International Law

A WORK IN PROGRESS

NEWS

• Harpers Magazine “Lawfare Redux”, by Scott Horton (12 March 2010) – Lawfare – conservatives attacking the usage of international law to defend human rights. Examples include effort to prosecute Israel for war crimes for Gaza offensive.
• Mondoweiss Goldstone: ‘If Gaza isn’t collective punishment, what is?’ by Philip Weiss (6 November 2009).
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Settlers increase attacks on West Bank Palestinians, by Robert W. Gee (19 August 2008).
  This article describes increasing settler attacks on Palestinians supposedly because of increased shutdown of outposts and the relative lack of Israeli police response. The article also describes the outposts as illegal as per Israeli law, but that all settlements are ‘illegitimate’ as per international law and also describes the dual legal system which ties the settlement legally to Israel while the Palestinian areas remain under military law.
• Washington Post
  Israel likely to skip next UN racism conference, by Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press (6 August 2008).
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
  Village sues builders of Israeli settlement, Associated Press (10 July 2008) – On behalf of WB village, Bilin sues Canadian construction companies involved in settlement construction in violation of international law.
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
  Chicago Tribune,
  Philadelphia Inquirer,
  San Francisco Chronicle,
  Washington Post:
  Group: Palestinians shorted by West Bank police, by Diaa Hadid, Associated Press (9 July 2008)
  This article describes study showing unfair treatment of Palestinian civilians by Israeli police working in the occupied territories – the group is ‘Yesh Din’.

ONLINE REPORTS

• Amnesty International - “Hamas must not carry out executions in Gaza” (31 March 2010).
• Al-Haq - “European Parliament Supports Goldstone Report and Demands Accountability for International Crimes Committed during Operation Cast Lead” (10 March 2010).
• Palestinian Centre for Human Rights- “Arab-Sponsored Draft Resolution on Goldstone Report Denies Victims’ Rights and Fosters a Situation of Impunity” (25 February 2010) – quote – “On 26 February 2010, the General Assembly of the United Nations will debate the implementation of the Report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the Goldstone Report). An Arab-sponsored draft resolution requests that all parties be given a further five months to conduct investigations…. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly criticizes the time-limit contained in this resolution. As it stands this resolution grants impunity to those accused of committing serious violations of international law. In endorsing such a resolution the United Nations would effectively turn its back on international law, and the victims of last years offensive on the Gaza Strip.”
• Palestinian Centre for Human Rights - “PCHR Release Genuinely Unwilling: Israel’s Investigations into Violations of International Law including Crimes Committed during the Offensive on the Gaza Strip” (11 February 2010).
• B’Tselem - “B’Tselem calls on army to make it clear to officers and soldiers serving in the Occupied Territories that their duties include protecting Palestinians” (27 January 2010).
• Hamoked - “HaMoked severely protests the conduct of the Israel Security Agency which harasses and threatens Palestinians wishing to study abroad: Exerting pressure on the protected population to collaborate is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law” (18 January 2010).
• Adalah - “Adalah Briefing Paper: Israeli Military Probes and Investigations fail to meet International Standards or ensure Accountability for Victims of the War on Gaza” (January 2010).
• Public Committee against Torture in Israel - Accountability Denied: The Absence of Investigation and Punishment of Torture in Israel, by Atty. Irit Ballas, Atty. Avi Berg, Mr. Carmi Lecker, Dr. Ishai Menuchin, Atty. Barna Shoughry-Badarne (28 December 2009).
• B’Tselem - “Without Trial: Administrative detention of Palestinians by Israel and the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law” (October 2009).
• PLO Negotiations Affairs Dept. - Israeli Violations of the Road Map: 1 June– 31 September 2009 (October 2009).
• International Committee of the Red Cross - Israel: findings of a survey on the Geneva Conventions (13 August 2009), The ICRC surveyed Israeli citizens about their views of the applicability of the Geneva Conventions to Israel’s conflict with Gaza.
• Adalah - The ICJ Ruling: Looking Back by Diana Buttu (July 2009) – update on the ICJ ruling on the separation barrier.
• Palestinian Centre for Human Rights - Palestinian and Israeli Human Rights Organisations call for End to International Donor Complicity in Israeli Violations of International Law (4 May 2009).
• Al-Haq - Operation Cast Lead and the Distortion of International Law: A Legal Analysis of Israel’s Claim to Self-Defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter (April 2009).
• National Lawyers Guild - Israel’s Attack on Gaza and The Rule of Law – December 27, 2008 – January 18 (February 2009).
• Human Rights Watch - “Israel/Gaza: Civilians Must Not Be Targets – Disregard for Civilians Underlies Current Escalation” (30 December 2008).
• The Public Committee Against Torture In Israel – A Compilation of Sources on Israeli Military Law that relates to the OPT, by (25 August 2008).
• Human Rights Watch – Gaza Strip/Israel: Civilians Bear Brunt of Attacks – Fatal Hamas Rocket Strikes Violate Laws of War (29 February 2008).
• Human Rights Watch – Gaza: Israel’s Energy Cuts Violate Laws of War – Attacks by Palestinian Armed Groups No Excuse for Collective Punishment (7 February 2008).
• Human Rights Watch – Israel/Gaza: Israeli Blockade Unlawful Despite Gaza Border Breach – Indiscriminate Palestinian Rocket Attacks Violate International Law (26 January 2008).
• Adalah – SPECIAL REPORT: UN CEDAW – The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – legal work in “14 Areas of Concern Regarding Israeli Violations of Rights of Palestinian Women”.
• Adalah – SPECIAL REPORT: ICERD – reports on the “The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination”.
• International Committee of the Red Cross – The ICRC in Israel, the Occupied Territories and the Autonomous Territories – Summary of the ICRC programme in Palestine/Israel.
• International Committee of the Red Cross – Reappraising the role and limits of the legal discourse on occupation in the israeli-palestinian context, address by Mr Christoph Harnisch (6 June 2007).
• Amnesty International – Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories 70th Session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), 19 February to 9 March 2007: Update to Comments by Amnesty International on Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), by (1 February 2007).
• Israel Law Resource Center – Study Guide: International Law and Israel (February 2007).
• ADC - Eyewitness Lebanon: An International Law Inquiry – July-August 2006 by Virginia N. Sherry (2007).
• Arab Association for Human Rights – The Parlous State of Israeli Democracy – Israel Democratic Institute Report, by (21 May 2003) -
• Badil – BADIL Occasional Bulletin No. 11: The Meaning of UN General Assembly Resolution 194(III), 11 December 1948 (The Right of Return) (April 2002) – This Bulletin aims to provide a brief overview of issues related to Palestinian Refugee Rights
• Badil – BADIL – Information & Discussion Brief: Reinterpreting Palestinian Refugee Rights Under International Law, And A Framework For Durable Solutions, by Susan M. Akram (February 2000).
• PLO Negotiations Affairs Dept. - Gilo – “Jewish Neighborhood” or War Crime? (1998) – quote – “Gilo and other Israeli colonies (sometimes referred to as “settlements”) built in Occupied East Jerusalem and elsewhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law and must be referred to as such. Referring to these colonies as “neighborhoods” or “communities” is misleading, and does not reflect international law, the policies of the United Nations, the United States or the European Union.”.

OFFLINE REFERENCE MATERIALS

ARTICLES:

The International Laws of Belligerent Occupation
Professor of International Law Francis Boyle – Belligerent occupation is governed by The Hague Regulations of 1907, as well as by the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and the customary laws of belligerent occupation. Security Council Resolution 1322 (2000), paragraph 3 continued: “Calls upon Israel, the occupying Power, to abide scrupulously by its legal obligations and its responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in a Time of War of 12 August 1949;…” Again, the Security Council vote was 14 to 0, becoming obligatory international law. more

Why a ‘right of return’ is necessary
Sari Hanafi in The Daily Star – The right of return of Palestinian refugees to their place of origin is enshrined in four separate bodies of international law: humanitarian law, human rights law, the law of nationality as applied to state succession, and refugee law. more

Red Cross Report Says Israel Disregards Humanitarian Law
Steven Erlanger in the New York Times – The International Committee of the Red Cross, in a confidential report about East Jerusalem and its surrounding areas, accuses Israel of a “general disregard” for “its obligations under international humanitarian law – and the law of occupation in particular.” more

World Court Condemns Israel’s Wall
Arthur Max in the UK Guardian – The U.N.’s highest judicial authority decided Israel’s planned 425-mile-long barrier in the West Bank violates international law and must be dismantled, according to court documents that were leaked ahead of the announcement. more

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