In an exciting report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on December 18, 2024, it revealed shocking testimonies from a reserve officer and a number of Israeli soldiers about the brutal practices committed by the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip.
According to the report, the Netzarim area was known as a “killing zone,” where soldiers were given orders to shoot anyone who crossed it indiscriminately, killing hundreds of Palestinians, most of them civilians.
The officer explained that the instructions included photographing the bodies of the dead and sending them for documentation, revealing that out of 200 bodies photographed, only 10 of them belonged to the Hamas movement, while the rest were innocent civilians.
The report also indicated that the bodies of dead Palestinians were left in the field without being collected, as they were left to decompose or were eaten by stray dogs, in flagrant violation of the most basic humanitarian principles and international norms. These practices are described as reflecting a lack of human values, and turning the army into an “independent armed militia” that operates without clear orders or legal controls.
The officer, who served in the Netzarim axis, confirmed that the recent war in Gaza witnessed a complete absence of laws, as every commander and soldier acted as he pleased in his area, which led to the commission of horrific crimes against civilians. He added: “The Israelis must know what is happening in Gaza, because human lives have become worthless, and we as soldiers bear part of the responsibility for this horror.”
“The dignity of human beings, living and dead,” is a legal principle
Human dignity is a fundamental principle of international humanitarian law and human rights. It is an indivisible right that accompanies a person during his life and after his death.
This principle is based on multiple texts, including Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which requires respect for all persons not taking part in hostilities, including the dead, and Article 34 of Additional Protocol I of 1977, which guarantees respect for the bodies of the dead and prohibits mutilation. With it.
This legal obligation reflects a global recognition that violating human dignity after death, by mutilating human bodies or leaving them without a proper burial, is a clear violation of humanitarian principles and international law.
The importance of the report and its implications
This report is of exceptional importance; Because it reflects insider testimonies, issued by soldiers and officers who actually participated in military operations. These testimonies add additional credibility to the accusations that have long been leveled against the Israeli occupation army of committing crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
The report is a valuable tool for documenting systematic violations, which enables lawyers and human rights defenders to use it to prepare legal files to be submitted to the International Criminal Court and national courts that adopt the principle of universal jurisdiction.
The report can also be a starting point for calling on the United Nations to form independent fact-finding committees. To investigate these alleged crimes.
Motivations of soldiers’ testimonies
Although the Israeli military system grants soldiers broad field authority that makes them akin to a “law unto themselves,” this does not eliminate their incentives to testify exposing violations.
This system, which relies on obedience to military orders without immediate accountability, may create feelings of remorse and psychological stress among soldiers after the end of operations, especially when they realize the effects of their actions on civilians.
In addition, this broad mandate does not exempt soldiers from a sense of moral responsibility, as awareness prompts them to expose policies that facilitate the commission of crimes, in an attempt to reform the system, or to evade personal responsibility.
Israeli analyzes confirm that soldiers’ testimonies are often motivated by the desire to shed light on violations as a means of influencing the senior military leadership, and holding them responsible for the systematic decisions that lead to these crimes, which shows a contradiction between the absolute mandate granted to soldiers, and the moral and legal pressures they face.
The necessity of the intervention of the criminal court
The crimes documented in the report, including the systematic targeting of civilians and leaving bodies unburied to decompose or be mauled by dogs, are a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court under the Rome Statute.
Objectively speaking, these acts constitute war crimes under Article 8 and crimes against humanity under Article 7, as the report shows clear evidence of a systematic policy targeting the civilian population on a large scale.
In terms of location, the occurrence of these crimes on the Palestinian territories, which has been a state party to the Rome Statute since 2015, gives the court the jurisdiction to investigate them. As for temporal jurisdiction, the crimes referred to occurred after Palestine joined the court, which makes them subject to the temporal jurisdiction of the court.
Therefore, the intervention of the International Criminal Court is inevitable. To ensure justice and hold those responsible for these violations accountable, in order to establish the principle of non-impunity and achieve general deterrence.
Incorporating the testimonies contained in the report into the files submitted to the court is a pivotal step. To strengthen the evidence and confirm the systematic nature of these crimes. The wanted file must also include the names of political and military leaders involved in these crimes, such as: commanders of military divisions who issued orders to leave the bodies, and government officials who supported these policies; To ensure that all levels of leadership are held accountable.
Haaretz report and the authority of the United Nations to investigate
The report, which documents systematic violations against civilians in Gaza, is in line with the mandate of the United Nations and the Human Rights Council to protect human rights and promote international accountability.
Under the UN Charter, specifically Article 55, the UN has an obligation to protect fundamental rights and ensure respect for international humanitarian law. The UN Human Rights Council also has the legal authority to establish independent commissions of inquiry in accordance with its Resolution 5/1 of 2007, which gives it a mandate to investigate serious human rights violations.
Likewise, the Council has previously established international commissions of inquiry in similar cases, such as the Commission of Inquiry into the conflict in Syria in 2011, and the Commission of Inquiry into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict following the 2009 Gaza operations (Goldstone Report).
The current report constitutes an additional pillar of the Human Rights Council’s call to form a permanent commission of inquiry into the crimes committed in Gaza, which strengthens the legal jurisdiction of the United Nations to monitor States’ compliance with the provisions of international humanitarian law, ensure justice and prevent impunity.”.
The report and human rights organizations
The Haaretz report represents important value to international and national human rights organizations, as it is further evidence of the continuing impunity for crimes committed against Palestinian civilians.
As for international organizations, such as: Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International (Amnesty), the report intersects with their efforts to document Israeli violations, as these organizations previously focused on targeting civilians, using excessive force, and ignoring the rules of international humanitarian law, which are the same axes that The Haaretz report referred to it.
Amnesty International confirmed in previous reports that Israeli policies towards Gaza show a systematic pattern of collective punishment and gross human rights violations, while Human Rights Watch indicated the presence of practices that could be classified as war crimes. Thus, the report strengthens the credibility of these organizations and provides insider testimony that deepens understanding of the systemic context of these violations.
Bottom line
The international community must bear its legal and moral responsibilities towards the crimes documented in the Haaretz report, by adopting a strict approach based on the Nuremberg Principles of 1945, which enshrine individual responsibility for international crimes, regardless of higher orders or official positions.
We recommend that the principle of “universal jurisdiction” should be activated; To ensure that perpetrators are tried before competent international or national courts, and to implement the 1968 Convention on the Non-Applicability of Applicants to War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity; To ensure that legal prosecution continues regardless of time.
Despite the clarity of these principles and agreements, the horrific violations revealed in the report reflect a serious failure to respect and implement them, which has led to this horrific waste of human dignity.
To get out of this reality, it is necessary to provide a favorable political environment that enhances the implementation of the moral and legal rules of war, and allows all criminals to be held accountable without exception. The Prosecutor and the judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court must also have great courage in dealing with these crimes, in order to ensure the effective implementation of international justice.
Seeing dogs eating the corpses of Palestinians is the utmost brutality and an unprecedented insult to human dignity.
The opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune Network.
