French lawyer and international law expert Gilles Duver said that the precise definition of genocide was fully met in the military aggression launched by Israel against the Gaza Strip, whether it was related to the siege, lack of food, and fuel prevention, or was related to genocide through bombing and displacement.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, the French lawyer indicated that he is leading an initiative that includes 300 to 400 lawyers from all over the world to file a lawsuit before the International Criminal Court in The Hague demanding the opening of an investigation into the incidents attributed to the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip since October 7. 

Duffer (a lawyer accredited to the International Criminal Court) explained that this initiative comes from civil society, and “after we saw what is happening, we understand that it is not only about military aggression, it is not just war crimes or crimes against humanity, but rather it is real genocide” without a theoretical or philosophical choice. We see that the precise definition of genocide is fulfilled in the international convention and in judicial and reference precedents, as in the cases of Srebrenica and the Rohingya.”

It's not just Israel's military aggression, it's not just war crimes or crimes against humanity, it's actual genocide

He added that the situation related to Palestine meets all the standards of case law related to genocide, including the first type, which relates to the extermination of the population. It is an example of the extermination of the Jews during the reign of Hitler, but in Palestine it is of a different kind, as it is an extermination related to the destruction of a social group.

Regarding the merits of filing the lawsuit, Dover said that the references are available, as happened in the international tribunals for the former Yugoslavia, the International Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Court of Justice, stressing that it is not just his personal opinion, but “the truth of the law, the judge says that the aggressor cut off the electricity, and then withheld food and starved the People, attacked civilian homes and civilians themselves were attacked, and there is also population displacement.”

He continued, "All these actions indicate a pure intention to destroy the ethnic group, and with devoid of humanity, and with inhumane words, the occupation says about the Palestinians that they are animals, not humans."

workplan

Regarding the action plan followed by the initiative, the French lawyer explains that after “the criteria for genocide have been achieved through the extermination of nationalities, we have achieved the legal concept of our work, and then we begin writing the complaint and send it to some of our collaborators and our contacts, then we exploit the effects of social media and the efforts of "Activists. We have many, many satisfactory results."

He added that everyone around the world is interested in this issue, “because we cannot accept to see before our eyes every day the killing of the Palestinian people, the destruction of society and nothing can be done, so we have to go to justice.”

You have to choose your camp: either the genocide camp, or the legal action. But you cannot make a florid speech every day about international law and human rights and be content to do nothing, but rather support the Israeli attack.

The leader of the initiative summarizes the practical steps of their movement by saying that the first act was testimony, “We are not among the victims, but we see them, and this prompts us to go to the judiciary, and now we begin the second act, which is working for the victims, and we receive powers of attorney from the Palestinians in Gaza, and this is the legal situation.” Which is genocide."

Talking to the Public Prosecutor of the Criminal Court “is not an exaggeration, because the victims of Gaza are the ones who talk to the Public Prosecutor. Therefore, we started talking about hospitals, and we also have the conditions of families.” We must say, "Every case in Gaza will have a precise and clear complaint before the Public Prosecutor."

The truth cannot be hidden

In a strong message to the international community, the lawyer addressed his country, France, and every country in the world and political leaders, saying: “You cannot say that nothing happened in Palestine, because - as professional lawyers - we explain to you that this is a case of genocide, and therefore this is your responsibility because it is a completed crime.” When we have attacks on hospitals, attacks on ambulances, attacks on civilians, attacks on children, and the goal is to destroy Palestinian society, then you should stay away and not support Netanyahu.”

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Regarding his assessment of the effectiveness of international criminal justice, Duffer said that it is “very effective, and we are accustomed to hearing propaganda that says that nothing can be done through international jurisdiction as a result of fear of the court’s procedures, so it is very good that we explain this to the Palestinians, and the necessity of going to the International, court”  because it has strong judicial authority,” this is first.

Secondly, regarding what is being circulated that “the court cannot do anything for Israel, because it has not ratified the basic law of the International Criminal Court,” the French lawyer explained that “this is also incorrect propaganda,” because the court in an important decision issued in February it said that Palestine is a state, and a state with sovereign jurisdiction over the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, and that the delegation of jurisdiction to the court is correct. Therefore, when there is a crime on Palestinian land, the court has jurisdiction, regardless of the other party, whether it is Israel or another country, pointing out that “this is not the issue, what is important is the element of the crime on the ground.”

Regarding genocide, the French lawyer stated that the evidence is very simple, “because Israel said I will cut off the electricity and then it cut it off, and it said I will deprive people of food, and in fact it besieged them, and it said you must leave your homes because there is bombing, and in fact they left,” and he added that Israel said “we will attack” Hospitals, because they are a place where terrorists attacked, so there is no difficulty in proving proof.”

"So, we have legal texts and jurisdictions, and we have good powers of attorney, and the evidence is very certain," Duffer added.

The last point - according to Duffer - is to “explain to the public prosecutor what we are currently witnessing in Palestine, as this is the biggest crime that has occurred in years. It is not just war crimes, and we are accustomed to seeing war crimes, and if the International Criminal Court does not do anything about this crime, it will be the end of the court."

Israel and the Criminal Court

The French lawyer summarizes the purpose of the lawsuit by saying, “The fact that we took action before the International Criminal Court constitutes a strong attack on Israel, because it denounced the court. So who is - then - the terrorist and who is legal? This is the first point and it is necessary because all Palestinian groups and armed factions in Palestine accept jurisdiction.” The International Criminal Court, while Israel rejects the jurisdiction of this court.”

He added, "We want to explain all of this to the world to show that Israel is not a democratic state, and that it is not a state of law, because it rejects international laws, and this explains the work of armed resistance in Palestine."

Our action before the International Criminal Court constitutes a strong attack on Israel, because it denounced the court, so who is the terrorist and who is legal?

Dover also pointed out that Palestine is a state, has jurisdiction over Jerusalem, and whoever does not accept the legal rules of the game will not be able to play. Hence, for the world opinion and for the Palestinians, “there is a legal weakness, and they do not know exactly where they are. So, our mission is to prove that there is a legal case, and there is legal implementation. It is not just a discussion, there is a legal standard, and we can present this standard to Israel and the Western countries”.

The French lawyer concluded: “If the case develops - and the court may not issue a ruling to abstain from voting - and when the court believes that it has sufficient evidence, it will issue an arrest warrant, and this is not impossible, because everyone was saying that this was impossible against Vladimir Putin” .

Source: Al Jazeera