Terrorism is not a legitimate response all attacks against innocent, noncombatant civilians of all ages are criminal, under international law. The right of palestinians to resist their occupation is enshrined in international and customary law, a fact that is denied and violated by israel and wilfully overlooked by the rest of the world. However, the right to resist must also be recognized as a legal right. Dec 22, 2011 though the israeli government and the us media persist in describing the second palestinian intifada as a security crisis or a disruption to the peace process, in international law, palestinian resistance to occupation is a legally protected rightisraels failures to abide by international law, as a belligerent occupant, amounted to. An organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to resist the legally established government or. You write in the book that under international law, hamas has every right, hamas and all palestinian factions, because by the way, its not just hamas that uses force inside gaza. Ingela karlsson, resistance to israeli occupation a right.
Recommended citation lippman, matthew 1990 the right of civil resistance under international law and the domestic necessity defense,penn state international. Khalidi has publicly stated that palestinians have the legal right under international law to resist israels occupation. Diakonia, a swedish churchbased sustainable development organization, recognizes the right to resist with nonviolent means, but finds that under international humanitarian law there is no explicit mention of the right of an occupied people to resist an occupation. Right to resist occupation synonyms, right to resist occupation pronunciation, right to resist occupation translation, english. International law, however, sides with the struggle for palestinian liberation, and is vehemently opposed to israels transgressions, and thus the international community must stand in solidarity with the palestinian people because, in the conflict between occupier and the occupied, only the occupied have a lawful and moral right to defend. A contribution to ramzy barouds the violence debate. Israel claimed a legal right to the area based on a historical ownership by people of the same religion and arguably race, 3000 years ago. Status of palestinian prisoners in international humanitarian law.
Palestinian right to fight occupation not only moral, but legal as well. If they do so, they must distinguish themselves from the civilian population, or. The international law of occupation hardcover eyal. Many not all palestinians regularly claim that their favorite topic, international law, gives them a legitimate right to resist occupation. International law grants a people fighting an illegal occupation the right to use all necessary means at their disposal to end their occupation, and the occupied are entitled to seek and receive support i quote here from several united nations resolutions. Palestinians have the right to resist occupation by any means.
International law is very clear about the occupieds right to resist military occupation, yet this is rarely brought up in any discourse surrounding this conflict. The law of occupation imposes two types of obligations on an army that seizes control of enemy land during armed conflict. Jul 03, 2019 israel occupied the west bank and gaza through war. When hypothetically all israel has to do is end the occupation. The fiftieth anniversary of israels occupation of certain arabinhabited territories following its victory in the june 1967 war is a good time to reflect on the question of how international law addresses resistance to military occupation. The right to resist an occupation is guaranteed by. The essential ingredient for applicability of the law of occupation is therefore the actual control exercised by the occupying forces. Zionists are pinning the blame on the elected representative of the palestinians. They call for an international conference to be held to define terrorism to avoid confusion with the legitimate right to resist occupation. The law of armed conflict international committee of the. Jan 11, 2018 finkelstein on gazas right to resist military occupation 3 4. The law on occupation applies to all cases of partial or total occupation, even if such occupation does not encounter armed resistance. In a june 7, 2002 speech he delivered before the americanarab antidiscrimination committee, mr.
In his book, the international law of belligerent occupation,yoram. You write in the book that under international law, hamas has every right, hamas and all palestinian factions, because by the. Finkelstein on gazas right to resist military occupation 34 imemc. The palestinian ministry of information said on thursday that palestinian resistance against the israeli occupation is a legitimate right guaranteed under international law, stressing th. Palestinians have the right to resist occupation by any means, even non violent ones.
Do palestinians have a legal right to resist the occupation. Occupation ceases when the occupying forces are driven out of or. International law and the transformative occupation of palestine. Faced with a reality in which israel is strong and the united states is in its pocket, it is the duty of palestinians to resist the occupation. I agree wholeheartedly with noam sheizafs recent post about the palestinians moral right to resist. Annyssa bellal holds a phd in public international law from the graduate institute of international and development studies and is currently research fellow and lecturer at the geneva academy of international law and human. International law guarantees palestinians the right to resist. Palestinian right to fight occupation not only moral, but. Hence depending on the perspective of a states government, a resistance movement may or may not be labelled a terrorist group based on whether the members of a resistance movement are considered lawful or unlawful combatants and whether they are recognized as having a right to resist occupation. Ultimately, the distinction is a political judgment. Today, these rights are also framed in international conventions which determine the conditions of legality and legitimacy of a resistance movement, and which transform the right to resist into a pillar of an international law based on fundamental concepts such as the right to sovereignty without external interference, to national independence. Its time for israel to accept that as an occupied people, palestinians have a right to resist in every way possible. As a western supporter non muslimarab of the palestinian cause, i have always find it rather difficult to talk let alone to advocate about how best palestinians can resist occupation, especially when this occupation is usually extremely violent and genocidal at times. Lawyer at counterpunch validates palestinian right of armed resistance to occupation.
Palestinians have the right to resist occupation by any. The palestinians have no right to resist the occupation. A palestinian defends violent resistance to occupation. The right to resist occupation is im pretty sure, a legal one. Again, courts of appeal so established should sit in the occupied country. Canadian teacher under police investigation for saying palestinians had right to resist occupation proisrael group claims shoufani called for violence against israelis when she said.
It is likely, therefore, that in any situation of prolonged occupation, resistance will occur, whether it be violent or nonviolent. Recognizing therefore that the palestinian people have the clear right under international law to resist such occupation by any means provided under international law until they achieve their fundamental human right to selfdetermination and end the israeli racist system including its own brand of apartheid. Mar 11, 2016 the palestinian ministry of information said on thursday that palestinian resistance against the israeli occupation is a legitimate right guaranteed under international law, stressing th. Right to resist occupation synonyms, right to resist occupation pronunciation, right to resist occupation translation, english dictionary definition of right to resist occupation. While international humanitarian law allowed the occupying power to. Palestinians have a perfect right under international law to resist an illegal, colonial, genocidal, criminal, military occupation regime of their lands and of their homes and of their people that goes back to 1948 so long as it is done in a manner consistent with the requirements of international humanitarian law. Palestinians have the right to resist occupation palestine. There is nothing in international law for resisting occupation. This issueand its counterpart, the rights of an occupying power visavis. Heres the pa saying it and here is an aljazeera article speculating on the topic. Apr 04, 2016 this view defies a broad international consensus that occupied and colonized peoples do indeed have a right to resist. This protocol was promulgated for the purpose of injecting ihl standards into. He was formerly director of the cegla center for interdisciplinary research of the law 20022005 and director of the minerva center for human.
Finkelstein on gazas right to resist military occupation 34. You write that under international law they have every right to armed resistance. The palestinians, being subject to a military occupation, have the right to resist said occupation. No one seriously questions the right of french, belgian and dutch citizens to have engaged in armed resistance against german occupation, or of indonesians and algerians to have resisted dutch or french occupation. If israels occupation of palestinian territories is illegaland it isunder international law, then by definition palestinian resistance of that. Palestinians have a legal right to armed struggle conflict al jazeera. Likewise, how are palestinians terrorists for resisting said occupation. Right to resist occupation article about right to resist. Recognizing therefore that the palestinian people have the clear right under international law to resist such occupation by any means provided under international law until they achieve their fundamental human right to selfdetermination and end the. This is just as true when the terrorists are state actors, as when they are resisting those who occup. Lawyer at counterpunch validates palestinian right of.
Applicability of international law to palestinians in occupied. Additional protocol i established peoples right to use armed force to resist foreign occupation as well as colonial domination and to fight against racist regimes in the exercise of their right of selfdetermination. The inalienable right to resist occupation dissident voice. This issue and its counterpart, the rights of an occupying power visavis. Contrary to the conventional wisdom being propagated by israel and its supporters, not all violence is terrorism and the palestinian people have by weight of customary international law expressed in a myriad of united nations resolutions every right to militarily resist their occupation and subjugation by israel as long as this. The right of palestinians to resist their occupation is enshrined in international and customary law, a fact that is denied and violated by israel. Urges all states, competent organizations of the united nations system, specialized agencies and other international organizations to extend their support to the palestinian people through its. According to the same international law, the occupation ought to have ceased one year after its. The palestinians legal right to resist occupationto fight for their. Mar 16, 2015 the right of palestinians to resist their occupation is enshrined in international and customary law, a fact that is denied and violated by israel and wilfully overlooked by the rest of the world. He was previously hersch lauterpacht professor of international law at the hebrew university of jerusalem faculty of law. But i would like to add that the moral right to resist is also the foundation of the palestinians legal right to resist the illegal israeli occupation.
The law of armed conflict lesson 9 belligerent occupation icrc. Finkelstein on gazas right to resist military occupation 3 4 january 11, 2018 5. May 28, 2018 international law, however, sides with the struggle for palestinian liberation, and is vehemently opposed to israels transgressions, and thus the international community must stand in solidarity with the palestinian people, because in conflict between occupier and the occupied, only the occupied have a lawful and moral right to defend. Jan 10, 2018 finkelstein on gazas right to resist military occupation 34. At the heart of this issue lies the fundamental question of israels right to arrest hundreds of thousands of palestinians, put them on trial before arbitrary military courts, and treat them as criminals in its capacity as the occupying power given the internationally. This view defies a broad international consensus that occupied and colonized peoples do indeed have a right to resist. Right to resist occupation definition of right to resist. Palestinians have a legal right to armed struggle conflict.
Finkelstein on gazas right to resist military occupation. Laws of occupation international campaign against the. May 17, 2004 contrary to the conventional wisdom being propagated by israel and its supporters, not all violence is terrorism and the palestinian people have by weight of customary international law expressed in a myriad of united nations resolutions every right to militarily resist their occupation and subjugation by israel as long as this. Yemens deputy minister of islamic affairs and guidance yahya najjar said last month the conference, originally scheduled for may 17, was designed to help formulate an islamic vision and clear position on terrorism and ways to face it, as well as. Laws of occupation christine chinkin professor of international law london school of economics introduction occupation under international law covers two distinct concepts.
Rather than griping about a headline, it will benefit martin behr to educate himself about the people of gaza and their right under international law to resist occupation headline shows bias. Is terrorism a legitimate response to foreign occupation. Israel occupied the west bank and gaza through war. Under international law, israels occupation of the palestinian territories is illegal, and palestinians have a right to armed struggle against their illegal occupier israel thus ipso facto palestinians have a right to defend themselves against israel, but israels right to defend itself against palestinian resistance is not.
The right of civil resistance under international law and the. For more detail on the application of ihl and hrl to. In essence, international law grants to the palestinian people a right to resist israeli occupation that is reinforced by israels failure to withdraw from occupied palestine as decreed back in. The right of civil resistance under international law and. Long ago, it was settled that resistance and even armed struggle against a colonial occupation force is not just recognised under international law. Provides a perfect introduction for students in this field, demonstrating the development of the key rules of international law governing occupations with detailed case studies.
May 28, 2010 the right to resist occupation is im pretty sure, a legal one. I clarified what i meant by ror in the other thread you chose to ignore it so ill repeat it here. Number 3dickinson journal of international law article 2 1990 the right of civil resistance under international law and the domestic necessity defense. Eyal benvenisti is the anny and paul yanowicz professor of human rights at tel aviv university faculty of law. This essay addresses the legal status of palestinian political prisoners under international humanitarian and human rights law.
Right to resist occupation guaranteed under international law. Canadian teacher under police investigation for saying. Never did i mention mass murder and assuming i meant that says more about you than it does me. The law of armed conflict international committee of.