An examination of Israeli violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories through international legal mechanisms

Abstract

The Palestinians Territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been under occupation for more than forty years. Even after the unilaterally disengagement plan of Israel, withdrawing from Gaza, and the administrative control established by Hamas in the area, Israel can still be consider the last authority over the territory. Over all these decades, the military administration of Israel over the occupied territories has been continuously harming the rights of the Palestinian population, regardless its obligations under the law of belligerent occupation, in special the Geneva Convention IV of 1949, relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. This study, at first, historically demonstrates the occupation over the Palestinian territories, and in this regard, the legal obligations of the State of Israel under the rules and principles of the international humanitarian law, in special the law of belligerent occupation. In a second moment, it intends to demonstrate Israel’s accountability over violations that have been committed within the territories, regarding the civilian population. Through the analyses of the codification of international humanitarian law and the subsequent development through the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunals, such as the ICTR and the ICTY, and the International Criminal Court, intends to demonstrate the extent to which violations committed by Israel could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity within the international legal framework. It concludes by assessing international legal mechanisms in order to hold Israel accountable for crimes committed against the civilian population, as the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the situation of the Gaza Strip; the principle of Universal Jurisdiction; and the Palestinian Declaration submitted to the International Criminal Court, under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute.