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An Analysis of the Application of International Humanitarian Law to the Armed Conflicts Arising from Operation Peace Spring

64 Pages Posted: 9 Jan 2021

Greta Ramelli

Maastricht University - Faculty of Law; University of Amsterdam - Faculty of Law; Sapienza University of Rome

Date Written: July 15, 2020

This thesis investigates the application of IHL to the armed conflicts arising from Operation Peace Spring, which was launched by Turkey in October 2019, in the de facto autonomous region of Rojava, in northern Syria. The aim of the thesis is to fill the gap in the existing literature which discusses extensively the allegations of war crimes committed by Turkey and its proxy forces during Operation Peace Spring, without addressing the question of application of IHL, although the latter is a conditio sine qua non for the existence of war crimes. The research concludes that OPS initiated three main armed conflicts, which classify as transnational armed conflict, international armed conflict and belligerent occupation and that IHL governs the conduct of the parties to these hostilities. Such conclusions have important consequences for the protection of civilians, combatants and POWs during OPS, as well as a significant impact on the prospects of prosecution of the alleged war crimes. Based on the conclusions drawn in this thesis, it is recommendable to conduct future research on the assessment of the relevant conduct as war crimes and the prospects of state accountability for the wrongdoing of individuals acting on Turkey’s behalf.

Keywords: International Humanitarian Law, Rojava, Turkey, War Crimes

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Greta Ramelli (Contact Author)

Maastricht university - faculty of law ( email ).

P.O. Box 616 Maastricht, 6200 Netherlands

University of Amsterdam - Faculty of Law ( email )

Amsterdam, 1018 WB Netherlands

Sapienza University of Rome ( email )

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Theses and Dissertations

Protecting women under the international humanitarian law: a study of the social, cultural, and political conditions in iraq and palestine that have an adverse affect on women.

Nour Mawloud Najeeb Fnish , Golden Gate University School of Law

Date of Award

Degree type.

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Law (SJD)

First Advisor

Professor Dr. Christian N. Okeke

Second Advisor

Professor Dr. Sophie Clavier

Third Advisor

Professor Dr. Zakia Afrin

This doctoral dissertation examines and studies the protection of women rights under International Humanitarian Law, (also “IHL”) within the context of the social, cultural and political and political conditions with particular reference to the women of Iraq and Palestine. Women in these two countries have suffered unparalleled difficulties that have been afflicted upon them by conditions of war. For a long period in the history of those countries, women as indispensable managers of their families have had to contend with varying challenges necessitating protection under international humanitarian law. This is even more required during periods of war and armed conflicts.

Chapter I opens with a brief definition of International Humanitarian Law, of which there are at least a half dozen working definitions; thereafter follows, a short discussion of each of several documents that have relevance to international humanitarian law. These include one of the oldest documents known. It was actually a stone slab, into which was chiseled several hundred codes pertaining to and governing the citizens of ancient Babylon. Next we shall go to ancient India and consider a volume of her most ancient texts: the Laws of Manu, over 2500 years old; this text regulated affairs of domestic, social and religious life, among many other facets of life in India. Then, we get to the Christian era, where the most avid teachers of a new religion taught having respect for others as if they were your sister or brother. This chapter also presents an overview of early Islamic Law, as well as, the Magna Carta, the latter being a giant step forward for humanitarian concerns in Western Europe. Chapter I concludes with a survey of the all-important Hague and Geneva Conventions, the Additional Protocols to those four Conventions, and finally the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Chapter One provides the background against which we consider the rights of women, and to some extent, civilians, whether man, woman, or child.

Chapter II provides a brief descriptive survey of general protection of civilian women. It provides case examples of Iraqi and Palestinian women prisoners; discusses general protection of civilian women under the 1977 First Additional Protocol, principles of protection of civilian women under the Four Geneva Accords, the Additional Protocols and the United Nations, and introduces the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against women, 1979, as well as the 1995 Peking Declaration and Women’s Special Protocol.

Chapter III highlights the special protection for women as prisoners of war, and during various military operations. The concerns here change depending on whether women are only civilians, or are participating in military operations, which include the very controversial suicide bombing. This chapter delves into several areas of research, among them, treatment of detained and jailed women. Chapter IV continues with discussion of protecting women from capital punishment, and most particularly, the prohibition of capital punishment against pregnant women, women with children, and children themselves.

Chapter V discusses other protections of women, including special aid and assistance rights commensurate to their needs based on their gender. This chapter discusses negative and positive provisions. The negative provisions state what not to do, such as carry out military attacks on women and other civilians, and the positive state what should be done; such as provide adequate food, water, and shelter.

Chapter VI discusses protecting women from the harms of military combat. The chapter points to the relevant international agreements that list and provide for protections against listed war crimes. Here we explore the more common convention base remedies, which include compensation, as they pertain to those crimes, and other misbehavior. This chapter also explores national agreements designed to help women in both Iraq and Palestine. In Chapter VII we take a look at the current conditions that women in Iraq have been enduring for the past fifty years, and more so during the past thirty years, which have been three decades of war along the Persian Gulf. We shall find that the consequences of those wars have been emotionally, psychologically and spiritually devastating upon the Iraqi women. In Chapter VIII, the final section, we retrace our steps through the previous seven chapters, highlighting the main themes. Here, we shall set out recommendations for the International Law, and more general recommendations for the International Law, as well.Towards this end, we suggest ways in which the international community might influence the proper treatment of women, generally in the direction of greater peace despite likely constraints on the resources available for exerting such influence. Knowing that leaders have not been able to shoulder this burden of protecting women around the world, we conclude with an appeal to all to take part in the endeavor of protecting women around the world.

This work is also available in book format from Vandeplas Publishing at: https://vandeplaspublishing.com/store/product.php?productid=163&cat=0&page=1

Recommended Citation

Fnish, Nour Mawloud Najeeb, "Protecting Women Under the International Humanitarian Law: A Study of the Social, Cultural, and Political Conditions in Iraq and Palestine That Have an Adverse Affect on Women" (2013). Theses and Dissertations . 43. https://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/theses/43

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Judge Mindua’s Separate Opinion in Al Hassan: International Humanitarian Law and the Right to Political, Legal and Cultural Self-Determination

24 Jul Judge Mindua’s Separate Opinion in Al Hassan: International Humanitarian Law and the Right to Political, Legal and Cultural Self-Determination

[Amanda Alexander is a senior lecturer at the Australian Catholic University]

The ICC’s delayed judgement in the Al Hassan case had been long-anticipated in the hope that it might contribute to some emerging areas of international criminal law – in particular gender-based crimes and the treatment of non-state actors’ governance. When, however, the long and complex judgement was published, it created some confusion about its conclusions and their justifications. Judge Mindua’s Separate Opinion , which appeared on 27 June 2024, provides some explanation for these outcomes, but it also raises further questions. The opinion is notably different in emphasis from the majority Trial Judgment and Judge Akane and Judge Prost’s Separate Opinions. The trial and the majority Trial Judgment focused on Ansar Dine/AQIM’s system of governance during their occupation of Timbuktu in 2012; many of the charges depended on the characterisation of their rules and punishments as war crimes or crimes against humanity that, the Prosecution argued, had a disproportionate effect on women. As a result, the trial and judgment had to grapple with the criteria for legitimate domestic law and legal processes. Judge Mindua’s Separate Opinion, however, raised questions about the nature and domain of international humanitarian law that were not problematised in the other judgments. These included the legitimacy of Ansar Dine/AQIM’s armed struggle; its rights and obligations under the international law of occupation; and the legality of Sharia under international and domestic law. Although, at first reading, many of these discussions appear as digressions, they reveal a particular approach to international law that lays the foundation for Judge Mindua’s conclusions and the final verdict in the Trial Judgement. 

Ansar Dine/AQIM’s Armed Struggle in International Humanitarian Law

The legitimacy of Ansar Dine/AQIM’s fight in Mali was not an issue in the case, and not relevant to any determination on war crimes or crimes against humanity, given the foundational separation between the jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Nevertheless, the first part of Judge Mindua’s Separate Opinion lays out Ansar Dine/AQIM’s right to use force against Mali and to create a separate state in the north of this country, which would be subject to Sharia law [18]. This, Judge Mindua emphasises, was an exercise of the right of self-determination, which he describes as a pillar of international law [15]. In this way, Judge Mindua begins his analysis by focusing on a jus ad bellum in which the fight for self-determination is a legitimate and justified struggle. 

Judge Mindua then engages in a theoretical discussion about why non-state actors, such as Ansar Dine/AQIM, are subjects of international humanitarian law. Again, this theoretical question is not at issue in the case. The Prosecution only had to show that Ansar Dine/AQIM demonstrated the requisite degree of organisation to be considered an armed group under international humanitarian law; it did not have to justify why international humanitarian law governs organised non-state parties. Judge Mindua does this, however, relying on an article by Jann Kleffner , which outlines a number of possible justifications, including the argument that the power of the state to legislate for all its nationals binds them, even if they take up arms against the state [19].

The International Law of Occupation

Having established Ansar Dine/AQIM’s right to fight and justified its legal personality, Judge Mindua considers, at length, the legal characterisation of Ansar Dine/AQIM’s occupation of Timbuktu in 2012 [34-38, 42-54]. Despite the trial’s focus on the occupation, this was not an important question in the case or the other judgments. The Defence had argued in its early submissions that Ansar Dine/AQIM’s occupation could not be considered a legal occupation, as the laws governing occupation only apply to international armed conflicts [120].  This meant, the Defence insisted, that these laws, which impose many obligations on an occupier, could not apply in Timbuktu. The Pre-Trial Chamber, consisting of Presiding Judge Péter Kovács, Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, and Judge Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou, agreed. It recognised in the Confirmation of Charges that ‘there was not an “occupation” in the legal sense’, but pointed out that Timbuktu was run by the soldiers of AQIM and Ansar Dine, which meant that crimes committed by Ansar Dine or AQIM in that period would have a nexus to the armed conflict [226]. This acknowledgement meant that the status of the occupation was not an issue in the majority Trial Judgment . The word occupation was generally, if not consistently, put in quotation marks as ‘occupation’ and the charges addressed possible crimes that took place during this ‘occupation’, rather than breaches of the legal regime of occupation. 

Judge Mindua, however, upsets this orthodox account of occupation, arguing that non-state parties’ occupations are covered by the international laws of occupation. He does this by, again, introducing jus ad bellum or just war considerations. He argues that the established right to self-determination must entail a right to occupy; self-determination, he says, is first realised as occupation. It is occupation that allows a group to exercise its authority and build up power ( Separate Opinion [34]). Judge Mindua later directly states that the legality of occupation is governed by the UN Charter and the jus ad bellum. This is a surprising claim, given that the rules of occupation are found in the 1907 Hague Convention and the 1949 Geneva Convention IV , which are associated with the jus in bello . Moreover, the legality of occupation is generally considered to rest, as stated by Adam Roberts in the 1984 paper that Judge Mindua cites ( Separate Opinion [35]), on a de facto occupation during an international armed conflict. 

As such, even if the legitimacy of an occupation were justified by the jus ad bellum, it is still hard to argue that this informs the legal regime governing occupation. Judge Mindua, however, also argues that that international humanitarian law is constantly evolving and is increasingly more interested in the actual conditions of a conflict rather than its designation as international or internal [44]. As a result, he states, Article 43 of the 1907 Hague Regulations and Article 64 of the 1948 Geneva Convention IV apply. These articles require an occupier to restore and ensure public order and safety, while respecting the laws in force in the country. Judge Mindua argues that these articles, and the responsibilities of occupiers to uphold respect for IHL and human rights, mean that Ansar Dine/AQIM had the right to ‘put in place institutions that they considered appropriate not only to ensure order and justice, but to do so as best as possible of their ability to respect Islamic norms as provided by Islam.’ ( Separate Opinion [52])

Ansar Dine/AQIM’s Legal Regime

Judge Mindua still has to address the second part of the Hague and Geneva articles and decide whether Ansar Dine/AQIM’s regime respected the laws in force in the country. This was a question that the Prosecution had addressed throughout the trial – even though it did so without arguing that the occupation was governed by these laws. In their attempt to present Ansar Dine/AQIM’s rules and punishments as criminal, the Prosecution and majority judgement had depicted them as foreign; they insisted Ansar Dine/AQIM’s regime represented a change to the culture of Timbuktu. As the majority judgment stated: 

people saw foreigners imposing their terms on them: they could only accommodate their life and their system of living to the interpretation of Islamic Sharia which was imposed with a force of arms in the city. Trial Judgment [736]

This statement also demonstrates the majority and Prosecution’s wariness of equating AQIM/Ansar Dine’s governance with a general account of Sharia. They were careful to always describe it as a ‘version’ or ‘interpretation’ of Sharia and they focused on the population’s perception and experience of these rules. Judge Mindua, in contrast, dealt with the question raised by the international laws of occupation by looking in more abstract and general terms at the character of law in Mali and the possibilities allowed by Sharia as a legal system. He considers the legality of the punishments examined in Al Hassan : the death penalty; amputation; and flogging. The death penalty was provided for in Mali’s criminal law before the arrival of Ansar Dine/AQIM in Timbuktu; it was, Judge Mindua states, therefore allowed ( Separate Opinion [58]). Amputation and flogging were, however, more problematic. They had not really applied in Mali [56] and, as Judge Mindua acknowledges, they appear as torture to many international lawyers [64]. Nevertheless, Judge Mindua points out, they are legal sanctions in states which belong to the United Nations. 

As such, Judge Mindua will not state that these sanctions are necessarily illegal, even though he notes their incongruency with human rights and international law. He remains equivocal on whether Ansar Dine/AQIM changed the law of Mali by introducing them; the most he is prepared to say is that Ansar Dine/AQIM were rather rigorous with regard to Malian Law and may have amended the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure [55].  Nevertheless, he says that it would be hard for many Muslims to say that these penalties are illegal because they are provided for in the Koran [56]. Thus, although Judge Mindua does not clearly declare that these rules complied with the Hague and Geneva Conventions, he implies that Ansar Dine/AQIM were entitled to introduce them as part of a legitimate struggle to uphold their authority and to further a vision of law and morality that has some resonance with established legal systems. Indeed, he praises Al Hassan and Ansar Dine for securing and rescuing the population of Timbuktu and restoring order in the absence of state structures [119-121]. 

Mistake of Law

If the legality of Ansar Dine/AQIM’s rules remains somewhat ambiguous in this Opinion, they do have enough of a veneer of lawfulness to serve as an excuse. Judge Mindua states that Al Hassan could not reasonably be expected to know that these sanctions, provided for by Sharia, would constitute criminal acts for which he could be held guilty [101]:

Al Hassan could not have been aware that he was committed crimes when he participated in floggings, because since these same acts were for him precisely the opposite: they consisted of doing justice, according to his own conception of justice, and that of the majority of people who were around him at the time of the events, in particular the leaders and other members of Ansar Dine/AQIM, but also members of the population. Separate Opinion [99]

Such a mistake of law, Judge Mindua argues, can negate the mens rea of a crime, if it leads to an individual wrongly believing that he could legitimately perform an act [93]. Mistake of law therefore served as a defence to the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity that related to flogging. The other charges were excused, in Judge Mindua’s opinion, by the additional defence of duress [113]. Since this defence could also have excused the charges related to flogging, the long discussion of self-determination, occupation and Sharia is, arguably, more significant as a comment on the nature and scope of international law than as an explanation of the outcome of the trial. For, when combined with Judge Akane’s finding that gender persecution, rape and forced marriage did not form part of Ansar Dine/AQIM’s common purpose, for which Al Hassan could be held liable, Al Hassan was acquitted of these charges in the Trial Judgment.As such, Judge Mindua’s Separate Opinion contributed to the complexity of the judgment, while also complicating its broader approach to international humanitarian law. His opinion revived, in a new context, the perennial debates about the relationship between just wars and the protections of the jus in bello . In doing so, it reframed the reach of international humanitarian law and the paradigms for assessing international and domestic law. Whether or not these arguments are convincing, the Opinion demonstrates a point Judge Mindua touches on in his introduction and conclusion: the difficulties entailed in using an international law, characterised by both universalist and pluralist ambitions, to judge non-state actors who fall outside its normative framework, while attempting to avoid judgment on their alternative political and legal paradigms. Whether this is feasible or desirable will require ongoing discussion, but hopefully this post explains how these questions and reasoning inform the Al Hassan decision.

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• The International Criminal Court and the Darfur Crisis The Prospects of Prosecuting the Sudanese President by Mohamed, Gariballa A. author Call Number: Available online Publication Date: 2013 Format: E-thesis
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UN / UNRWA HUMANITARIAN PROTECTION

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Subject to the Terms of usage of UNifeed , UNifeed materials are available free of charge for news purposes only. UNifeed materials may not be sold or redistributed to third parties without the prior written consent of the UN or the UN entity which is source of the UNifeed material. All users of UNifeed materials must provide due credit to the United Nations or any UN entity source(s) in their use and broadcast of UNifeed materials.

STORY: UN / UNRWA HUMANITARIAN PROTECTION TRT: 05:09 SOURCE: UNIFEED RESTRICTIONS: NONE LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 26 JULY 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

FILE - NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, UN Headquarters

26 JULY 2024, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonia Marie De Meo, Deputy Commissioner-General for Operational Support, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA): “On July 22nd, Israel’s parliament approved in first reading three draft legislative bills related to UNRWA: one seeking to ban UNRWA operations in occupied East Jerusalem; a second seeking to revoke UN privileges and immunities afforded to UNRWA since 1949; and a third designating UNRWA a terrorist organization.” 4. Wide shot, Security Council 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonia Marie De Meo, Deputy Commissioner-General for Operational Support, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA): “These bills make a travesty of the multilateral responsibilities of Member States. They erode the very foundations of international law and multilateral norms.” 6. Wide shot, Security Council 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonia Marie De Meo, Deputy Commissioner-General for Operational Support, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA): “If these bills pass – which could happen as early as next week – the ramifications will be dire and immediate: They will put all UNRWA staff and the General Assembly mandate in direct danger. And while UNRWA will face the impacts today, make no mistake: the entire UN system around the world will feel the impacts tomorrow. We cannot afford this to become a new standard for future humanitarian operations in conflict zones across the world.” 8. Wide shot, Security Council 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonia Marie De Meo, Deputy Commissioner-General for Operational Support, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA): “Together we must push back against calls to dismantle the Agency. UNRWA is targeted because of its role in safeguarding the rights of Palestine Refugees, and because it embodies the international community’s commitment to a just and lasting political solution. UNRWA exists because a political solution does not. It exists because a Palestinian State that can deliver public services in its place does not.” 10. Wide shot, Security Council 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonia Marie De Meo, Deputy Commissioner-General for Operational Support, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA): “UNRWA must continue providing services until a political solution is at hand. There is no credible alternative to UNRWA in Gaza and across the region. We need political and financial support now more than ever to continue in our vital task of serving one of the most vulnerable communities in the world. And we hope that this Council will speak out in one voice against attacks – legislative or otherwise – on the Agency.” 12. Wide shot, Security Council 13. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhannad Hadi, Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations: “UNRWA has been shouldering the burden of this crisis. The campaign against UNRWA, attacks against its premises, and legislative efforts to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization to end its operations – are utterly unacceptable and endanger our operations.” 14. Wide shot, Security Council 15. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhannad Hadi, Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations: “Today the UN is not in a position to provide the necessary assistance to the people in Gaza, let alone to scale up, unless specific factors are in place. The enabling factors required for humanitarian operations are not new. First and foremost, we need protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure including protection of all humanitarian staff and assets.” 16. Wide shot, Security Council 17. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhannad Hadi, Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations: “The United Nations, and our partners in Gaza, will never give up. We will continue to provide desperately needed assistance. But we need a safe enabling environment to do so.” 18. Wide shot, Security Council 19. SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad H. Mansour, Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Palestine: “Humanitarians in Palestine are trying to deliver on their noble mission in impossible circumstances and at the peril of their life. Our support should match their courage. UNRWA remains under attack. The baseless and shameless terrorism charge against a UN humanitarian agency are no longer a talking point but a license to kill.” 20. Wide shot, Security Council 21. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilad Erdan, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Israel: “Where is the meeting demanding the return of our hostages? Without their immediate and unconditional release, there is no hope for peace and security. When the brutalities of Iran and its proxies are dismissed, Israel must take its future into its own hands. We will continue to carry out the necessary operations to defeat Hamas, along with anyone who attack attacks our citizens.” 22. Wide shot, Security Council

The Security Council met today (26 Jul) to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the legislation in the Israeli Knesset concerning the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Antonia Marie de Meo, the Deputy Commissioner General of UNRWA, noted the ongoing review by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) of the allegations made against UNRWA.

De Meo said UNRWA is targeted because of its role in safeguarding Palestinian refugees.

She said that UNRWA must continue to provide services until a credible solution for Israel and Palestine is at hand.

She warned that the bills before the Knesset on UNRWA make “a travesty of the multilateral responsibilities of Member States. They erode the very foundations of international law and multilateral norms.”

If these bills pass, she said, they will put all UNRWA staff and the Agency’s General Assembly mandate in direct danger.

Muhannad Hadi, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator dealing with the Palestinian territories, said that UNRWA has been shouldering the burden of this crisis.

The campaign against UNRWA, attacks against its premises, and legislative efforts to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization to end its operations are “utterly unacceptable and endanger our operations,” he said.

He reiterated, “The United Nations and our partners in Gaza, will never give up. We will continue to provide desperately needed assistance. But we need a safe enabling environment to do so.”

Also addressing the Council, Riyad H. Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, said, “Humanitarians in Palestine are trying to deliver on their noble mission in impossible circumstances and at the peril of their life. Our support should match their courage. UNRWA remains under attack. The baseless and shameless terrorism charge against a UN humanitarian agency are no longer a talking point but a license to kill.”

Gilad Erdan, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, said, “Where is the meeting demanding the return of our hostages? Without their immediate and unconditional release, there is no hope for peace and security. When the brutalities of Iran and its proxies are dismissed, Israel must take its future into its own hands. We will continue to carry out the necessary operations to defeat Hamas, along with anyone who attack attacks our citizens.”

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By Mark Landler and Stephen Castle

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For 10 months, Britain’s Conservative government had moved almost in lock step with the United States in its response to Israel’s war in Gaza . Now, under its new Labour government , Britain is edging away from its closest ally on the conflict.

By the end of this week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to drop the previous government’s objections to the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s pursuit of an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, two people briefed on the government’s deliberations said. The two people spoke on the condition of anonymity given the political sensitivities of the issue.

Last week, Britain said it would restart funding for the main United Nations’ agency that aids Palestinians, UNRWA, having concluded that the agency had taken steps to ensure that it meets “the highest standards of neutrality.” The Israeli government had accused a dozen of the agency’s employees of playing a role in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel or their aftermath.

Taken together, these steps show a government that is willing to pile more pressure on Mr. Netanyahu for Israel’s harsh military response in Gaza. It also shows that Mr. Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, is paying more heed to international legal institutions than the United States.

In May, President Biden condemned as “outrageous” the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s effort to obtain arrest warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and the Israeli defense minister, Yoav Gallant. Although the warrants would be largely symbolic measures, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to pass legislation imposing sanctions on court officials.

Analysts noted that Britain’s new government had not imposed concrete measures like halting weapons shipments to Israel. Officials have said they are awaiting the results of a legal review of whether Israel is violating human rights laws.

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Press Briefing: Toby Howard, Deputy Humanitarian…

29 July 2024

Press Briefing: Toby Howard, Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan