75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions: flagrant violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza

Algeria – At a time when the world is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions in August 1949, which established rules to limit the barbarity of armed conflicts, the Zionist entity continues to carry out brutal war crimes in the Gaza Strip for the 11th month in a row, amid the international community’s inability to Deterring this entity, which raises questions about the effectiveness and efficacy of these agreements in light of what is happening in this part of the Palestinian territories.

Since October 2023, humanity has been witnessing the Zionist entity in the Gaza Strip committing the most horrific violations of international humanitarian law since World War II, in blatant defiance of the rules of the four Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols of 1977, which call for distinguishing between civilians and military personnel in times of armed conflict, which constitutes “A grim milestone for the world,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.

For 326 days, the Zionist entity did not abandon any means, method, or form of crime that it practiced against civilians in Gaza, which varied between indiscriminate bombing of hospitals and health facilities and targeting employees of this sector, in violation of the First and Second Geneva Conventions (1864 and 1906), which These practices are prohibited in times of armed conflict.

Palestinian prisoners are also subjected to inhumane and immoral treatment, in violation of the Third Geneva Convention (1929), in addition to the indiscriminate and daily killing of unarmed civilians, which is internationally prohibited, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention issued after the end of World War II (1949) and its two additional protocols in 1977.

At a time when the Zionist entity claims that it “only targets” the Palestinian resistance, more than 40,000 Palestinian civilians were martyred and 90,000 injured, most of them children and women, which shows that the occupation deliberately targets defenseless civilians.

Despite all the calls issued by international institutions calling on it to respect the rules of international humanitarian law stipulated in the Geneva Conventions, as well as the widespread popular rejection across the world’s capitals of the war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed in Gaza and the calls to stop them, the Zionist entity continues to practice more brutality in Gaza and deliberately prolong the aggression, which “destroyed all meanings of common humanity,” according to what was stated by the President of the International Red Crescent, Mirjana Spoliazic, who described “the level of human suffering in Gaza” as “unacceptable” during her visit to the Strip in December 2023.

The blatant Zionist violations of the four Geneva Conventions, which oblige the 169 signatory states to respect and implement them in every place and time, prompted the UN Security Council – the body charged with protecting peace and security in the world – to issue a resolution last June 10 calling on the Zionist entity to an “immediate” ceasefire and withdrawal. From Gaza, followed by the International Court of Justice issuing, on July 19, an advisory opinion in which it recognized the illegality of the Zionist occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories, and the necessity of ending it and dismantling the “illegal” settlements, noting that on January 26, 2024, the Court had issued a decision calling on the Zionist entity to stop His aggression against the Palestinians, allowing the entry of humanitarian aid, and holding accountable the officials involved in the genocide in Gaza.

For its part, the International Criminal Court, which is also a body charged with ensuring respect for the rights contained in the Geneva Conventions, on May 20, requested the issuance of an arrest warrant against the so-called “Prime Minister” of the Zionist entity, called Benjamin Netanyahu, and his “Minister” of Defense, Yoav Galant. “For committing war crimes and crimes against humanity” in Gaza as of October 8, 2023.

The International Criminal Prosecutor, Karim Ahmed Khan, confirmed that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity” in Gaza.

In light of the Zionist entity’s continued intransigence and its insistence on moving forward with “the ugliest war known to humanity throughout history,” one must question the extent of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Geneva Conventions in light of the brutal massacres taking place in the Gaza Strip against civilians, as this shows the inability of the responsible international mechanisms to To implement the rules of international agreements, to implement its own resolutions to stop the crimes of the Zionist entity, and to comply with international humanitarian law and the resolutions of international legitimacy.

Recently, 30 human rights figures sent the International Criminal Court an “urgent” memorandum calling for “accelerating arrest orders to end the ongoing genocide in Gaza” and warning that any delay “enhances impunity and encourages the commission of new crimes,” according to what the institution revealed. Palestinian Human Rights Watch.

In turn, Algeria has not stopped putting the Palestinian issue and the developments of events in Gaza among one of its priorities since it began its mandate early last January as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2024-2025, and its permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Amar Bendjama , expressed calls For the “immediate and complete implementation” of Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2735 regarding the ceasefire in Gaza, and to put an end to the Zionist massacres and the occupying entity’s violations of the most basic human rights that are trampled on in full view of everyone.

APS