Since October 7, 2023, the question “Where Is Palestine?” has become increasingly urgent as Israeli forces have escalated actions in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank. To understand the ongoing crisis, it’s crucial to locate Palestine geographically and comprehend the context of the conflict. This article delves into the critical situation in Palestine, examining the backdrop of recent events and the severe humanitarian consequences.
Background to the Crisis in Palestine
Following the deadly assault into Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces initiated extensive bombardments from air, land, and sea, alongside a complete siege of Gaza. This relentless campaign has resulted in the tragic deaths of over 44,000 Palestinians, approximately 70 percent of whom are women and children. Furthermore, an estimated 10,000 individuals are missing, likely buried beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings across Palestinian territories.
Israel’s actions have been characterized by the targeting and destruction of civilian infrastructure within Palestine, objects protected under International Humanitarian Law (IHL), widely seen as collective punishment against the Palestinian population. Over 70 percent of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip has been decimated. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including East Jerusalem, and Israel, has concluded that Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during its military operations and attacks in Gaza. These include the use of starvation as a weapon of war, intentional attacks on civilians and civilian objects, sexual violence, torture, forcible transfer, and deliberate targeting of medical personnel and facilities within Palestine.
The complete siege imposed by Israel on Gaza has precipitated a dire humanitarian crisis, causing acute shortages of essential resources like water, food, and medicine, thereby threatening the survival of 2.3 million Palestinians living in Palestine. The electricity supply to Gaza has also been cut off, leading to a continuous blackout and contributing to the collapse of essential services such as hospitals and water and sanitation systems. The CoI report further highlighted a systematic policy by Israel aimed at destroying Gaza’s healthcare system. Internally displaced Palestinians within Palestine now account for nine out of ten individuals in Gaza, repeatedly subjected to so-called evacuation orders by the Israeli military. Areas designated for safety for these displaced Palestinians lack basic necessities and are frequently targeted by airstrikes and missile attacks. UNICEF reports that at least 87 percent of school buildings in Palestine have been directly hit or damaged since October 2023, including a third of UNRWA schools, which were designated safe shelters for displaced persons.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the OPT has concluded that since October 7, Israel has committed at least three acts of genocide in Gaza. Statements from high-level Israeli military and government officials suggest a genocidal intent. The UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories has determined that Israel’s warfare in Gaza aligns with the characteristics of genocide. On December 29, 2023, South Africa initiated proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging violations by Israel of its obligations under the Genocide Convention concerning Palestinians in Gaza. The ICJ issued legally binding provisional measures on January 26, ordering Israel to prevent acts of genocide, ensure its military does not commit such acts, prevent and punish incitement to genocide, and provide basic services, including humanitarian aid, to alleviate adverse conditions in Gaza, Palestine. Additional provisional measures were issued by the ICJ in March and May.
Conversely, during their assault on October 7, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups attacked civilian areas within Israel, committing severe violations of international law, including hostage-taking. This attack resulted in at least 1,200 Israeli deaths and over 5,400 injuries. The UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict reported conflict-related sexual violence, including rape and sexualized torture. The CoI found that members of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes and other abuses, including deliberate killing, injuring, and mistreating civilians, hostage-taking, and sexual and gender-based violence.
The Geography of Palestine and Ongoing Occupation
Palestinian territory—comprising the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem—has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. On July 19, 2024, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion stating Israel’s continued presence in the OPT is unlawful and demanding Israel end its presence as rapidly as possible, cease all settlement activities, and evacuate settlers. The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution demanding Israel end this occupation within 12 months. The UN Special Rapporteur has determined that Israel has imposed a system of racial oppression and discrimination that meets the definition of apartheid, a crime against humanity, within Palestine.
Since October 7, 2023, violence in the Occupied West Bank has escalated. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli settlers have perpetrated over 1,492 attacks, causing Palestinian fatalities, injuries, and property damage. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that these settler attacks sometimes occur with the acquiescence and collaboration of Israeli forces. At least 16 Israelis, including security forces, have been killed by armed Palestinians. A group of UN experts reported that in 2023, Israel seized more Palestinian land than in any of the past 30 years. There has also been an increase in disproportionate force by Israeli forces, including airstrikes and violent tactics during search-and-arrest operations in Palestinian refugee camps. OHCHR has reported a significant rise in extrajudicial executions, mass detentions, enforced disappearances, and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees, including possible torture.
Recent Developments in Palestine
Since early October 2024, Israel has intensified its siege on northern Gaza, part of Palestine, causing widespread devastation and numerous civilian casualties. Israeli authorities have closed major crossings into northern Gaza, preventing access to essential supplies for civilian survival within Palestine. In November, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Famine Review Committee warned of a high likelihood of imminent famine in northern Gaza. On October 28, the Israeli Parliament passed laws to ban UNRWA from operating in Israeli-controlled territories, severely impacting humanitarian aid, education, and shelter for Palestinian refugees throughout Palestine.
In recent months, Israeli forces have increased their systematic use of unlawful force with militarized operations across the Occupied West Bank region of Palestine. An airstrike on October 3 by Israeli forces on a residential building in Tulkarem camp, Palestine, resulting in at least 18 Palestinian deaths, marked the deadliest single incident in the West Bank since OCHA began documenting casualties in 2005.
On November 21, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for two Israeli government officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a Hamas official. The ICC judges cited reasonable grounds to believe these leaders bear responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Analysis of the Situation in Palestine
Israel’s repeated use of weapons with wide area effects in densely populated Palestinian areas indicates a pattern of willful violation and disregard for IHL, likely constituting war crimes. The mass displacement of Palestinians in Gaza likely amounts to the war crime and crime against humanity of forcible transfer.
The imposition of sieges that deprive civilians of essential goods as a punitive measure may constitute collective punishment, a violation of IHL. While Israel has maintained a blockade of Gaza since 2007, the current siege likely constitutes intentional starvation of civilians as a method of warfare—a war crime—and may amount to a crime against humanity. This intentional starvation, combined with statements from Israeli officials, could be considered a constitutive act of genocide – deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of a protected group in part or in whole within Palestine.
During their attack on Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups perpetrated likely war crimes and potential crimes against humanity. Hamas’ indiscriminate rocket attacks also violate international law. Since its formation in 1987, Hamas has refused to recognize Israel and has used inflammatory rhetoric against Israelis and Jews. Hamas’ security forces have also committed abuses against Palestinians in Gaza, including arbitrary arrests, summary executions, and torture. Any use of human shields by Hamas during hostilities may also constitute a war crime.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into occupied territory, known as “settler implantation.” Seizures and demolitions of Palestinian land and property lead to forced evictions, displacement, and forcible transfer. Israel’s prolonged occupation endangers Palestinian cultural existence and violates their right to self-determination.
The international community has struggled to effectively defend international law and civilian protection, increasing the risk of further atrocities in Palestine. Since October 7, the UN Security Council (UNSC) has voted on multiple draft resolutions, many failing due to insufficient votes or vetoes, including from the United States. The US has a history of using its veto power to protect Israel.
Risk Assessment for Palestine
- Bombardments, ground offensives, and siege tactics likely amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity within Palestine.
- Ongoing evacuation orders likely constitute crimes of forced displacement and forcible transfer, increasing risks of ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians.
- Violence, attacks, mass arrests, and likely forcible transfer in the Occupied West Bank region of Palestine.
- Institutionalized systematic racial oppression and discrimination against Palestinians and the illegal annexation of Palestinian land.
- Lack of effective accountability for repeated cycles of deadly hostilities between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups over the past two decades.
Necessary Action to Address the Crisis in Palestine
An immediate and permanent ceasefire is essential and must be monitored by an independent, international body. UNSC Resolution 2735 must be implemented without delay. Israel must immediately lift the siege of Gaza, allowing unrestricted access to humanitarian aid for Palestine. Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups must safely and unconditionally release all hostages. All states must halt arms exports to Israel and implement other measures to ensure respect for international law and UNSC Resolution 2728. All parties must condemn anti-Semitic, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic hate speech, and leaders must refrain from dehumanizing rhetoric. Governments with influence must urge Israel to repeal legislation dismantling UNRWA’s work in the OPT, which is vital for supporting Palestinians.
Israel must immediately implement the ICJ’s provisional measures, and its allies must ensure compliance. States parties to the Genocide Convention should support ICJ proceedings and refrain from impeding the Court’s work. The ICC must be allowed to conduct its mandate independently, and all states should cease any actions that impede or intimidate the Court. Israel should ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC and cooperate with UN investigative mechanisms.
Addressing the root causes of violence and atrocities is crucial for long-term peace in Palestine. Israel must lift the Gaza blockade, cease illegal settlement activity and apartheid policies, end the occupation of Palestinian territory, and stop collective punishment of Palestinians. All parties must work towards a sustainable political solution consistent with international law and UNSC resolutions to ensure a just and lasting peace for Palestine.
