Gaza, 8 July 2024 — Yesterday marked exactly 10 years since the start of the 2014 Israeli military offensive against Gaza, also known by the code name ‘Operation Protective Edge’. As we mark this somber anniversary, it is imperative to reflect on the lasting consequences resulting from the lack of accountability for Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, contributing significantly to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, which has now reached its tenth consecutive month.

According to Al Mezan documentation, in the 51 days between 7 July and 26 August 2014, 2,219 Palestinians were killed, 70 percent of them civilians, and of whom were 566 children and 299 women. The Israeli offensive also caused massive destruction to thousands of residential homes and other civilian property across the Gaza Strip, including hospitals and vital infrastructure, and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. During the ongoing genocide, Israel killed a comparable number of Palestinians in Gaza in the course of a single week between 7 and 14 October 2023: 2,215, including 724 children and 458 women, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Before the ongoing genocide, Israel’s 51-day military offensive against Gaza was unprecedented in terms of the scale of grave and systematic violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law. Al Mezan collected evidence which demonstrates clearly that many Israeli attacks qualified as grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention and were carried out in a systematic and deliberate manner, rendering them war crimes and crimes against humanity according to international law. This reality was also grasped by the United Nations (UN) Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict. 

Despite an abundance of reports from Palestinian and other local and international human rights organizations, alongside the findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry, all of which have extensively documented clear violations of international law by Israeli forces, there has been a notable absence of accountability. Through the years, the Military Advocate General (MAG) Corps—a unit within the Israeli army tasked with enforcing the rule of law within the military—received approximately 500 complaints regarding approximately 360 incidents that occurred during the 2014 war on Gaza, many filed by Al Mezan and its partner organizations. Despite the volume of complaints, indictments have only been filed for charges related to looting and aiding and abetting looting.

Ten years later, amidst an ongoing genocide, no Israeli soldier or official has been charged for apparent international crimes committed during the 2014 military offensive against Gaza. As noted by Adalah, these “complaints have resulted in no acknowledgement by any domestic body, be it the MAG, the [Attorney General], or the judiciary, of any violation of IHL on the part of the Israeli military, and not one indictment has been issued for the killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians or the targeting of civilian objects during [the 2014 war on Gaza].” 

Ten years have passed, yet Palestinian victims still remain without justice. Those who endured loss of life, injuries, and destruction of property are today almost certainly victims of Israel’s genocidal military campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza. As readers go through this piece, thousands of people in Gaza City have been forcibly displaced within the past 24 hours alone, and massacres are occurring. Al Mezan maintains that the persistent impunity for Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, coupled with the unwillingness and inability of the international community to hold Israel accountable, has led to a seemingly endless cycle of oppression and violence perpetrated by Israeli forces and authorities against Palestinians that is now culminating in the ongoing acts of genocide in Gaza. 

The lack of accountability served as an encouragement for Israel to maintain 17 years of closure and blockade against Gaza, an illegal collective punishment and an act of persecution—a crime against humanity; to carry out full-scale military offensives against Gaza in 2008-2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, and 2022; to shoot and kill over 200 Palestinian peaceful protesters at the Great March of Return in Gaza between 2018 and 2019; to further expand its illegal colonial enterprise in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and other daily acts of violence against civilians throughout the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), including prisoners and detainees. Al Mezan strongly condemns the failure of the international community to take effective steps to end Israel’s policy of impunity and secure accountability for violations of international law.

As we somberly reflect on 10 years since Israel’s 2014 military offensive against Gaza during the ongoing genocide, Al Mezan appeals to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to vigorously pursue accountability for the international crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory since 13 June 2014. While we welcomed the request of arrest warrants by the Prosecutor on 20 May 2024, we must underscore the pressing urgency of thoroughly investigating and seeking warrants for individuals responsible for crimes committed during the 2014 war. It is important to note that at that time the Israeli Prime Minister's seat was held by Benjamin Netanyahu, currently the current Prime Minister, while the Chief of Staff of the Israeli armed forces was Benny Gantz, who was a voting member of the current Israeli War Cabinet until last May. This demonstrates that the perpetual impunity enjoyed by Israeli officials has only encouraged them to continue committing undaunted crimes.

Accordingly, we strongly reiterate our calls on the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) to promptly request the issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli authorities and military personnel—especially Israeli governmental officials and high-ranking military staff—believed to be responsible for perpetrating, ordering, planning, and instigating international crimes during the 2014 military offensive against Gaza. Al Mezan contends that the sufficient evidence submitted by various UN investigative bodies and civil society organizations warrants immediate action.

This call is not just an invocation of legal obligations but a plea for the ICC to be a beacon of hope for victims of atrocity crimes by ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable for their actions. The pursuit of justice through international legal avenues is a crucial step toward breaking the cycle of impunity.

***

For further information or media inquiries, please contact: advocacy@mezan.org