, which was closed last May, Israel has purposefully bombed cities, residential neighbourhoods, and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including streets, schools, and essential facilities there. Israel’s deliberate attempt to either kill or drive Palestinians from their land is especially obvious given the dearth of basic necessities in the besieged enclave, such as homes and infrastructure like water, electricity, communications, Internet, and school networks. In addition, statements made by Israeli ministers and officials publicly promote voluntary migration.

Israel has been committing genocide in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023, and the destruction of entire Palestinian cities and neighbourhoods by the Israeli army is a glaring example of this crime and a key instrument of its execution.

This crime has gone beyond simply killing 10s of thousands—or potentially hundreds of thousands—of Palestinians and progressively destroying the lives of over two million people by removing their basic necessities for survival. It has also included the total destruction of Palestinian cities and their architectural and cultural heritage; the erasure of the Palestinian people’s national and cultural identity; the forced relocation of Palestinian people from their lands, and the imposition of this permanent displacement; the dismantling of their communities; and the obliteration of their collective memory in an attempt to eradicate their physical and human existence as well as their past, present, and future.

A regional and global stance opposing Trump’s claims of deporting Gaza Strip residents is absolutely necessary. Mass displacement as a solution to the current conflict not only ignores the underlying causes of the issue but also exacerbates the injustices already experienced by the Palestinian people, and denies them their rightful self-determination and safe residence in their homeland. Trump’s claims, along with any actions that follow, are likely to exacerbate tensions and undermine regional stability.

The international community must fully uphold the principles of international law and adopt solutions that respect Palestinian rights. These solutions should include ending Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, holding Israel accountable for its ongoing crimes, and establishing a clear path to achieving justice for the Palestinian people. Additionally, the international community should ensure that all Palestinian refugees and displaced persons are able to return to their original areas in accordance with relevant international resolutions, rather than supporting any policies that would uproot Palestine’s indigenous population in favour of Israel’s colonial policies.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor

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Hamas Spells Out Daring Operation in Gaza

The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, announced a daring operation in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. Fighters freed Palestinian civilians held by Israeli forces inside a fortified building.

The operation began with the killing of three Israeli soldiers guarding the building. Resistance fighters then stormed the structure, neutralized the remaining forces, and seized their weapons. The freed civilians had been kidnapped and held inside the building by Israeli troops.

This comes amid a wave of resistance operations across Gaza. In recent days, Hamas and other factions carried out complex attacks, including suicide operations. These actions follow widespread detentions by Israeli forces across Palestinian territories since October 7, 2023 according to the Quds News Network.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club reports over 10,800 arrests from the West Bank, Jerusalem, and areas occupied in 1948. Many detainees include women, children, and re-arrested former prisoners. The numbers exclude thousands kidnapped from Gaza during the ongoing genocide.

In Gaza, reports describe systematic torture, executions, and amputations in Israeli detention centers. One notorious facility, “Sdi Teiman,” has been a hub of brutal abuse. Survivors speak of killings, rape, and starvation.

Israeli authorities hold many Gaza hostages under the “unlawful combatant” label, denying them basic legal rights. This defies international agreements, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.

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Israeli Planes Bombard Civilian Areas in Lebanon

The Israeli army’s escalated military attacks against civilians and residential areas in Lebanon, particularly in the South and Bekaa regions, along with the issuance of evacuation orders, raising alarm in the region. Urgent international intervention is required to prevent the massacres and other atrocities being carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip for more than 11 months from occurring in Lebanon as well.

Israel’s army carried out over 330 raids in over 117 Lebanese towns and cities today, 23 September 2024, according to the Euro-Med Monitor field team. These raids were directed towards civilian residential areas in southern Lebanon and various areas of the Bekaa region. As a result, 274 people—including 21 children—have been killed and over 1,024 individuals—including women, children, and paramedics—have been injured as of the early afternoon hours. As of the time of writing, Israeli airstrikes are still in progress, with the frequency of shelling attacks on residential areas rising.

In both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the Israeli army deliberately denies civilians enough time to escape the areas being bombed, offering them no real protection from the dangers arising from military operations. Instead, Israel randomly and directly targets civilian buildings, including the buildings of surrounding hospitals and schools.

For instance, the inhabitants of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, which spans an area of about 4,429 square kilometres, were given just two hours to evacuate when the Israeli army issued evacuation orders. However, it would take many citizens at least three hours to leave areas within the valley. Moreover, the Israeli army neglected to designate safe zones to which people could escape—just as it has been doing in the Gaza Strip—showing that Israel either ignores the legal obligation to direct people to safe zones, or targets areas it has designated as safe. Since Israel began bombing Lebanon, dangerous conditions as well as significant challenges to the evacuation process have been documented.

The Israeli army is required by international humanitarian law to take all reasonable measures prior to any military attack in order to prevent, or at the very least reduce, harm to civilians and civilian property. This entails, among other things, providing the civilian populace with a sufficient amount of warning prior to the commencement of the attack; allowing them enough time to flee; and, unless circumstances dictate otherwise, enabling them to take protective action and relocate to safe areas.

International humanitarian law states that civilians who are unable or unwilling to leave an area are still protected as civilians, and that Israel is still obligated to protect them to the extent that they need to be shielded from harm simply because of their presence in the area.

In addition to towns in the Bekaa Valley, the Israeli army struck over 117 towns in the south of Lebanon, including some that saw serial and repeated raids, like Aitaroun, Ansar, Kfar Reman, Haris, Sarafand, and other villages in the districts of Tyre, Sidon, and Nabatieh. The Israeli army also announced that it had begun a third wave of raids and aggression against Lebanon.

Israel also used drones to light fires in southern Lebanon’s forests at the same time as it conducted warplane strikes, suggesting that Israel has been burning agricultural lands with white phosphorus—a weapon that is prohibited by international law due to the severity of burns it can cause. These burns often reach the bones of victims, and the severe fires caused by white phosphorus can destroy property, buildings, crops, and soil. It is likely that the Israeli military has been using white phosphorus in its attacks on Lebanon since its first attack on the country following the start of its genocidal war in the Gaza Strip on 8 October 2023.

Today’s military build-up in Lebanon follows an Israeli army raid on Friday 20 September 2024 into Beirut’s southern suburbs. The raid caused the collapse of two residential buildings, killing over 37 people—including children—and leaving more bodies trapped under the rubble, with the search for victims still ongoing.

Israeli forces launched a random and illegal attack on Lebanon earlier, on 17 September 2024, using radio and pager explosions. The attacks resulted in at least 32 fatalities, including two children as well as medical staff members, and 3,250 injuries, including to a diplomat. There were 200 cases of critical injuries, and 500 serious injuries to the eyes and limbs specifically.

All of the aforementioned Israeli attacks are grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Additional Protocol, and international humanitarian law in general. These treaties require warring parties to always distinguish between civilians and combatants and offer special protection to vulnerable populations like journalists and the elderly, in addition to providing special protection to women and children. The Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians, its regulations, the Fourth Hague Convention, and Article 48 of the First Additional Protocol all attest to this; customary rules of international humanitarian law also support this.

International humanitarian law also prohibits indiscriminate attacks that do not distinguish between military and civilian targets, including attacks that do not target specific military objectives or that use combat means or methods incapable of being directed at a specific military objective.

The international community must act swiftly to stop Israel from repeating its genocide in the Gaza Strip in Lebanon, by safeguarding Lebanese civilians and stopping the situation from deteriorating further. Additionally, effective sanctions must be placed on Israel, such as a complete ban on arms exports, and Israel must be cut off from all forms of political, intelligence, and financial support. Finally, Israel must be held responsible for its ongoing crimes against peoples that occur on their own territory.

EuroMed Human Rights Monitor

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