The International Court of Justice findings against Israel “are an extraordinary moment” in the global legal world that now requires the rest of the world to boycott the country, a leading Irish human rights expert has said.
The “ringing statements” made by the international court which has found that Israel has breached international law are “aimed at so-called law-abiding countries”, Prof Conor Gearty of the London School of Economics said.
“It’s not just enough to protest diplomatically. The court has said action is necessary, the action is tough,” and such action might require economic and academic boycotts, the Irish-born academic and barrister told the West Cork History Festival near Baltimore, which took place over the weekend at the Inish Beg estate.
“If there is to be any serious commitment to global justice and international criminal law the leaders of Israel and the leaders of Hamas will be arrested and tried,” he said.
Dating back to the United States’ decision to attack Libya in 1986, countries now enjoy “a blank cheque” to attack others in the name of self defence, while still “being vaguely” inside United Nations rules, he said.
Self defence could be justified in the past after an attack. However the doctrine evolved so that pre-emptive attacks could be made far away “because you anticipated something that might come later and might kill you,” he said.
The changes in practice date back to the United States’ attack on Libya in 1986, when two airs trikes were made on Tripoli that killed a daughter of colonel Muammar Gaddafi and many others Libyans, which were seen as “a pivotal event” by academics.
Yet, the Israeli strike on a school in Gaza on Friday, which left up to 100 dead, according to local reports, is “barely noticed” by the world at large, Prof Gearty said.
“So inured have we become that it somehow or other becomes part of the back story. How do things become normal. How do these things get normalised? And what is the role of law in seeking to prevent normalisation?” he went on.
Critical of trends in universities, Prof Gearty said that “it is fascinating to see how feelings have got in the way of truth, and as an academic I have to be careful not to hurt the feelings of people who are affected adversely by the truths I say”.
“It’s a form of intimidation in the wrong hands, let me say quickly and bluntly.”
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