HRW on ’Israeli’ Aggression on Gaza: Int’l Laws of War Should Apply to All Sides of the Conflict

By Al-Ahed News, HRW

“Israeli” authorities have systematically repressed Palestinians for decades and since 2007 have imposed a crushing closure on Gaza’s population. Gaza – a 40-by-11-kilometer [25-by-7 mile] strip of land – has essentially been an open-air prison for more than 16 years.

What’s more, Palestinians in Occupied Palestine have recently faced perhaps unprecedented repression. During the first nine months of 2023, apartheid “Israeli” authorities killed more Palestinians in the West Bank in 2023 than in any year since such UN records began in 2005.

As of October, the number of Palestinians being held in “Israeli” “administrative detention” without charges or trial based on secret information reached a 30-year-high.

The “Israeli” regime’s systematic oppression in Occupied Palestine, coupled with inhumane acts committed against Palestinians as part of a policy to maintain the domination by “Israelis” over Palestinians, amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution.

On Saturday, the “Israeli” entity’s energy minister announced “Israeli” authorities would no longer provide electricity to Gaza’s 2.2 million residents. This and other punitive measures against Gaza’s civilian population would amount to unlawful collective punishment, which is also a war crime.

Although international laws of war should apply to all sides of the conflict, but the real problem – the reason this conflict goes on and on – is that those laws are not applied in reality. It’s the same with standards of international law in general, including respect for fundamental human rights. People keep committing serious crimes on all sides, and perpetrators keep getting away with it.

During prior rounds of hostilities, Human Rights Watch documented serious violations of the laws of war by “Israeli” Occupation Forces [IOF] and allegedly committed by Palestinian resistance groups.

The “Israeli” entity has repeatedly carried out indiscriminate airstrikes in past conflicts in Gaza that killed scores of civilians – wiping out entire families – and strikes that targeted civilians or civilian infrastructure, including destroying high-rise Gaza towers full of homes and businesses, with no evident military targets in the vicinity.

Human Rights Watch has for years called for Palestinian groups to cease these retaliatory operations, including in a recent exchange of letters with Hamas authorities.