At many Swiss universities, students are currently protesting for the Palestinians and against Israel’s actions in the Middle East. Their demands are diverse – as are the accusations and allegations against Israel. There is talk of genocide, war crimes and an apartheid state. This raises questions – inside and outside the university walls. What is behind the slogans and terms? And what about it is justified under international law? Experts classify the allegations.
Accusation: genocide in Gaza
Many students criticize the protest demonstrations that a genocide is currently taking place in the Gaza Strip. From the perspective of three international law experts, this is not the case.
There are indeed acts – such as killing or starvation – but probably not with the specific intention of wanting to wipe out an ethnic group, says Marco Sassoli, professor of international law at the University of Geneva. “Certain statements by Israeli politicians were genocidal.” There was talk of extermination. “But in my opinion, the actions of the Israeli army are directed against Hamas and not against the entire population,” explains Sassoli.
Oliver Diggelmann, Professor of International Law at the University of Zurich, and Stefan Talmon, Professor of International Law at the University of Bonn, also agree with this. “In international law, for genocide you need an act that includes, among other things, the killing of members of a group,” explains Talmon. That is undoubtedly the case. This act must be done with intent. And third: “The special thing about genocide is that you also need an intention to destroy.”
This intention to destroy is very difficult to determine; concrete evidence would be needed, for example a written order like the one at Srebrenica. «All these actions must be carried out with the specific intention of destroying the group of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. I don’t see that,” says Talmon. On the other hand, Hamas explicitly stated in its charter that it wanted to destroy the Jews in Israel.
Legend:
Pro-Palestine rallies have also been taking place at many Swiss universities and colleges for days. (Image from May 14, 2024 at the University of Zurich)
KEYSTONE/Ennio Leanza
“In the case of South Africa against Israel, the International Court of Justice found by 15 votes to 1 that there was a risk that genocidal acts could be committed and took precautionary measures – but has not yet made a final decision,” says Sassoli.
“In order to clearly interpret the statements of certain members of the Israeli government, we would need really well-founded criminal investigations,” adds Diggelmann. Diggelmann said he does not believe that the international court will find a generational genocidal intent in the case between South Africa and Israel.
Accusation: war crimes committed
In the Gaza Strip, thousands of civilians are being killed, schools and hospitals are being destroyed and the supply of essential aid is being blocked, according to many students’ criticism of pro-Palestine demonstrations. The accusation is that war crimes are being committed. “States cannot commit war crimes, states commit violations of international humanitarian law,” explains international law professor Sassoli. “The prevention of the flow of aid to the Gaza Strip, the closure of all access points at the beginning of the war, the denial of water and electricity” are clearly violations of international humanitarian law, said Sassoli.
The other international law experts agree. However, international law is being violated on both sides. The attack on October 7th, the indiscriminate killing of civilians, was clearly a violation of international humanitarian law.
“It is repeatedly stated that the bombing of a hospital is a war crime,” says Stefan Talmon. “But this cannot be maintained so generally; each individual case must be assessed. Civilian objects can also become legitimate military targets if they are misused by the other warring party – either as positions, as weapons storage or as a place of retreat,” explains Talmon.
Marco Sassoli takes a more critical view. “The attacks against Hamas targets cannot in every case be directed against targets so important that it would justify killing so many civilians in such a densely populated, inhabited area.”
Accusation: apartheid state of Israel
Some allegations go beyond the Gaza war and are fundamentally aimed at Israel. For example, that Israel is an apartheid state, i.e. with a system of racial separation. While one international lawyer sees signs of this, another denies the accusation.
Of course there was an apartheid state in South Africa, says Oliver Diggelmann. But legal clarification is difficult, there is no international jurisprudence. “What can be cited as evidence of an intention to subjugate is land confiscation, discrimination in land use and unequal protection by the police and military.”
During the apartheid regime in South Africa, there was talk of the “subjugation of one racial group by another, with the aim of maintaining subjugation,” says Diggelmann. In this case, however, it was a conflict between ethnic groups. Whether it would be treated the same or not, no one can say reliably today, said Diggelmann. You also have to think about Israel’s security interests.
Stefan Talmon says: “Here there are streets only for Israelis and streets only for Palestinians. But what you also have to take into account is that these roads were set up for safety reasons. “In response to Palestinian suicide bombers blowing themselves up on roads used by Israelis.” He therefore does not see the accusation of apartheid as given because there are other possible explanations for these Israeli actions than just establishing a racist system of rule or systematically oppressing another racial group.