Officials in the US State Department are working “secretly” to thwart a meeting to discuss violations of the Geneva Conventions in the war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip, according to what was published by the American website HuffPost on Thursday, December 21, 2023.

This revelation comes alongside simultaneous US efforts to slow down the most prominent international attempt to alleviate the suffering witnessed by the residents of the Strip: a United Nations Security Council resolution that will lead to a significant increase in the flow of humanitarian aid to the besieged Strip.

The Geneva Conventions embody the basic principles of international humanitarian law, which determine what actions are legal or illegal during a war. Every UN member state is a party to some aspect of it, including the United States and Israel. Therefore, officially acknowledging that Israel violated the agreements in its US-backed attack against Hamas could represent a serious international condemnation against the two countries, and confirm the allegations made by human rights groups that have collected evidence that they describe as evidence of such violations occurring.

Historically neutral Switzerland is the custodian of these agreements, meaning it decides when meetings are held that bring together the parties involved to discuss compliance with international humanitarian law.

According to US State Department documents seen by HuffPost, Palestinian diplomats and a large group of UN member states, including some European countries, are preparing to launch an invitation to Switzerland to hold such a conference, which will focus on the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas. Which will cover violations of the Geneva Conventions by all parties.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists also support the call to hold an urgent conference, while the Biden administration wants to ensure that the year 2024 does not witness the holding of such events.

Washington's efforts to thwart the conference

By early January, American diplomats plan to pressure their Swiss counterparts to reject the request from Palestinian diplomats and monitoring organizations.

Internal documents reviewed by HuffPost direct US officials to convey their “deep concern” about Palestinian efforts, and present serious arguments against these efforts.

According to these documents, American diplomats must say that the UN General Assembly has not passed a resolution since the beginning of the war on Gaza calling for such a conference, and that the agreements do not include guidance regarding the procedure for calling a conference.

American representatives must also say that holding this conference may mean politicizing the Geneva Conventions. By creating the impression that it is being cited primarily for the purpose of targeting Israel, the documents state. The materials advise US officials to say that the impression could harm the credibility of both Switzerland and the agreements themselves.

For his part, Michael Sfard, a distinguished international human rights lawyer, said that the main impact of such a conference would be that it provides a major international signal of the gravity of the Israeli war on Gaza.

He explained: “The forum is not a court: they cannot rule that war crimes have occurred, and it is not a forum in which evidence is examined and scrutinized. The main importance of such a convening will be political. Any convening is considered important based on the fact that it is a rare (event).

Sfard noted that Israel's main foreign ally, the United States, may also come under scrutiny at such a conference.

He added: "Given that America supports Israel's campaign, it will be affected by anything that accuses Israel of committing crimes or demands that Israel comply with something."

Despite the US position in support of Israel, other world governments say that their sympathy for Israel amid its shock does not excuse what they see as deeply disturbing behavior by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Since last October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, which, as of Wednesday, has left 20,000 Palestinians dead and 52,600 wounded, most of them children and women, massive destruction of infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to the Gaza Strip authorities and the United Nations.