Israel’s Violations of International Humanitarian Law in Palestine: “Crimes without Accountability

Abstract

This paper unearths Israeli’s Violation of International Humanitarian Law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), particularly within the context of the 2023–2025 military operations in Gaza. This study uses a normative legal method to review various current reports, international legal agreements and recognized rules included in the Geneva Conventions, the Rome Statute and relevant sections of International Human Rights Law (IHRL). Much of the discussion reflects on Israel purposely targeting civilians, dwarfing the amounts of force used, blocking humanitarian aid, especially and heavily involving starvation in its warfare which may be recognized as war crimes under Rome Statute Article 8(2)(b)(xxv). The International Criminal Court (ICC) has recently released arrest warrants targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and several other Israeli authorities. making the discussion about criminal responsibility more heated. It includes a thorough look at indicators that civilian food, water and medicine were deliberately stopped for Gaza which is documented by reports from the UN, humanitarian groups and data from the WHO that point to essential services being disrupted and the start of famine. This study offers originality by analyzing the most recent phase of the Gaza conflict based on the latest evidence of the law and ICC proceedings and offers a new angle to the current discussions on accountability under international law. The paper further investigates Israel’s military actions of occupation, displacing people and destroying civilian infrastructure which are against the fundamental rules of IHL known as distinction, proportionality, necessity and precaution. The paper also explores how reluctant international institutions are to respond to mass atrocity crimes and strongly urges more accountability. It claims that when violations aren’t promptly handled by international law, they might cause the global legal system to lose credibility and result in more suffering in Gaza and beyond.