Tag Archives: Israel

Article explaining the legal obligations associated with occupying Gaza

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by Travis Normand
August 29, 2025

The following article does a pretty good job explaining the considerations and legal obligations associated with occupation and moving the civilian population.

Israel is planning to conquer Gaza City – what legal obligations will that incur?
By Jeremy Sharon, posted on August 22, 2025, at 12:05 pm and Updated at 1:21 pm, here: TimesofIsrael.com (or https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-is-planning-to-conquer-gaza-city-what-legal-obligations-will-that-incur/)

Additionally, the following is a “podcast” discussion from the Daily Briefing (Times of Israel) with host Amanda Borschel-Dan and legal and settlements reporter Jeremy Sharon.

Daily Briefing Aug. 10: Day 674 – What would Israel’s legal duties be in a Gaza City takeover?
With Amanda Borschel-Dan and Jeremy Sharon, posted on August 10, 2025, here: TimesofIsrael.com (or https://www.timesofisrael.com/daily-briefing-aug-10-day-674-what-would-israels-legal-duties-be-in-a-gaza-city-takeover/)

Study on Legality of Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian Territory

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by Travis Normand
December 6, 2023

While doing some research for a previous post, I stumbled upon the following document:

“Study on the Legality of the Israeli Occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem,” by Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, United Nations, 2023; and found online here: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/ceirpp-legal-study2023/

I haven’t read the document yet, but figured I would post it here as I like to share things I find in the event anyone else finds them useful.

Queen Rania’s Comments on Human Shields

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Jordan’s Queen Rania appeared on CNN and had the following comments (see the text of her comments and/or the video, posted below; with these specific comments starting at about the 5:00 minute mark of the video):

“These evacuation orders, I do not believe are for the benefit of the Gaza civiliians. They are not the target audience; the rest of the world is. It is Israel’s attempt to try to legitimize their actions.”

“And when it comes to human shields, I think we need to defer to international law. Of course, the use of human shields is criminal. But even if one side uses … puts a civilian in harms way, that civilian is still entitled to full protection under international humanitarian law. That is the global standard and no nation is exempt. So before firing any bullet, before dropping any bomb, it is the responsibility of the nation to weigh the risk to civilian life, and if that risk is disproportionate to the military target then it is deemed unlawful. And frankly, I find it really outrageous when Israeli officials audaciously dismiss Palestinian casualties as human shields. In a place like Jabalia, which is one of the most crowded corners of Gaza; Gaza being one of the most densely populated spots on Earth … civilian death is not is not incidental, it is not accidental. It is a foregone conclusion, and that makes it a war crime.

Comments by Queen Rania of Jordan during interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson; posted to Twitter / “X” on November 5, 2023; see @BeckyCNN (these specific remarks start at about the 5:00 minute mark of the video).
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Is the current conflict between Israel and Hamas a NIAC or IAC?

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by Travis Normand
November 7, 2023

This is a summary of (some) the substance found in two other articles, one of which I have posted/shared previously. You can find both of these articles, in their entirety, posted here:

The article by Ken Watkin dives into a lot of interesting topics (including whether this conflict could be classified as an IAC; depending on the degree of support, if any, Iran is providing to Hamas); but my point here in this post is to examine the question of whether the current conflict between Israel and Hamas is a NIAC or IAC. I am doing so by summarizing what is in the two articles posted above.

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Great Article on the current Israel / Hamas situation

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by Travis Normand
November 3, 2023

I highly recommend the following article on the Israel / Hamas situation. I will post more about it (along with my thoughts) when I have more time. For now, I just wanted to share a link to the article for anyone who might be interested.

Israeli Soldier Convicted Of Manslaughter For Killing Wounded Palestinian

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by Travis Normand
January 5, 2017

There are a lot of different angles from which I could approach the discussion of this incident / court ruling. However, I am going to have to collect my thoughts on this topic and revisit it later when I have more time to write. Until then, I will leave you with this thought; due to the difficulties involved with imposing punishments for LOAC violations, it is important that countries continue to prosecute their own for any and all such violations.

Excerpts from the NPR.org article are posted below.  If you would like to read the article in its entirely, you can do so HERE (NPR.org).

Israeli Soldier Convicted Of Manslaughter For Killing Wounded Palestinian
by Camila Domonoske
January 4, 2017
NPR.org

An Israeli military court has convicted a soldier of manslaughter for shooting and killing a Palestinian assailant who was already incapacitated.

* * *

The judges found that 20-year-old Sgt. Elor Azaria acted in cold blood when he shot and killed Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, NPR’s Joanna Kakissis reports from Jerusalem:

“Al-Sharif had been shot and wounded after stabbing an Israeli soldier. Eleven minutes later, Azaria shot the motionless Al-Sharif in the head.

“A human rights activist filmed the killing. The video went viral.

“Many Israelis say Azaria was justified because he feared Al-Sharif might have been wearing an explosive belt. But Azaria’s superior officers say his actions contradict the army’s ethical standards.”

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The AP reports:

“In delivering her verdict, Col. Maya Heller systematically rejected all of Azaria’s defense arguments, saying ‘the fact that the man on the ground was a terrorist does not justify a disproportionate response.’“

Read the entire article at NPR.org, found here:  http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/04/508162405/israeli-soldier-convicted-of-manslaughter-for-killing-wounded-palestinian