ATLANTA, USA, Jan 31 (IPS) – Either the new US President, Mr. Trump, is ignorant of international law or thinks he’s so brilliant that he doesn’t care about it. Either way, he seems to have stumbled into proposing an extension of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s clearly documented crime of genocide by suggesting that somebody “clear out” the people in Gaza, in effect advocating the ethnic cleansing of the territory.
Ethnic cleansing violates international humanitarian law. It is a crime against humanity and constitutes a war crime. It is also listed as part of the supreme international crime of genocide. Population transfers such as “Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group” is one of the elements defining genocide.
The UN adopted the Genocide Convention 1948 and it went into effect in 1951. Among the punishable offenses are “acts committed with intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
Crimes punishable under the convention include “Conspiracy to commit genocide,” “Public advocacy to commit genocide“ and “attempt to commit genocide.” You don’t actually have to kill someone yourself, or directly order someone to do it.
On a plain reading of the convention, by publicly advocating that 1.5 million Palestinians should be transferred to Jordan or Egypt, Trump has already crossed the line of advocacy. If forcible transfers should actually happen, he is prima facie complicit.
Egyptian President al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah both announced opposition to the idea of sending the Palestinians to their territory. The King said that Jordan would not participate in such a plan, and President al-Sisi proclaimed that Egypt would not be part of an “unjust” solution.
They might have said, “Don’t you realize, you idiot, that you are advocating one of the key elements of genocide—transferring people, especially children. from one group to another group?”
According to the Genocide Convention, “conspiring to commit” genocide and “publicly advocating” genocide are equally punishable under international law as the crime itself. Genocide, which involves proving intent, is a high threshold to meet in court, but ethnic cleansing requires only that the crime be documented as having happened.
Mr. Netanyahu, who can only be pleased that the supposedly most powerful person in the world is doing his bidding, is already under indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, which has now issued arrest warrants for him.
Why doesn’t somebody just ask the Palestinians if they want to leave and where they want to go? Most have proclaimed for more than 75 years that they want to go back to their original homes in Palestine (now Southern Israel) that they were forced out of by Israeli troops in 1948.
If not that, most have said they want to rebuild Gaza and stay there, as difficult and nearly impossible as that prospect is. Gazans have pride in their heritage and homeland, and are firm in their belief in sumud in Arabic—“steadfastness.” They refuse to give up the dream of a national homeland of their own in Palestine.
The reality of what they face in a 90% destroyed environment is daunting in the extreme. Humanitarian aid is urgently needed, and will be for the foreseeable future. However, every person has the right to make choices about where they want to live.
No would-be dictator like America’s chief executive can decide their future for them.
James E. Jennings PhD is President of Conscience International and a longtime advocate for Palestinian Human and Civil Rights.
IPS UN Bureau
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