Why in news
Recently HAMAS a
Palestine supported rebellion group attack on Israel that causes casualties in
Israel.After the attack Israeli PM announced Israel as state in war.
Historical Background
Israel-Palestine conflict
is not new in the history it has a long spanned of time approx 75 years, with
thousands dead and many more injured and displaced, a disproportionate number
of whom are Palestinians. In 1917, while Palestine was still under control of
the Ottomans, Britain issued the Balfour
Declaration, giving support for the establishment of a “national home for
the Jewish People” in Palestine. The British Empire, a member of the League of
Nations, gained formal control of the region in 1922 under the Mandate for
Palestine. The intent of this mandate was to rule over the area until the time
when it would be able “to stand alone.”
The Nakba or
Great Mishap, literally meaning the “catastrophe” in Palestine, refers to the
1948 independence of Israel, its subsequent declaration of statehood on
Palestinian land, the Deir Yassin massacre and the ensuing forced displacement
of over 7,00,000 Palestinian Arabs. This exodus was viewed as the perfect storm
for the casus belli by the Arab world and sparked the first
Arab–Israeli war in 1948. The war ended in 1949, with the green line
demarcations based on Armistice
Agreements between Israel and its neighbours Jordan, Egypt, Syria and
Lebanon. With over half of the Arab inhabitants of Mandatory Palestine, as
mandated by the League of Nations, expelled due to war, this led to a huge
refugee crisis in the neighbouring states at the time.
While Israel has been at
constant loggerheads with the Arab world, it is within their state boundaries
that they face the strictest of fights ever since the Six-Day war. During this
war in 1967, Israel hit back hard and acquired territories far beyond the
Armistice lines from all of its Arab neighbours and has retained some of them
ever since. The territories occupied were the Gaza Strip and the Sinai
Peninsula (traded for peace after the Yom Kippur war) from Egypt, West Bank from Trans Jordan and the Golan Heights (two-thirds still withheld) from Syria.
Recently over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s
bombing of Gaza in five days that followed a surprise attack by Hamas that left
at least 1,200 Israelis dead on October 7. Israel has also mobilised some
300,000 military reservists and is moving troops and weaponry towards the Gaza
border, preparing for an invasion.
International Law
The Israel-Palestine
conflict is a long-standing and complex geopolitical dispute between Israelis
and Palestinians over issues including territory, borders, sovereignty,
security, and the rights and self-determination of both side peoples.
International law plays a significant role in this conflict, with various legal
principles and agreements relevant to different aspects of the dispute. Here
are some key points related to the Israel-Palestine conflict and international
law:
United Nation Resolution
The United Nations has
passed numerous resolutions related to the Israel-Palestine conflict. One of
the most significant is United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947),
which recommended the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab
states. This resolution had a significant impact on the course of the conflict.
The Fourth Geneva Conventions
The Fourth Geneva
Convention of 1949 is a crucial component of international law regarding the
protection of civilians in times of armed conflict. It applies to the occupied
territories, and many countries and international organizations consider
Israel’s presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to be an occupation, subject
to the rules of this convention. Israel disputes this characterization.
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, signed
in the 1990s, established a framework for Palestinian self-rule and created the
Palestinian Authority. The agreements addressed issues such as borders,
security, and the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state. They have had
a significant impact on the legal and political landscape of the conflict.
United Nations Security Council Resolutions
The United Nations
Security Council has passed several resolutions related to the Israel-Palestine
conflict, including Resolution 242 (1967), which calls for Israel’s withdrawal
from territories occupied during the Six-Day War in 1967, and Resolution 338
(1973), which reaffirms the principles of Resolution 242.
Settlements
The construction of
Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has been a major point
of contention. Many in the international community consider these settlements
to be illegal under international law. The construction of settlements is seen
as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Right of return
The issue of the
Palestinian right of return is a key point of contention. Many Palestinians
claim the right to return to the homes they or their ancestors left during the
1948 Arab-Israeli war. The UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194 in 1948,
affirming the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
Recognition of a Palestinian state
The recognition of a
Palestinian state has become a contentious issue. The United Nations granted
Palestine non-member observer state status in 2012, and several countries have
recognized the State of Palestine. However, Israel and some other nations do not
recognize Palestinian statehood.
Recommendations for justice
Justice must involve a
two-state solution, with the two states being equal in stature in the
international community. Actors must be held accountable for past
transgressions and a clear plan for cooperation must be devised. To help
facilitate this, both the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) have gotten involved in the situation in
Israel and Palestine. However, they have so far been unsuccessful in
alleviating suffering or effecting meaningful change. There are numerous
difficulties when it comes to involving the international justice system.
The main drawback is that there is no effective mechanism to enforce the rulings of the international court. A state can decide whether to acquiesce to court rulings. Frequently, rulings are ignored. For example, in 2004, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion that the wall built by Israel violated international law and called for it to be taken down and reparations paid. Eighteen years later, the wall still stands, and in fact, it has been expanded.
Other problems stand in
the way of enforcing international justice. Cases take a very long time to
conclude. Cases often focus on individual issues rather than the systemic
causes of those issues. The greatest obstacle, of course, is the absence of
global consensus on the obligations of states toward the individuals living
within their boundaries – and the reluctance of the community of nations to
insist on justice for all the world’s citizens.
Conclusion
Many decades in the making, the conflict between Israel and Palestine is not likely to find resolution soon. But this very expression of resignation – this conviction that nothing can be done – may well be a chief factor in the conflict’s intractability. It is essential to note that the interpretation and application of international law in the Israel-Palestine conflict are subjects of disagreement among different parties and international actors. The conflict is deeply rooted in historical, political, and religious factors, making it challenging to find a comprehensive and lasting resolution. The legal aspects are intertwined with complex political and security considerations, which continue to be a source of tension and disagreement in the region. The despair that attends every conversation about it diverts attention from the indisputable reality at the conflict’s center: the violence in Israel and Palestine is the violence of genocide.
For daily legal updates, follow our official Jurisedge channel on Instagram and LinkedIn and join our Telegram channel
Subscribe to our Law Exams Capsule India’s One and only Comprehensive Law Exam Preparation Journal
Readers may submit his/her blog for publication. Click Here to submit your Manuscript.
Related
JURISEDGE
Share post:
Why in news
Recently HAMAS a Palestine supported rebellion group attack on Israel that causes casualties in Israel.After the attack Israeli PM announced Israel as state in war.
Historical Background
Israel-Palestine conflict is not new in the history it has a long spanned of time approx 75 years, with thousands dead and many more injured and displaced, a disproportionate number of whom are Palestinians. In 1917, while Palestine was still under control of the Ottomans, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration, giving support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish People” in Palestine. The British Empire, a member of the League of Nations, gained formal control of the region in 1922 under the Mandate for Palestine. The intent of this mandate was to rule over the area until the time when it would be able “to stand alone.”
The Nakba or Great Mishap, literally meaning the “catastrophe” in Palestine, refers to the 1948 independence of Israel, its subsequent declaration of statehood on Palestinian land, the Deir Yassin massacre and the ensuing forced displacement of over 7,00,000 Palestinian Arabs. This exodus was viewed as the perfect storm for the casus belli by the Arab world and sparked the first Arab–Israeli war in 1948. The war ended in 1949, with the green line demarcations based on Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. With over half of the Arab inhabitants of Mandatory Palestine, as mandated by the League of Nations, expelled due to war, this led to a huge refugee crisis in the neighbouring states at the time.
While Israel has been at constant loggerheads with the Arab world, it is within their state boundaries that they face the strictest of fights ever since the Six-Day war. During this war in 1967, Israel hit back hard and acquired territories far beyond the Armistice lines from all of its Arab neighbours and has retained some of them ever since. The territories occupied were the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula (traded for peace after the Yom Kippur war) from Egypt, West Bank from Trans Jordan and the Golan Heights (two-thirds still withheld) from Syria.
Recently over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s bombing of Gaza in five days that followed a surprise attack by Hamas that left at least 1,200 Israelis dead on October 7. Israel has also mobilised some 300,000 military reservists and is moving troops and weaponry towards the Gaza border, preparing for an invasion.
International Law
The Israel-Palestine conflict is a long-standing and complex geopolitical dispute between Israelis and Palestinians over issues including territory, borders, sovereignty, security, and the rights and self-determination of both side peoples. International law plays a significant role in this conflict, with various legal principles and agreements relevant to different aspects of the dispute. Here are some key points related to the Israel-Palestine conflict and international law:
United Nation Resolution
The United Nations has passed numerous resolutions related to the Israel-Palestine conflict. One of the most significant is United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947), which recommended the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. This resolution had a significant impact on the course of the conflict.
The Fourth Geneva Conventions
The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 is a crucial component of international law regarding the protection of civilians in times of armed conflict. It applies to the occupied territories, and many countries and international organizations consider Israel’s presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to be an occupation, subject to the rules of this convention. Israel disputes this characterization.
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, signed in the 1990s, established a framework for Palestinian self-rule and created the Palestinian Authority. The agreements addressed issues such as borders, security, and the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state. They have had a significant impact on the legal and political landscape of the conflict.
United Nations Security Council Resolutions
The United Nations Security Council has passed several resolutions related to the Israel-Palestine conflict, including Resolution 242 (1967), which calls for Israel’s withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six-Day War in 1967, and Resolution 338 (1973), which reaffirms the principles of Resolution 242.
Settlements
The construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has been a major point of contention. Many in the international community consider these settlements to be illegal under international law. The construction of settlements is seen as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Right of return
The issue of the Palestinian right of return is a key point of contention. Many Palestinians claim the right to return to the homes they or their ancestors left during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194 in 1948, affirming the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
Recognition of a Palestinian state
The recognition of a Palestinian state has become a contentious issue. The United Nations granted Palestine non-member observer state status in 2012, and several countries have recognized the State of Palestine. However, Israel and some other nations do not recognize Palestinian statehood.
Recommendations for justice
Justice must involve a two-state solution, with the two states being equal in stature in the international community. Actors must be held accountable for past transgressions and a clear plan for cooperation must be devised. To help facilitate this, both the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have gotten involved in the situation in Israel and Palestine. However, they have so far been unsuccessful in alleviating suffering or effecting meaningful change. There are numerous difficulties when it comes to involving the international justice system.
The main drawback is that there is no effective mechanism to enforce the rulings of the international court. A state can decide whether to acquiesce to court rulings. Frequently, rulings are ignored. For example, in 2004, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion that the wall built by Israel violated international law and called for it to be taken down and reparations paid. Eighteen years later, the wall still stands, and in fact, it has been expanded.
Other problems stand in the way of enforcing international justice. Cases take a very long time to conclude. Cases often focus on individual issues rather than the systemic causes of those issues. The greatest obstacle, of course, is the absence of global consensus on the obligations of states toward the individuals living within their boundaries – and the reluctance of the community of nations to insist on justice for all the world’s citizens.
Conclusion
Many decades in the making, the conflict between Israel and Palestine is not likely to find resolution soon. But this very expression of resignation – this conviction that nothing can be done – may well be a chief factor in the conflict’s intractability. It is essential to note that the interpretation and application of international law in the Israel-Palestine conflict are subjects of disagreement among different parties and international actors. The conflict is deeply rooted in historical, political, and religious factors, making it challenging to find a comprehensive and lasting resolution. The legal aspects are intertwined with complex political and security considerations, which continue to be a source of tension and disagreement in the region. The despair that attends every conversation about it diverts attention from the indisputable reality at the conflict’s center: the violence in Israel and Palestine is the violence of genocide.
You can access Jurisedge Recent Legal News Archives and our Jurisedge Blog for legal updates from around the globe.
For daily legal updates, follow our official Jurisedge channel on Instagram and LinkedIn and join our Telegram channel
Subscribe to our Law Exams Capsule India’s One and only Comprehensive Law Exam Preparation Journal
Readers may submit his/her blog for publication. Click Here to submit your Manuscript.
Share this:
Related