Israel Inflicts Illegal Collective Punishment on Gaza

In its 2009 report, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) found, "During Operation Cast Lead no type of property was left untouched: residences, hospitals, schools, mosques, factories and agricultural fields were demolished by the IDF."

Israel, according to PCATI, employed "a coherent strategy that incorporated two major elements into the planning of Operation Cast Lead: 1) The implementation of the 'Dahiye Doctrine,' the principal tenet of which was to cause intentional suffering to civilians so that they would bring pressure to bear on those who were fighting against the IDF [Israel Defense Forces], and 2) The 'No Risk' policy, which placed absolute priority on preventing harm to IDF soldiers, even at the cost of greater danger to Palestinian civilians." Israel is apparently pursuing the same policy in Operation Protective Edge.

In 2013, Falk said, "the people of Gaza have endured the unendurable and suffered what is insufferable for six years. Israel's collective punishment of the civilian population in Gaza must end today." He added, "Israel has the responsibility as the Occupying Power to protect the civilian population."

"In circumstances of prolonged occupation and state terrorism," Falk observed, "Hamas is entitled to claim rights of resistance, although their precise contours are not clearly established by international law. Hamas is certainly entitled to act in self-defense within the constraints of international humanitarian law."

International Reaction

On July 12, 2014, the UN Security Council issued a unanimous statement calling for an immediate ceasefire and "de-escalation of the situation, restoration of calm, and reinstitution of the November 2012 ceasefire." That ceasefire ended eight days of bombings of Gaza by Israel that killed 140 Palestinians, and rocket attacks by Hamas along the border that killed five Israelis. In its July 12 statement, the Council expressed "serious concern regarding the crisis related to Gaza and the protection and welfare of civilians on both sides" and called for respect for international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.

Hanna Amira, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the West Bank, said of the Council's statement, "This announcement deals with the oppressor and the victim in the same way; it is a general call to end the fighting, without setting any mechanism to end the fighting. What is needed is an end to the aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza."

The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) National Committee has called on "international governments to impose a two-way arms embargo immediately and to suspend bilateral agreements until Israel fully complies with international law." Indeed, US military aid to Israel also violates US law. The Human Rights and Security Assistance Act requires that the United States halt all military aid to Israel because the latter has engaged in a consistent pattern of gross violation of internationally recognized human rights.

"Because collective punishment is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions, [the Palestinian BDS National Committee] urge[s] the international community to pressure Israel to end its all-out military assault aimed against the total population of Gaza, open the Rafah crossing [between Egypt and Gaza] permanently and heed our call for boycotts, divestment and sanctions." Organizations such as the Bill Gates Foundation, the Presbyterian Church USA and the United Methodist Church are divesting from companies that profit from Israel's occupation, including Hewlett Packard, Motorola Solutions and Caterpillar.

"Israel is able to act with utter impunity because of the military, economic and political support it receives from governments around the world," according to Zaid Shuaibi, a spokesperson for the Palestinian BDS National Committee. Indeed, Israel would be unable to carry out its policies of aggression in Gaza without the support of the United States, which gives Israel more than $3 billion per year.

The United States should demand an immediate ceasefire from both Israel and Hamas. The US government should condemn Israel's escalation, bombing and collective punishment of civilians just as forcefully as it has condemned Hamas' firing of rockets. The Gaza blockade and limitations on freedom of travel of Gazans should be lifted and Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories should be ended.