London, Jan 14, IRNA –The British government has a legal duty to end Israel’s blood-letting in Gaza, a group of prominent international lawyers warned Wednesday.
“We remind the UK government that it has a duty under international law to exert its influence to stop violations of international humanitarian law in the current conflict between Israel and Hamas,” the group of 40 lawyers said.
“A fundamental principle of international humanitarian law is that the parties to a conflict must distinguish between civilians and those who participate directly in hostilities,” they said.
“Attacks deliberately aimed at the civilian population and civilian objects, by any means, are prohibited, as are attacks that do not discriminate between civilians and combatants, or which are likely to cause harm to civilians,” the lawyers said.
The warning comes as Israel faces the prospect of intervention by international courts amid growing calls that its actions in Gaza are a violation of world humanitarian and criminal law.
In a letter to the Guardian newspaper, the international lawyers mainly based in the UK said that the British government was obliged under international law ‘to use its best efforts within the law to stop the ongoing violations’.
“In particular, we call upon it to condemn publicly attacks by the parties to the conflict that target civilians directly, or fail to discriminate between civilians and combatants, or which are expected to cause disproportionate injury to the civilian population,” their letter said.
“The UK government should also strongly encourage the parties to ensure that civilians in Gaza receive the essential medical and humanitarian relief to which they are entitled under international law,” it further said.
According to the Guardian, the UN general assembly this week is to consider requesting an ‘advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice’.
Richard Falk, the UN’s special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories was quoted saying that there is a well-grounded view that both the initial attacks on Gaza and the tactics being used by Israel are ‘serious violations of the UN charter, the Geneva conventions, international law and international humanitarian law’.
“There is a consensus among independent legal experts that Israel is an occupying power and is therefore bound by the duties set out in the fourth Geneva convention,” said Falk, who is also professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University.
“The arguments that Israel’s blockade is a form of prohibited collective punishment, and that it is in breach of its duty to ensure the population has sufficient food and healthcare as the occupying power, are very strong,” he said.
A Foreign Office source was reported to have confirmed the UK would consider backing calls for a reference to the ICJ, saying it was ‘definitely on the table’ and that the UK has already called for an investigation into allegations.
Israel has already been found to have violated its obligations in international law by a previous advisory opinion of the ICJ in 2004 over its building of its so-called wall in Palestinian territories.
Human rights lawyer, Phil Shiner, argued Wednesday that if the UK and other EU states in particular, had complied with their international obligations, as clearly set out in the ICJ opinion, it could have stopped Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
As one example, Shiner suggested that if the UK and other EU states had ceased some, if not all, of their trading activities from 2004, even if only temporarily, the international community at the outset of this crisis could have been strong and effective.
Israel could have been told it must immediately cease all attacks on civilians in Gaza or face an immediate suspension of the EU-Israel trade agreement and a Chapter V11 UN Security Council resolution, he said.