A UN human rights official has warned that Israel's plan to establish a security buffer zone in the Gaza Strip is a "war crime" that will harm Palestinian civilians.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on February 8 that since October 2023, it has discovered many cases of the Israeli army destroying civilian buildings and homes, including schools and universities outside the conflict zone.
The office also recorded demolitions of civilian homes in the areas of Beit Hanoun, Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip, Nuseirat in the central region and Khan Younis in the south.
This is believed to be an attempt by Israel to establish a buffer zone in the Gaza Strip, taking away a significant portion of the land. Professor Adi Ben Nun at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Israel targeted structures within a kilometer of the border with Gaza. More than 30% of the buildings there were damaged or destroyed.
"I would like to stress to the Israeli authorities that Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the occupation forces from destroying private property unless such destruction is an absolutely necessary part of the military operation," High Commissioner Volker Turk commented, referring to the 1949 Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in time of war.
He warned that the idea of creating a security buffer zone around the Gaza Strip did not fit the definition of "military operation" in international humanitarian law.
Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers take part in an operation in the northern Gaza Strip on November 2, 2023. Photo: IDF
Mr. Turk emphasized that the act of indiscriminate destruction of civilian property for non-military purposes and without legal basis would be considered a serious violation of the Geneva Convention and a "war crime".
UN officials say Israel has offered no plausible explanation for its mass destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Turk warned that the tactic of destroying homes and civilian structures across the Gaza Strip was endangering the lives of refugees and preventing them from returning home after months of fighting. He stressed that international law also considered the "forced displacement of civilians" during the fighting to be a crime.
Area where experts fear Israel could establish a buffer zone in the Gaza Strip (yellow). Graphics: AFP
Israeli officials and the country's military have not commented on the suspicion.
Israel took control of the Gaza Strip in 1967, then unilaterally withdrew its troops and civilians from the area in 2005. However, Israel retains almost complete control of the border with the Gaza Strip and has established a narrow no-go zone along the border.
Thanh Danh (According to AFP )
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