Dear Editor,
The International Court of Justice (the Court) recently gave its Advisory Opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Their opinion does not cover Israel’s current war against Palestinian civilians (including children) in the Gaza Strip, in response to an attack by what the Court calls “Hamas and other armed groups”. South Africa has brought separate proceedings in the Court against Israel for genocide.
The Court’s legal opinion is that Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza (the Occupied Palestinian Territory or OPT) is unlawful, that Israel must end its unlawful occupation as rapidly as possible, immediately stop all settlement activities, evacuate settlers from the OPT, and make reparation for the damage caused to all Palestinians in the OPT.
The Court’s legal analysis confirms that Israel has breached the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Hague Regulations, and violated Palestinian rights under the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Court makes it clear that Israel has breached customary international law in relation to Palestinian permanent sovereignty over Palestinian natural resources and the Palestinian right to self-determination, has acted contrary to the prohibition of the use of force and unlawfully annexed large parts of the OPT,
The Court relied on evidence from UN bodies and international commissions to find that Israel has subjected Palestinian women and girls to gender-based violence through excessive use of force and abuse including physical, psychological and verbal abuse and sexual harassment, supported settler attacks on Palestinians, intervened with excessive force against Palestinians after settler attacks, taken control of Palestine’s water and forced Palestinians to purchase their own water from Israel at a high price, forcibly confiscated and/or destroyed Palestinian property, caused environmental degradation, destroyed Palestinian agriculture, subjected Palestinians to Israeli military law, forcibly transferred Palestinians from their land, stopped Palestinians from accessing places of worship, and so on. This entire newspaper could not print even a fraction of Israel’s aggression towards unarmed Palestinian civilians who merely want to live peacefully in their own country and not under foreign occupation.
The Court’s legal opinion concludes that, “All States are under an obligation not to recognise as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestine Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” Guyana, to our credit, has long had a principled position on Palestine. We recognised Palestine as an independent sovereign state in 2011. This is in keeping with article 37 (external relations) of the Constitution which says that the State (us) supports the “legitimate aspirations of other people for freedom and independence and will establish relations with all states on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect, inviolability of frontiers, territorial integrity of states, peaceful settlement of disputes, non-intervention in internal affairs, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and co-operation among States.”
The PPP/C government’s recent closeness to Israel and their promotion of Israeli interests in agriculture was, I think, an error of judgement. I do not believe the PPP/C government intended to diminish Guyana’s international standing or reduce our constitutionally mandated commitment to the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people. But the government must now cut those ties with Israel.
The Court cited a UN Security Council Resolution that Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory have no legal validity and are a “flagrant violation under international law” and major obstacle to a “just, lasting and comprehensive peace.” Israel is undermining the international rule of law and threatening world peace. In its dealings with the Palestinian people, Israel is violating every principle of justice and equality that we believe in. Israel’s illegal occupation and illegal annexation of territory (including the Golan Heights) is the trigger for war in the Middle East.
The government must now base Guyana’s foreign policy on Article 37, the Court’s Advisory Opinion, Guyana’s commitment to international peace, and Guyana’s respect for and dependence on the international rule of law. Thus, the government must break off diplomatic relations with Israel until such time as Israel has ceased its occupation of Palestine and paid full reparations in line with the Court’s Advisory Opinion. This is a legal, moral and political imperative.
Sincerely,
Melinda Janki
