Collusion between international law and Israel’s colonial existence

According to a press release by independent human rights organisation Adalah, the United Nations Committee Against Torture issued an extremely detailed report regarding Israel’s human rights violations, leading to over 50 recommendations for Israel regarding its use of torture.

Not only restricted to the conventional forms of torture, the report also takes into consideration the trend embraced by the Israeli government, which is to increase the severity of human rights violations as well as creating legislation to validate other immediate forms of torture, such as the endorsement of extrajudicial killings since the commencement of the Jerusalem Intifada.

The recommendations given by the Committee were issued following a joint report by Adalah, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel. Read as a mere treatise detailing violations and recommendations, however, eliminates the impact which should resonate as permanently as Israel’s penchant for obliterating any semblance of human dignity.

One of the recommendations by UNCAT specifies that Israel should “completely remove necessity as a justification for torture”, followed by urging an end to administrative detention and the use of solitary confinement only in “exceptional cases as a matter of last resort”. The report also objects to force-feeding, excessive use of force and recommends that the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israelis should be returned to their families without delays.

However, as has been consistently evident, quoting international law and issuing recommendations to Israel based on such legislation is futile. Israel has manoeuvred itself into a privileged position – it is allowed to colonise and cite security concerns to defend its illegal expansion. Hence, international bodies have rendered international law a parody of itself, using the framework as the means through which chastisement can be issued while conscious of the fact that any violations committed by Israel will not be met with punitive action.

There are several reasons that account for this contradiction. International law is not void of legal loopholes and discrepancies, which allows Israel to justify its actions through international law; an example of this would be administrative detention. Although its use is restricted in international law, there is no complete abolition of the practice, which allows Israel to claim exceptional circumstances and apply the violation.

The excuse given by Israel is puerile, considering its use as part of the collective punishments that seek to stifle legitimate Palestinian resistance. While international law legitimises armed struggle against colonial violence, at the same time, international organisations exceed their own expectations in protecting the settler-colonial existence on Palestinian territory, giving legitimacy to a state serving as an accomplice to Western interests in the region.

It is not the reports that should resonate, but rather abhorrence that Israel’s colonial violence is persistently eliminated by international organisations. Chastising Israel for human rights violations is nothing but a temporary affront to Israel, which will in turn be manipulated to reap other benefits at the expense of the Palestinian population. What international organisations should concern themselves with is the actual existence of Israel as the reason why such violations occur, as well as the role of the UN and affiliates in ensuring a plethora of excuses in order to ward off responsibility and accountability in allowing illegalities to flourish.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.