Event series: Reflections on international law and the question of Palestine

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and in particular Israel’s prolonged occupation of Palestine which has lasted for over half a century, continue to engage myriad aspects of international law including international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL).

International law is also a constant feature of discourse and subject of contestation, with various actors in the context framing their arguments around divergent interpretations of the law. At the same time, those directly affected and bearing the brunt of violations – Palestinian residents of the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and beyond – have voiced increasing frustration at its seeming disconnect from wider political demands and inability to capture adequately and articulate principal issues of concern, especially the continuity of Israeli policies on both sides of the Green Line (the analytical distinction between Israel within its pre-1967 borders and the oPt being mandated by the IHL rules comprising the law of occupation, for instance). Some have even suggested that, far from constituting a tool for positive change, the applicable legal framework in fact contributes to negative outcomes such as the fragmentation of people and territory. Other points of criticism include the ineffectiveness of international law when it comes to securing accountability and redress for violations, particularly those that are long-standing and systematic in nature, as well as its perceived failure to bring about – or promise in the first place – historical and political justice in a larger sense. 

In light of these developments, this event series by the Diakonia IHL Centre Jerusalem (IHL Centre) seeks to explore in-depth select legal issues pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and specifically Israel’s occupation of the oPt, while simultaneously aspiring to offer wider reflections on the merits of international law including IHL and IHRL as analytical frameworks that can deliver on their promises of humanitarian protection. Bearing in mind these inherent limitations, the IHL Centre seeks to provide a forum for discussion amongst scholars and practitioners on how various rights- and stakeholders can nonetheless engage constructively with the law with a view to effecting positive change in the Israeli-Palestinian context and beyond.