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UN condemns Israeli violence, calls 2022 'deadliest' in West Bank

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 Dec 2022 10:15
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Children have a special protection status under customary international humanitarian law, but the IOF violate it excessively.

The IOF detaining a Palestinian child (AFP)

UN experts have named the West Bank of occupied Palestine as having seen the deadliest series of events in 2022 at the hands of Israeli settlers and the IOF.

According to the UN, 150 Palestinians have been murdered in the occupied West Bank this year by the IOF. “We remind Israel that pending the dismantlement of its unlawful occupation, Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory must be treated as protected persons, not enemies or terrorists,” the experts stated, referring to international law as a point of reference to abide by.

All bark, no bite

In October, Tor Wencesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process stated, “Since the beginning of the year, at least 100 Palestinians, including children, have been killed, amid a significant increase in Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank, including Area A."

He added, “The escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank is fueling a climate of fear, hatred and anger. It is necessary to reduce tensions immediately to open space for decisive initiatives aimed at creating a viable political horizon."

Unfortunately and yet as could be expected, it is all bark, no bite. The UN has been all talk since the beginning of the year and even before - silent on hostilities but loud on stating the obvious. It is quick to act on trying to eliminate Russia from the UNSC over the war in Ukraine but procrastinates on actually holding a well-deserved criminal tribunal on the IOF and "Israel".

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club last Saturday, the Israeli occupation has detained around 6,500 Palestinians since the onset of the year. The occupation, according to the PPC, arrested 153 women and 811 children. It added that "the Israeli occupation has detained about 750 children since the beginning of this year 2022, and 160 of them are still in detention."

Children, under customary international humanitarian law, have a special protection status in Article 77 of Additional Protocol I pertaining to the Fourth Geneva Convention that states, “Children shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected against any form of indecent assault. The Parties to the conflict shall provide them with the care and aid they require, whether because of their age or for any other reason."

The IOF clearly violates that, among other violations of international law principles that the international community recognizes but does not act against.

Means and methods

“Armed and masked Israeli settlers are attacking Palestinians in their homes, attacking children on their way to school, destroying property and burning olive groves, and terrorising entire communities with complete impunity,” said the UN experts as they listed the crimes that "Israel" has been committing against the Palestinians.

“Disturbing evidence of Israeli forces frequently facilitating, supporting and participating in settler attacks, makes it difficult to discern between Israeli settler and State violence,” said the experts. “The impunity of one is reinforced by the impunity of the other.”

On November 28, 198 Palestinian and international organizations called on the International Criminal Court to investigate Israeli crimes, calling for public condemnation amid an increase in Israeli murders and aggression against Palestinians.

That same day, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy accused "Israel" of escalation in Palestine's West Bank during a UN Security Council, saying that 2022 has been the "bloodiest" in nearly two decades.

Less than 24 hours later, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yair Lapid sent a letter addressing more than 50 world leaders, calling on them to prevent the UN General Assembly vote on an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

The IOF has violated articles of customary international law against protected persons (B.7.1), using cluster munitions which are part of the prohibited weapons list, violating rules protecting prisoners of war, targeting civilians and using them as human shields, alongside committing an abundance of war crimes - from wilful murder and torture to pillaging private property, such as houses and residential objects.

Far-right Israeli lawmaker Zvika Fogel expressed his comfort in the settler colonial rhetoric in an interview for British broadcaster Channel 4 on Wednesday, saying that “if it is one Israeli mother crying, or a thousand Palestinian mothers crying, then a thousand Palestinian mothers will cry.”

“Anyone who wants to harm me, I will harm him back. And as far as I'm concerned, the concept of proportionality must cease to exist,” said Fogel.

It is worth noting that the concept of proportionality that the Israeli extremist is calling for abolishing - one of the pillars of customary international humanitarian law - stipulates that even if an attack is "permitted" or occurs, injury of civilians, which is already prohibited, cannot be excessive in relation to the military advantage. Why did such a call fall on deaf ears?

The UN experts even touched upon the "illegal settlements" pursued by the IOF, dubbing them a "corrosive threat" and warning that "Israel’s deplorable record in the occupied West Bank will likely deteriorate further in 2023."

They further stressed that “no peaceful settlement can be pursued under Israel’s repressive occupation: a reality that should be a wake-up call for all decision-makers.”