G7 foreign ministers on Tuesday proclaimed: “We emphasize Israel’s right to defend itself and its people, in accordance with international law, as it seeks to prevent a recurrence of the October 7 attacks.”
MICHAEL LYNK, mslynk@uwo.ca, @MichaelLynk5 Available for a limited number of interviews, Lynk served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, from 2016 to 2022. He is a non-resident fellow at Democracy for the Arab World Now.
He recently wrote the piece “Can International Law Prevail in Gaza and Israel?” which states: “The right of Israel to defend itself has been regularly raised by Western leaders to justify their support for Israel’s assault on Gaza in the aftermath of Oct. 7, frequently citing Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. However, while states have the obligation to protect their citizens and others under their control, the use of force in self-defense can only be justified under Article 51 if the armed attack originated from another state. The International Court of Justice stated in its 2004 Wall Advisory Opinion that Israel is the occupying power over the Palestinian territory and that Article 51 does not apply when the threat originates from a territory over which it has control. Notwithstanding, Israel would have the right to use proportionate force, strictly within the limits of international law, to apprehend those who killed or kidnapped Israeli civilians.”
See related recent IPA news releases.
See related questioning by Sam Husseini at the State Department: “Is Israel Really Targeting Hamas? Does the U.S. Recognize the Fourth Geneva Convention? — Questioning the State Dept.“
