Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: International Humanitarian Law

Extract

[...] This defense must be necessary and proportionate to the aggression suffered by the State3. It is this customary rule enshrined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter that the State of Israel uses to legitimize its armed actions against Palestine in response to the terrorist attacks by Hamas on October 2024. - Concerning the conduct of the war: ? The war remains legitimate if it is conducted by authorized combatants, if it does not use any prohibited weapon and respects the general principles of the law of armed conflicts. ? [...]

[...] What is the normative framework of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? The Israeli-Palestinian conflict corresponds to the definition of international armed conflict according to the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions. The law of war, used by the State of Israel to justify its actions The law of war, or jus bellum, refers to the rules governing the declaration of war and the conduct of conflicts. This law is composed of several parts: the jus ad bellum, which governs the declaration of war, and the jus in bello, which is concerned with the conduct of conflicts. [...]

[...] The taking of hostages is prohibited by customary international law. ? War crimes and crimes against humanity are prohibited and strictly defined. II) International humanitarian and penal law, an international law to be mobilized In the context of international criminal law, acts committed during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may qualify as war crimes or crimes against humanity. Indeed, the International Criminal Court is conducting investigations into these matters and has issued arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Prime Minister and other leaders of the State of Israel4. [...]

[...] In fact, since October 2023, Israeli attacks have forced the displacement of thousands of Palestinian civilians8. Subsequently, attacks on civilians can constitute war crimes due to the specific targeting of civilian targets: hospitals, schools, homes . This war crime could even become a crime against humanity and, in particular, could be qualified as genocide if the judicial authorities demonstrate the intention to exterminate the Palestinian population. In conclusion, international jurisdictions (ICC and CJI) have jurisdiction to try crimes committed and to compensate victims and will certainly have to judge the qualification of genocide of the Palestinian population. [...]