Israel Is Brutalising International Law

End Impunity: Israel Is Brutalising International Law

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TEHRAN (FNA)- Israel is desperate to prevent the release of the findings of a UN investigation into its crimes in Gaza, with the prime murderer of the regime, Benjamin Netanyahu, labeling such a move as a “waste of time.”

The UN Human Rights Council plans to publish its findings into last summer’s military aggression against the blockaded Strip. The remarks by Netanyahu signal Tel Aviv’s attempt to preempt the release of the probe, which was postponed in March.

Israel has even issued its own report, defending its crimes against the people of Gaza. The report cites Western leaders who have expressed support for the military action. It also falsely claims Israel did its utmost to avoid civilian casualties. But this is not what the UN says.

Speaking ahead of the release of the Human Rights Council report, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein has said Israel must be prosecuted for committing human rights violations during the war. He has particularly voiced concern about the continuation of the crippling siege, which has undermined economic and social rights.

It is true that the UN has said Israel was responsible for the deadly bombings of several UN institutions, including schools, in which displaced Palestinian civilians were sheltering. But that’s not enough:

Israel has already declared it will not withdraw from territories it occupied in the 1967 war; it will not help facilitate the establishment of a Palestinian state; it will not allow the Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland, and it will not the Gaza siege.

Just as importantly, the extent of Israeli brutality against Palestinians in its pounding of Gaza is gradually surfacing. What is less appreciated is how the regime is brutalizing international law - in ways that may long outlast the demolition of Strip.

Today, most Western observers accept the regime’s framing of the war as an armed conflict, as their criticism of Israeli actions in terms of the duties of distinction and the principle of proportionality betrays. According to The Amnesty International, this shift, if accepted, would encourage other occupiers to follow the Israeli lead, externalizing military control while shedding all responsibilities to occupied populations.

Taken together, Tel Aviv’s campaign to rewrite international law to its advantage has been deliberate and knowing. In the Gaza war, its invading army tried to transform international law through violations. The regime has a lengthy history of unpunished abuses of international law too - among the most flagrant its decades-long colonization of the Palestinian lands. To its credit, much of the world has refused to denounce these violations, which is tragic.

The international community, especially the UN, must break that habit in its new report, stand up or speak out to defend the people of Gaza, and end Israel’s impunity, or see international law perverted further in ways that is certain to harm the whole world.

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