The criminal justice for war crimes committed in Gaza strip: The international legal framework, prospects, and challenges

From the end of the year 2008 to 2014, Israel committed three wars in the Gaza Strip. These wars are known as Operation Cast Lead in 2008, Operation Pillar of Cloud in 2012, and Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Israeli forces have used many internationally prohibited weapons against Gaza during th...

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Main Author: Al Ashqar, Muath Mohammed
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
eng
eng
Published: 2023
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Online Access:https://etd.uum.edu.my/10787/1/permission%20to%20deposit-not%20allow-s903509.pdf
https://etd.uum.edu.my/10787/2/s903509_01.pdf
https://etd.uum.edu.my/10787/3/s903509_02.pdf
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spelling my-uum-etd.107872023-11-29T01:20:26Z The criminal justice for war crimes committed in Gaza strip: The international legal framework, prospects, and challenges 2023 Al Ashqar, Muath Mohammed Abdul Rahim, Asmar Abd. Aziz, Ahmad Shamsul College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS) College of Law, Government and International Studies JX International law From the end of the year 2008 to 2014, Israel committed three wars in the Gaza Strip. These wars are known as Operation Cast Lead in 2008, Operation Pillar of Cloud in 2012, and Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Israeli forces have used many internationally prohibited weapons against Gaza during the wars. These wars caused destructive impacts on vital facilities in Gaza, including schools, universities, mosques, hospitals, and the United Nations Relief centers. The killings of thousands of innocent civilians by Israeli forces were visible evidence of a serious violation of international humanitarian law which conferred protection upon civilians during armed conflicts. On 1 April 2015, Palestine acceded to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in order to prosecute Israeli war criminals. Thus, the primary objective of this research is to critically analyse the existing international legal frameworks, with special reference to the Rome Statute, the Geneva Conventions, and other relevant international conventions on war crime for prosecuting war criminals in Gaza Strip between the years 2008 to 2014. This study adopts doctrinal legal research by using a qualitative approach, employing historical, analytical, explanatory, and descriptive modes while analysing primary and secondary data. In this research, 15 respondents from various stakeholders were involved in a semi-structured interview. The findings thereof indicate that the existing legal frameworks prosecuting war criminals contained legal loopholes which enabled the Israeli war criminals to gain impunity. This study also found three major challenges that hinder the prosecution of Israeli war criminals. The primary challenge is for the International Criminal Court to exercise its jurisdiction. The next challenge is relating to the principle of complementarity and international cooperation. The final challenge is regarding the issue of universal jurisdiction. Thus, this study suggests that special amendments be made to Articles 8, 15, 17, 18, 53, 86, and 77 of the Rome Statute which requires urgent attention at the international level to prosecute Israeli war criminals. Further, the Palestinian government should also take a step further by domesticating the provisions of the international treaties namely the Forth Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols, as well as the Rome Statute, into its national legislation. This study also recommends that a Special Task Force Unit be established in Palestine to handle war crimes, which is also responsible to gather all the relevant data, and evidence to prosecute Israeli war criminals as well as to be a spokesperson at the international level. 2023 Thesis https://etd.uum.edu.my/10787/ https://etd.uum.edu.my/10787/1/permission%20to%20deposit-not%20allow-s903509.pdf text eng staffonly https://etd.uum.edu.my/10787/2/s903509_01.pdf text eng 2026-09-29 staffonly https://etd.uum.edu.my/10787/3/s903509_02.pdf text eng staffonly other doctoral Universiti Utara Malaysia
institution Universiti Utara Malaysia
collection UUM ETD
language eng
eng
eng
advisor Abdul Rahim, Asmar
Abd. Aziz, Ahmad Shamsul
topic JX International law
spellingShingle JX International law
Al Ashqar, Muath Mohammed
The criminal justice for war crimes committed in Gaza strip: The international legal framework, prospects, and challenges
description From the end of the year 2008 to 2014, Israel committed three wars in the Gaza Strip. These wars are known as Operation Cast Lead in 2008, Operation Pillar of Cloud in 2012, and Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Israeli forces have used many internationally prohibited weapons against Gaza during the wars. These wars caused destructive impacts on vital facilities in Gaza, including schools, universities, mosques, hospitals, and the United Nations Relief centers. The killings of thousands of innocent civilians by Israeli forces were visible evidence of a serious violation of international humanitarian law which conferred protection upon civilians during armed conflicts. On 1 April 2015, Palestine acceded to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in order to prosecute Israeli war criminals. Thus, the primary objective of this research is to critically analyse the existing international legal frameworks, with special reference to the Rome Statute, the Geneva Conventions, and other relevant international conventions on war crime for prosecuting war criminals in Gaza Strip between the years 2008 to 2014. This study adopts doctrinal legal research by using a qualitative approach, employing historical, analytical, explanatory, and descriptive modes while analysing primary and secondary data. In this research, 15 respondents from various stakeholders were involved in a semi-structured interview. The findings thereof indicate that the existing legal frameworks prosecuting war criminals contained legal loopholes which enabled the Israeli war criminals to gain impunity. This study also found three major challenges that hinder the prosecution of Israeli war criminals. The primary challenge is for the International Criminal Court to exercise its jurisdiction. The next challenge is relating to the principle of complementarity and international cooperation. The final challenge is regarding the issue of universal jurisdiction. Thus, this study suggests that special amendments be made to Articles 8, 15, 17, 18, 53, 86, and 77 of the Rome Statute which requires urgent attention at the international level to prosecute Israeli war criminals. Further, the Palestinian government should also take a step further by domesticating the provisions of the international treaties namely the Forth Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols, as well as the Rome Statute, into its national legislation. This study also recommends that a Special Task Force Unit be established in Palestine to handle war crimes, which is also responsible to gather all the relevant data, and evidence to prosecute Israeli war criminals as well as to be a spokesperson at the international level.
format Thesis
qualification_name other
qualification_level Doctorate
author Al Ashqar, Muath Mohammed
author_facet Al Ashqar, Muath Mohammed
author_sort Al Ashqar, Muath Mohammed
title The criminal justice for war crimes committed in Gaza strip: The international legal framework, prospects, and challenges
title_short The criminal justice for war crimes committed in Gaza strip: The international legal framework, prospects, and challenges
title_full The criminal justice for war crimes committed in Gaza strip: The international legal framework, prospects, and challenges
title_fullStr The criminal justice for war crimes committed in Gaza strip: The international legal framework, prospects, and challenges
title_full_unstemmed The criminal justice for war crimes committed in Gaza strip: The international legal framework, prospects, and challenges
title_sort criminal justice for war crimes committed in gaza strip: the international legal framework, prospects, and challenges
granting_institution Universiti Utara Malaysia
granting_department College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS)
publishDate 2023
url https://etd.uum.edu.my/10787/1/permission%20to%20deposit-not%20allow-s903509.pdf
https://etd.uum.edu.my/10787/2/s903509_01.pdf
https://etd.uum.edu.my/10787/3/s903509_02.pdf
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