The indiscriminate manner in which Israeli forces are
shelling schools has been designated as war crime both under IHL and
International Criminal Law.
A three-day ceasefire extension announced
by Israel in Gaza on Tuesday may collapse as Hamas is likely to reject the
extension. If this happens, the Israel- Palestine conflict will continue and
perhaps inflict more damage on Gaza schools and civilian students.
On 3 August, Israeli forces attacked
UN-run school in the southern Gaza Strip which was sheltering 3,000 displaced
persons .Ten civilian lives were lost and several were injured. Just days ago,
Jabaliya Elementary Girls’ School, another UN-run school in Gaza, was shelled
claiming 16 lives. As on date, seven UN schools have been attacked, killing and
displacing civilians and students since the conflict between Hamas/ other
Palestinian armed groups and Israel began on 8 July.
The strike on UN schools has been
condemned widely by the international community. On the latest offensive
of shelling the school in the town of Rafah, the UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon said that the attack was ‘yet another gross violation of international
humanitarian law’ and called the attack a ‘moral outrage and a criminal act.’
Under International Humanitarian Law
(IHL), parties to a conflict must distinguish between civilians and combatants,
applying the principle of distinction. The laws of war impose that warring
parties must take necessary precautions to protect the civilian population,
individual civilians and civilian objects, as a matter of duty. Civilian
objects also include school buildings, school grounds and university buildings.
These are prohibited from attack, unless they are being used for military
purposes.
The indiscriminate manner in which Israeli
forces are shelling schools is unlawful and has been designated as war crime
both under IHL and International Criminal Law. According to the 1998
International Criminal Court Statute, ‘any intentional direct attacks against
buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, … provided they are not
military objectives constitutes a war crime in both international and
non-international armed conflicts.’ Israel has attempted lame justifications
for its offensive. On the attack at Rafah UN-school, it said that the target
were three Palestinian Islamic Jihad members riding a motorcycle in the
vicinity of the school, which eye-witnesses said was a false claim.
The rule of distinction states that during
any military action, those who plan or authorize an attack must do ‘everything
feasible’ to verify that the targets are not civilians or civilian objects -
students and teachers, and schools and other education facilities.
When the attack on Jabaliya refugee camp
took place, Israeli forces knew that civilians were sheltered in the school.
‘Israel was told 17 times that the camp was housing the displaced,’ said the UN
spokesman Chris Gunness, from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
The UNRWA has been running schools for Palestine refugee children since the last 60 years in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, providing services to some five million registered Palestinian refugees. By violating the neutrality of schools, Israel has breached the rules of war. Education is also human right and an indispensable means of realising other human rights.
However, there are few mechanisms under IHL to hold perpetrators accountable to victims of education-related violations. None of the present mechanisms has a provision to establish permanent process or judicial response to hold violators accountable for education-related violations.
In any armed conflict, attacks on education institutions are unleashed because they are seen as symbols of ‘state’ power. By deliberate attacks on schools, Israeli defence forces seem keen on demolishing Palestine’s legitimate institutions and demoralising the youth and the intelligentsia. Several teachers and students have been displaced due to the attacks. Education-related violence, besides causing physical harm also leads to psychological distress to students and staff. Rebuilding schools, resuming education and restoring normalcy in education activities is a time-consuming process.
The UNRWA has been running schools for Palestine refugee children since the last 60 years in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, providing services to some five million registered Palestinian refugees. By violating the neutrality of schools, Israel has breached the rules of war. Education is also human right and an indispensable means of realising other human rights.
However, there are few mechanisms under IHL to hold perpetrators accountable to victims of education-related violations. None of the present mechanisms has a provision to establish permanent process or judicial response to hold violators accountable for education-related violations.
In any armed conflict, attacks on education institutions are unleashed because they are seen as symbols of ‘state’ power. By deliberate attacks on schools, Israeli defence forces seem keen on demolishing Palestine’s legitimate institutions and demoralising the youth and the intelligentsia. Several teachers and students have been displaced due to the attacks. Education-related violence, besides causing physical harm also leads to psychological distress to students and staff. Rebuilding schools, resuming education and restoring normalcy in education activities is a time-consuming process.
Attacks on Palestinian schools are not new
occurrences. In the Gaza war, during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009, 265
students and teachers were killed and 875 were injured. It was estimated that
at least 280 out of 641 schools were damaged and another 18 destroyed when
Israeli attack took place. The institutions of higher education have not been
spared either. In the ongoing airstrikes, Israeli defence forces destroyed a
large part of the Islamic University in Gaza City, a few days ago. The Israeli
army said it targeted a ‘weapon development’ centre in the university and
maintains that the university is affiliated with Hamas. In the 2008-2009
operation, three colleges and six university buildings were destroyed causing
an estimated damage of USD 21.1 million. Two years ago, Israeli airstrikes
damaged seven universities in Gaza.
There is an urgent need for strengthening
of customary law in the rules of armed conflict to provide legal protection to
education. Parties to the conflict must avoid education-related violations.
Loss of education, lack of employment and chances of constructive engagement
with the society are ammunitions for further conflict.
The author, Urmila Rao is a Postgraduate
in Diplomacy, Law and Business from Jindal School of International affairs.
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