The International court of justice, the United Nations’ highest court, which adjudicates disputes between states, said in July that Israel met the definition of an occupying power in Gaza and so was bound by obligations set out under the fourth Geneva conventions as well as its obligations under international human rights law.
Trump said current residents of Gaza would be moved and resettled “permanently” to be replaced by “the world’s people” who would inhabit an “international, unbelievable place”, though he added that many people including Palestinians would live there.
The two most obvious codes potentially breached by the Trump plan are the Geneva conventions – international treaties agreed in 1949 governing the treatment of civilians and military personnel during conflicts – and the 1998 Rome statute, which established the international criminal court to bring to justice individuals suspected of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide where states either cannot or will not do so themselves.
Donald Trump’s proposal to permanently move millions of Palestinians out of Gaza to allow its reconstruction under US “ownership” could amount to a war crime or crime against humanity, experts in international law have said.
Trump’s Gaza plan could amount to war crime, say experts Academics fear US president’s lack of reference to international law could lead to global breakdown of peace and security.
