Public Law Studies Quarterly

Challenges in the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law by the ICRC in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Document Type : Article

Authors

Massoud Alizadeh 1
Shahram Zarneshan 2

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Faculty of Social Science, Payame Noor University ‎‎(PNU), Tehran, Iran‎

2 Associate Professor, Department of Public and International Law, Faculty of law and Political ‎Science, AllamehTabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran‎

https://doi.org/10.22059/jplsq.2025.379474.3570
Abstract
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which plays a fundamental role in the implementation of international humanitarian law, faces significant challenges in fulfilling this mandate in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Broadly, the ICRC’s main difficulties in these territories can be summarized in three key areas: legal issues related to the military occupation of Palestinian land, the status of East Jerusalem, and the construction of the separation barrier, all of which continue to affect the daily lives of Palestinian civilians. Israel, as the “occupying power,” has effectively disrupted the delicate balance between the “rights” and “obligations” of an occupier by attempting to prioritize its own rights over the humanitarian obligations imposed on it under international law. In this context, the ICRC has sought to move beyond its traditional policy of confidentiality by engaging in open and direct dialogue with both parties, attempting to leverage such engagement to improve the conditions of civilians.

Keywords

ICRC
war
international humanitarian law
occupation
Palestine
Subjects

  1. Arabic

    1. احمد جمیل عزم، القدس: التطهیر العرقی و أسالیب المقاومة (2023). المرکز العربی للأبحاث و دراسة السیاسات، بیروت/ الدوحة.

     

    English

    1. A) Books
    2. Dinstein, Y. (2009). The International Law of Belligerent Occupation. Cambridge University Press.
    3. Shamgar, M. (1982). Legal Concepts and Problems of Israeli Military Government, in : Military Government in the Territories Administered by Israel 1967-1980: The Legal Aspects, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
    4. Elad, M. (2024). The Core Issues of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle.
    5. Shlomo, G. (2003). Trapped Fools: Thirty Years of Israeli Policy in the Territories. Frank Cass, U.K.
    6. Virginia, T. (2012). Beyond Occupation: Apartheid, Colonialism and International Law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Pluto Press, London.

     

    1. B) Articles
    2. Imseis, A. (2003/4). On the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, HILJ.
    3. Roberts, A. (1990). Prolonged Military Occupation: the Israeli Occupied Territories since 1967, AJIL, Vol. 84, No. 1.
    4. Kretzmer, D. (2002). The Occupation of Justice: The Supreme Court of Israel and the Occupied Territories. SUNY series about Israeli Studies, New York University.
    5. Blum, Y. (1968). The Missing Reversioner: Reflections on the Status of Judea and Samaria, ILR, Vol. III, April, Issue II.

     

    1. C) Documents
    2. Koek, E. (2013). Water for one People Only: Discreminatory Access and “Water-Apartheid”, Al-Haq institution Report.
    3. Resolution 2625. (1970). UNGA, 24 October.

     

    1. D) Cases
    2. CIJ. (2004). Conséquences juridiques de l’édification d’un mur dans le territoire palestinien occupé, Avis consultatif du 9 juillet.
    3. CIJ. (1997). Affaire relative au Projet Gabčikovo-Nagymaros (Hongrie/Slovaquie), 25 septembre 1997, CIJ Recueil.
    4. -Beit Sourik Village Council v. The Government of Israel et al. (2004); Jami’at Ascan et al. v. IDF Commander in Judea and Samaria (1983).

     

    French

    1. A) Livres
    2. Jean Pictet. (1956). Commentaire des Conventions de Genève du 12 Août 1949. t. IV, Genève.

     

    1. B) Articles
    2. Alan Baker. (2012/4). Le droit international humanitaire, le CICR et le Statut d’Israël dans les territoires palestiniens, RICR, available in: https://www.icrc.org/fre/resources/documents/article/review-2012/irrc-888-baker.htm
    3. Ariane Sand-Trigo, (1992). Le rôle du CICR dans la mise en oeuvre du droit international humanitaire, Etudes internationales, vol. 23, numero 4.
    4. Peter Maurer. (2012/4). Obstacles au droit international humanitaire: la politique israélienne d’occupation, in : RICR, tome 94.
    5. P. Maurer. (2012/4). Obstacles au droit international humanitaire: la politique israélienne d’occupation , RICR, tome 94, available in: https://www.icrc.org/fre/resources/documents/article/review-2012/ircc-888-maurer.htm
    6. Shawan Jabarin. (2013/1). Le territoire palestinien occupé et le droit international humanitaire. Réponse à Peter Maurer, RICR, tome 95.
    7. Tristan Ferraro. (2012/1). Comment déterminer le début et la fin d’une occupation au sens du droit international humanitaire in : RICR, tome 94.

     

    References In Arabic:

    1. Ahmad Jamil Azm, Jerusalem: Ethnic Cleansing and Methods of Resistance (2023). Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Beirut/Doha (In Arabic).
Public Law Studies Quarterly
Volume 55, Issue 4 - Serial Number 44
Winter 2026
Winter 2026
Pages 2675-2691

  • Receive Date 23 July 2024
  • Revise Date 04 March 2025
  • Accept Date 05 May 2025

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