RAED JARRAR, rjarrar@dawnmena.org, @raedjarrar
Jarrar is advocacy director for DAWN, founded by slain writer Jamal Khashoggi. He said today: “This month, Israel, with the blind support of the United States, has escalated its campaign of ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza by implementing two interconnected strategies: the so-called ‘General’s Plan’ and the ‘Eiland Plan.’ Since the first week of October 2024, Israel has been executing the General’s Plan, developed by a group of retired Israeli generals, which focuses on the forced evacuation of northern Gaza’s Palestinian residents. The plan’s two phases involve first the mass displacement of Palestinians into heavily overcrowded areas in the south and second the conversion of northern Gaza into a closed military zone. This effort includes blocking humanitarian aid, creating military corridors, and using starvation as a method to drive out the remaining population. The stated objective is to reshape the demographics of northern Gaza by depopulating it through military force.” Documented killings in north Gaza this month exceed 1,200.
Jarrar added: “Simultaneously, the Eiland Plan, named after Giora Eiland, a former Israeli National Security Advisor, outlines a broader strategy for consolidating Israeli control over Gaza through long-term settlement expansion and territorial reorganization. This plan envisions preventing the return of displaced Palestinians and potentially establishing new Israeli settlements in strategic areas such as the Netzarim Corridor. Together, these plans demonstrate a coordinated approach that aims to drastically alter Gaza’s demographic and territorial landscape, which constitutes a grave breach of international humanitarian law. This strategy aligns with actions explicitly prohibited under the Genocide Convention, which criminalizes not only acts of mass killing but also measures aimed at forcibly displacing or destroying, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has reinforced this interpretation in its rulings on Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Croatia v. Serbia, establishing that systematic forcible displacement and the intent to permanently alter the demographic composition of a region can constitute acts of genocide.
“Two weeks ago, on October 13, the Biden administration sent a formal letter to Israel demanding increased humanitarian access within 30 days, warning of potential policy consequences if Israel failed to comply. Instead of adhering to this apparent ultimatum, Israel intensified its military operations, escalated restrictions on humanitarian access, and passed legislation targeting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). UNRWA, which receives more than $300 million annually from the United States, provides critical services such as education, healthcare, and food aid to Palestinian refugees. Israel’s actions have severely obstructed these efforts, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and leaving hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk of starvation and death
“From a legal standpoint, the Biden administration is breaching international humanitarian law by providing ongoing military assistance to Israel while these grave violations occur. This conduct exposes U.S. officials to potential accountability under international law, including before the International Criminal Court. Moreover, the administration is also in breach of U.S. law. The provision of military assistance to Israel amidst these ongoing atrocities violates Section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act (the Leahy Law), which prohibits funding to foreign military units that engage in gross human rights violations. Additionally, under Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act, it is illegal to provide assistance to any government that obstructs U.S. humanitarian aid operations.”
See recent report from The Palestine Chronicle: “ICC Chief Prosecutor Says Court is ‘Subject to Range of Attacks’, Denies Misconduct Allegations.” Also see post by Craig Mokhiber on the “sustained Israeli and Western pressure campaign” against the ICC.