Qatar insists that Israeli exceptionalism must end

The Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on the international community to apply the law equally to all countries, and not to favour Israel by granting it the right to “self-defence” against the people whose land it occupies.

Lolwah Al-Khater said on X on Sunday, “A basic and logical question. Does the right to self-defence go both ways or only the Israeli way? Because you know I can tolerate your #IMMORALITY, but I am so allergic to #INCOHERENCE.” #Israeli_Exceptionalism above #International_Law must stop, she added.

In 2004, the International Court of Justice recognised that there is no right to self-defence for an occupying state against the people of the territory it occupies. Article 31 of the Rome Statute states that during the defence of oneself, land and property, war crimes and crimes against humanity are forfeited because that party is in a state of defence and resistance (against occupation).

This appears to confirm that the actions of the Palestinian resistance groups are legitimate under international law, and recognised in the Geneva Convention, the UN Charter and the Rome Statute. Despite this, European countries have stood by Israel since the cross-border incursion by Hamas last October, while the legitimate right of self-defence was not afforded to the Palestinians. Hence, the Qatar minister’s appeal for an end to Israeli exceptionalism.

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