- Amnesty International called for UN sanctions on Israel, alleging breaches of international law and crimes against humanity in its treatment of Palestinians. The US faced accusations of hypocrisy for supporting sanctions against Russia but not Israel.
- Palestinian armed resistance is legally justified under UN General Assembly Resolution 37/43 (1982).
Israel’s inhumane treatment of Palestinians
The ICRC maintains that Gaza remains an occupied territory due to Israel’s retention of significant elements of authority over the region. In its conclusion, it asserts that Israel’s food blockade is a violation of humanitarian principles.
The ICRC pride themselves on being “an independent neutral organisation ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. It takes action in response to emergencies and at the same time promotes respect for international humanitarian law and its implementation in national law.”
The following assertion is drawn from UN General Assembly Resolution 37/43, which was adopted in 1982. It unequivocally affirms that, within the realm of international law, the armed resistance mounted by the Palestinian against the occupying forces is indisputably legally justified:
Israel seized control of the Gaza Strip during the 1967 war and subsequently undertook land seizures and settlement establishment. By 1997, it had founded 19 settlements, spanning 23,000 dunams and accommodating approximately 5,000 settlers. Despite Israel’s disengagement from Gaza in 2005, the Commission observed that Israel’s occupation of the region persists, notably through control over airspace, territorial waters, land borders, provision of essential civilian infrastructure such as water and electricity, and the management of the Palestinian population registry.
Furthermore, Gaza has endured an Israeli and Egyptian-enforced blockade since 2007, following the assumption of certain governance functions by the de facto authorities. This blockade has undergone periods of tightening and relaxation, impeding the movement of both people and goods in and out of the territory. It has garnered widespread condemnation for its potential to constitute collective punishment.’
America’s Significant UN Vetoes Throughout History
The United States has vetoed numerous United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, blocking numerous resolutions that have raised criticisms against Israel. This includes, but is not limited to, a substantial count of 53 such instances since 1972, as documented by… UN data.
The US’s unequivocal support of Israel by the United States has consistently led to its obstruction of resolutions condemning violence against protestors, addressing the illegal Israeli settlements constructed in the occupied West Bank since 1967, and even calling for investigations into the tragic 1990 incident involving the killing of seven Palestinian labourers by a former Israeli soldier.
Palestinians faced sniper fire from Israeli forces throughout the year-long protests in 2018, which resulted in the killing of at least 266 individuals and left nearly 30,000 others wounded, as reported by Gaza’s health ministry,
On June 1, 2018, the UNSC drafted a resolution (PDF) Conveying “grave concern at the escalation of violence and tensions” since the protests began and “deep alarm at the loss of civilian lives and the high number of casualties among Palestinian civilians, particularly in the Gaza Strip, including casualties among children, caused by the Israeli forces”.
The US vetoed the resolution (PDF), with then-US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley saying it presented “a grossly one-sided view of what has taken place in Gaza in recent weeks”.
A draft resolution (PDF) from December 18, 2017, wrote “that any decisions and actions which purport to have altered, the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council”.
The US has vetoed at least four UNSC resolutions that denounces Israel’s establishment of settlements on Palestinian territory, a practise deemed unlawful according to international law.
There are between 600,000 and 750,000 Israeli settlers have established themselves in approximately 250 settlements, comprising 130 officially recognised settlements and 120 unofficial ones, situated within the confines of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
These settlements have exploded under the rule of hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah who commenced his current term in 2005, and they have consistently been recognised as a significant obstacle to the realisation of a Palestinian state.
US vetoes of resolutions denouncing Israel’s settlements trace their origins to at least 1983. The latest instance occurred in 2011, (PDF), with a draft resolution designed to reassert, “all Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of peace on the basis of the two-State solution”.
Is Israel Exempt from International Law?
In 2022, Amnesty International’s statement concerning Israel and the occupied territories was as follows:
“Israel’s continuing oppressive and discriminatory system of governing Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) constituted a system of apartheid, and Israeli officials committed the crime of apartheid under international law……This compounded the impact of a 15-year ongoing Israeli blockade that amounts to illegal collective punishment and further fragments Palestinian territory.”
In 2022, the United States and several of its European counterparts were confronted with allegations of employing hypocrisy in their approach. They were criticised for endorsing sanctions and endorsing international investigations into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while concurrently thwarting similar measures regarding Israeli military operations in the occupied Palestinian territories.
What does Islam say about Warfare and Self-defence?
The safeguarding of life, as acknowledged, stands as a fundamental principle and pursuit in Islam. Tranquility ought to be the prevailing condition among individuals, irrespective of disparities in faith, philosophy, or any other distinction. Nevertheless, peace is achieved through the deterrence of unwarranted aggression against the blameless. In pursuit of this objective, Islam and its erudite heritage have established guidelines pertaining to the conduct of warfare.
Protecting oneself and one’s honour, mind, wealth and religion is a well-established basic principle in Islam. These are the five essentials which are well known to Muslims. A person has to defend himself; it is not permissible for him to consume that which will harm him, and it is not permissible for him to allow anyone to harm him. If a person or a vicious animal etc attacks him, he has to defend himself, or his family or his property, and if he is killed he is counted as a shaheed (martyr), and the killer will be in Hell.
~ Islam Q & A
Distinguished Theologian and Jurisprudent, Ibn Taymiyyah asserted that the Quran and the consensus of scholars exclude all categories of people from hostility, except for those actively involved in combat or obstruction, specifically those who attack Muslims or forcibly prevent them from practicing their faith. Non-combatants, such as women, children, monks, the elderly, and the visually impaired, are unequivocally protected from attack unless they willingly participate in the war effort.
