- Israel's assault on Gaza and the occupied West Bank has exposed the rules-based order ‘for the hypocrisy it entails and the various sets of rules used depending on who is at the receiving end,' says Zyberi

ATHENS 

The complicity of Western nations in Israel's war on Gaza and its illegal occupation of Palestinian territories extends beyond the sphere of weapons and military support, according to a prominent expert of international law.

The political and diplomatic support extended to Israel by its Western allies, which allows it to continue its war and illegal occupation, falls just as much in the category of complicity, said Gentian Zyberi, professor of international law and human rights at Oslo University's Norwegian Center for Human Rights.

“The main sponsors of the Israeli military and Israeli government have been the US, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Canada, and some other Western states. They have provided most weapons and political cover at the UN, especially the US. Other countries have provided fuel and other materials that have allowed Israel to continue its war on Gaza,” he said.

With regards to weapons, he pointed to three main provisions that could make arms transfers to Israel unlawful under international law.

“First, because all states have a duty to ensure respect for the 1949 Geneva Conventions, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians. Second, the 1948 Genocide Convention requires state parties to prevent genocide,” he explained.

“Moreover, the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty addresses explicitly prohibitions against arms transfers where the state knows the arms would be used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity and certain war crimes.”

In Gaza, Israel's indiscriminate attacks have killed and injured over 135,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, while its crippling blockade on all essentials has pushed some 2 million people to starvation and death through denial of food, water, shelter and medical care, he said.

“These crimes can be categorized as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, which are the most serious internationally recognized crimes,” he asserted.

Imperative to keep Israel in the dock at international courts

Zyberi emphasized the importance of engaging with international courts for the Palestinian cause, saying it clarifies international law obligations in an authoritative manner and assigns state and individual responsibility for violations and crimes committed over decades.

Furthermore, Palestine appeals to independent international judicial institutions to resolve a situation which endangers global peace and security, thus escaping the veto powers at the UN Security Council, especially of the US, which continuously shields Israel, he said.

On the advisory opinion given by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July, Zyberi said it addressed numerous key questions regarding the legal consequences of the decades-old Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

The court declared that Israel's continued presence is unlawful and has to come to an end as rapidly as possible, and that Israel is obliged to cease all new settlement activities, as well as evacuate existing ones, he said.

The ICJ also said that “all states and international organizations, including the UN, are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the state of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory,” he added.

“The case brought by South Africa before the ICJ is also important because it addresses the situation in Gaza and the protection of Palestinians from Israeli government conduct under the 1948 Genocide Convention,” Zyberi continued.

On the provisional measures ordered by the world court on South Africa's repeated requests, he said: “Israel has failed to adequately comply with these ICJ orders. The result is more than 5% of the population of Gaza has been killed or injured by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), amounting to more than 135,000 people, most of Gaza has been reduced to rubble, and food and medicines and shelter are lacking for the about 2.1 million Palestinians currently living in Gaza.”

Regarding International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan's application for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with senior Hamas leaders, Zyberi said the move confirmed that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed in Gaza and those responsible must be held to account.

‘Hypocrisy' of the rules-based global order

Israel's deadly assault on Gaza, the occupied West Bank and the rights of Palestinians has exposed the rules-based order “for the hypocrisy that it entails and the various sets of rules that are used depending on who is at the receiving end,” said Zyberi.

“The whole world has observed the US implicitly supporting the mass atrocities and crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, by providing it with weapons and political support, and even when announcing red lines like the military offensive in Rafah, or the cease-fire plan of June 2024, slowly backtracking from them, with disastrous consequences for the lives and well-being of Palestinians in Gaza, and peace in the Middle East,” he said.

He said empty words of condemnation would never have any effect on Israel, as proven by its intensifying attacks on Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

“All states need to take their international legal obligations seriously, and instead of providing more weapons to Israel, they need to push for an immediate cease-fire, adequate humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and its reconstruction, and the establishment of a Palestinian state, based on international legal obligations and UN Security Council resolutions, within a clear timeframe,” said Zyberi.

Economic and other sanctions, along with diplomatic pressure, are needed to make Israel “stop its genocide in Gaza and serious international crimes in other parts of occupied Palestinian territories, ensure accountability for the crimes committed against Palestinians, and provide reparations to them,” he said.