Fighting Anti-Israeli Bias

Countering
Item 7

THE UNHRC'S STANDING AGENDA ITEM
TARGETING ISRAEL

Claims

Claim 50: Post-October 7th Israel is Collectively Punishing Gaza Palestinians

examples

Egypt, 55th session

“We also condemn the attacks against the Palestinian, the Gazans, and Palestinians in full view of the whole world when they were lining up for food. We call for stopping the collective punishment against the Palestinian residents.”

Zimbabwe, 55th session

“We condemn in the strongest terms the continued acts of aggression and collective punishment in Gaza, which have led to the killing and injury of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians.”

Brunei, 55th session

“The Occupying Power’s continued aggression and collective punishment against the Palestinian people.”

Maldives, 55th session

“The UN Secretary General reminded us that no justification can ever validate the collective punishment inflicted upon the defenseless Palestinian population.”

NAM, 55th session

“NAM condemns in the strongest terms the acts of aggression and collective punishment by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people, in grave breach of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, including, inter alia, the killing and injury of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians…”

Namibia, 55th session

“nothing can justify Israel’s collective punishment of innocent Palestinian civilians which has left more than 30,000 dead including more than 13,000 children.”

Our Response

UN Watch

The term “collective punishment” is a legal term that refers to punishing someone or a group of people for the acts of someone else.[1] As military law expert Professor Geoffrey Corn has explained, collective punishment “requires an intent to inflict collective suffering on the population because of something that happened to your forces,” adding that the “collective consequences of combat is not the same thing as collective punishment.”[2] Corn provided an example from World War II where Germany would retaliate for the killing of one of its soldiers by the French resistance by killing 50 innocent French civilians.[3] That is not the situation in Gaza, where Israel has made clear that its military activity is directed against Hamas with the aim of neutralizing the threat posed by Hamas.[4]

Moreover, Israel has undertaken extensive precautions to avoid harm to innocent civilians, including warnings by way of leaflets, text messages, phone calls, and evacuations, as well as creating evacuation corridors, humanitarian zones, and tactical pauses for humanitarian purposes. [5] Over time, Israel has also implemented various measures to increase the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, including opening additional crossings, extending the hours at the crossings, improving the humanitarian routes, and coordinating purchase of additional aid trucks for UN agencies.[6]

Rather than directing their condemnation at Israel, which is fighting a legally justified war of self-defense, these countries should be censuring Hamas for deliberately endangering Gaza civilians by using them as human shields. In Corn’s words, Hamas created “an interconnected multi-level fortress within densely populated civilian areas” in Gaza.[7] Over the preceding 16 years, Hamas had built a vast and sophisticated underground tunnel network—approximately 500 miles—running under all of Gaza.[8] Above ground, Hamas also turned countless civilian structures into battle positions, including homes, mosques, schools, and hospitals from which it planned and carried out attacks, often dressed in civilian clothes.[9] Throughout this war, Hamas terrorists have routinely operated from civilian areas, including humanitarian zones, UN buildings, hospitals, and mosques.[10] This conduct, in clear violation of international humanitarian law, is the main cause of civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza. By accusing Israel of “collective punishment,” which is both legally and factually wrong, these countries give Hamas a free pass for its crimes.

[1] IHL Rule 103, ICRC (Last visited July 15, 2024), https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule103#refFn_9BE34FBF_00001.

[2] Retired Army legal expert blasts AOC’s accusations against Israel for committing ‘war crimes,’ Fox News (October 25, 2023), https://www.foxnews.com/politics/retired-army-legal-expert-geoffrey-corn-blasts-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-accusations-against-israel-committing-war-crimes.

[3] Id.

[4] Hamas-Israel Conflict 2023: Frequently Asked Questions, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (December 8, 2023), https://www.gov.il/en/pages/swords-of-iron-faq-6-dec-2023#7.

[5] Id.

[6] Steps Undertaken to Ease the Burden on the UN Aid Agencies in Their Efforts to Collect and Deliver Aid in Gaza, COGAT (June 4, 2024), https://govextra.gov.il/media/43kclfzg/steps-undertaken-to-ease-the-burden-on-the-united-nations-un-in-their-efforts-to-collect-and-deliver-aid-in-gaza-3.pdf; See also generally Swords of Iron Humanitarian Efforts, COGAT (Last visited July 15, 2024), https://govextra.gov.il/cogat/humanitarian-efforts/home/.

[7] Geoffrey Corn, Ground Truth: The Disconnect, Context and Challenges of Israel’s War against Hamas, The Cipher (February 29, 2024), https://www.thecipherbrief.com/ground-truth-the-disconnect-context-and-challenges-of-israels-war-against-hamas.

[8] Id.; Patrick Kingsley, Natan Odenheimer, Aaron Boxerman, Adam Sella, Iyad Abuheweila, How Hamas is Fighting in Gaza: Tunnels, Traps, and Ambushes, New York Times (July 13, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/13/world/middleeast/hamas-gaza-israel-fighting.html.

[9] Id.

[10] Id. See also, e.g., Exploitation of Hospitals / Humanitarian Facilities, IDF (Last visited July 15, 2024), https://www.idf.il/en/tags/exploitation-of-hospitals-humanitarian-facilities-mosques/.

UN Watch