A year has passed since the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, without the world doing anything towards Israel, which considers itself above all laws, which has established facts that will not be forgotten, that the Palestinian people have the right to resist against Israel, which continues to commit crimes, according to what Shahad Al-Hammouri, a professor, says. International Law at the University of Kent, United Kingdom.
Al-Hamouri stressed that what has not been lost on everyone is the clear legal recognition of the absence of any legitimacy for the occupation in Palestine on the 1967 borders, with reference to the International Court of Justice’s confirmation on July 19 that Israel is pursuing a policy of occupation against the Palestinian people, and must end its illegal presence. In the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 within a year.
She added, “We have known this thing for more than 75 years, but international law took this long to reach this result.”
Al-Hammouri pointed out that despite the recognition of the illegality of colonialism as a basic principle governing relations between countries in the 1970s, there was no political intention to recognize the manifestation of colonialism as a form of political, economic and social oppression.
She said, “Therefore, we are facing a mission to open the eyes of the international community in order to give the correct names to the reality we see.”
Before international justice
Speaking about the decision of the International Court of Justice in the case brought by South Africa against Israel, accusing it of committing genocide in Gaza, Al-Hammouri said, “We lived a powerful moment when we confronted Israel to accuse it of the most serious crimes, to remind it before the world that it is a state built on genocide and settler colonialism.”
She stressed that the world will not forget the international community’s denial of the Israeli crimes committed in Gaza and the West Bank, and will also not forget its denial of international law.
She pointed out that the international community accepted narratives based on the premise of “the innocence of the Israeli and the criminality of the Palestinian,” and ignored the racism committed by Israel.
The right to resist
The international law professor denounced Western countries’ consideration of the right to resistance in Gaza as “terrorist acts,” stressing that peoples have the right to resist to determine their fate, especially when the international community does not do anything, referring to the ongoing genocide in Gaza as a result of international silence.
She stated that resistance is a doctrine that is not absent from the heart of any person who falls under hegemony.
It also denounced the international community’s belief that Israel has the right to self-defense, saying that this is a “weak interpretation of international law,” because there are no grounds for Israel to claim its right to defend itself on land that it colonizes and occupies.
She stressed that the basic questions are not about “what has international law done for Palestine?” But what did Palestine do according to international law? How did Palestine reach a stage under international law in which we see a fear of celebrating international justice on the part of countries that welcomed genocide with open arms and an apartheid state, according to its description?
Al-Hamouri stressed that despite all the principles of international law standing by Palestine, most Western countries still insist on their tyranny and their “illogical” interpretations of international law at the expense of oppressed peoples.