Economic, diplomatic pressure must make Israel comply with international law: Greek legal expert

• Recent steps at ICJ and ICC are ‘an important contribution to the struggle of the Palestinian people,’ says Dimitris Kaltsonis, professor at Panteion University in Athens
• Israel is an occupying power and ‘cannot falsely claim the right to self-defense … while it violates the core principles which the UN is founded on,’ says Kaltsonis

ATHENS

While recent steps taken at international legal forums are of critical importance, economic and diplomatic pressure also remains equally essential to make Israel comply with international law, according to a Greek expert.

The new orders issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the request for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders moved by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are “an important contribution to the struggle of the Palestinian people,” Dimitris Kaltsonis, professor of international law at Panteion University in Athens, told Anadolu.

On May 24, the ICJ, besides reaffirming its Jan. 26 and March 28 orders, told Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action” in Rafah “which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Israel has also been ordered to “maintain open the Rafah crossing for unhindered provision at the scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” and “take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip of any commission of inquiry, fact-finding mission or other investigative body mandated by competent organs of the United Nations to investigate allegations of genocide.”

The court has given Israel one month to submit a report on all measures taken to implement these orders.

That came just days after ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan filed an application seeking warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel’s ongoing Gaza offensive, which has now killed more than 36,200 Palestinians and wounded nearly 82,000 more.

With this growing push for accountability, Kaltsonis pointed to Israel’s grim record of ignoring international law and institutions.

“I recall that there are dozens of UN General Assembly resolutions and Security Council resolutions that reiterate the need for a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.

Underlining the legality of the Palestinian struggle, he said: “Palestinian people have the right to fight for their own free homeland. Indeed, based on the interpretation of the UN Charter, they have the right to struggle in all forms of struggle, including armed struggle.

“On the other hand, Israel is an occupying power and, therefore, cannot falsely claim the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the Charter while it violates the core principles on which the UN is founded.”

When it comes to Israel, there “can be no question of self-defense,” he emphasized.

“The foundations of international law are respect for territorial sovereignty and integrity, peoples’ right to self-determination, the principles of peaceful coexistence, good neighborliness, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Therefore, there can be no question of self-defense,” he explained.

“For example, the operations of the German armed forces during World War II when fighting against the rebel forces of the occupied countries were not self-defense. Colonial troops in Africa or Asia did not exercise self-defense when fighting against armed anti-colonial movements.”

Kaltsonis said he is also hopeful that the Israeli people will intensify their efforts to make their government end the war and halt the atrocities against Palestinians.

“I am confident that the struggle of the Palestinian people will be victorious. The government of Israel has lost the war on a moral level. History teaches that it will eventually be forced to retreat,” he said.

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