IADL statement: Israel’s 2,500 acts of aggression against Lebanon

The following is a statement issued Oct. 23, 2024, by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers about Israel’s aggression against Lebanon.

Israel has been attacking Lebanon since 1948, the year it was accepted as a member of the United Nations, and its aggression is renewed each time under the pretext of self-defense. Between 1948 and 1973, Israel committed more than 2,500 acts of aggression against Lebanon. The United States and NATO countries participate in Israel’s aggression by providing it with deadly, internationally banned weapons, and there exists a joint military operations room.

The Israeli self-defense claim not only violates the United Nations Charter, which in Article 51 outlines the conditions for resorting to force—conditions Israel does not respect, as evident in statements by Israeli officials, particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He declared his intention to redraw the Middle East and presented his map before the U.N. General Assembly. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also stated on the first day of the aggression on Gaza that after Gaza, Lebanon would be next.

Thus, the goal is to attack Lebanon, not self-defense, which contradicts a fundamental principle of international law that prohibits an occupying state from invoking self-defense against resistance. The reverse is true.

Israel is the only state whose membership in the United Nations was conditioned on the implementation of Resolution 181 (Partition Plan) and Resolution 194 (return of Palestinian refugees). To this day, Israel does not implement these conditions. On the contrary, it has occupied all of Palestine, part of Lebanon, annexed Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan, and refuses to implement subsequent resolutions, particularly Security Council Resolutions 242, 338, and 497. It also disregards the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the separation wall and faces charges of genocide brought by South Africa.

In its aggression on Gaza, which has persisted for almost a year, more than 51,000 people have been killed, over 150,000 injured, and tens of thousands remain trapped under rubble, with more than 2 million displaced. In Lebanon, the ongoing aggression since early September has resulted in over 2,500 deaths, more than 10,000 injured, and over 1.5 million displaced. The aggression on Syria targets civilians and civilian infrastructure, particularly in Damascus, including the Iranian Consulate, which was destroyed, killing many diplomats.

In Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, more than 90% of the victims are women, children, and the elderly, and the aggression continues. Israel does not stop at committing acts of aggression, occupation, and violations of the sovereignty of Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, but also targets civilians and civilian infrastructure, destroying buildings with their inhabitants, wiping out entire families.

[Israel] targets U.N. peacekeeping forces, hospitals, journalists, refugee shelters, places of worship (mosques and churches), ambulances, and medical staff, using internationally banned weapons that cause severe harm to humans and the environment. It has even gone as far as destroying peaceful communication devices, such as pagers, wireless transmitters, and mobile phones, which led to more than 4,000 people injured in less than a minute.

Israel has committed several massacres during its past and present aggressions, including those at Deir Yassin [in Palestine] and Houla, Qana, Sabra and Shatila  [in Lebanon]. It refuses to implement Security Council Resolution 1701, which was issued after its 2006 aggression. According to U.N. peacekeeping reports, Israel has violated this resolution more than 33,000 times and continues to occupy part of Lebanese territory, refusing to withdraw. This constitutes a clear violation of international law, particularly the U.N. Charter, which was publicly torn up by Israel’s representative at the General Assembly.

In response to Israeli aggression, occupation, and massacres, the Lebanese people have resorted to armed resistance, led by Hezbollah and several national, leftist, and Arabist forces. This resistance derives its legitimacy from Lebanese law, as successive governments have declared its legitimacy in their ministerial statements, and parliamentary confidence was granted on this basis. Most importantly, the resistance is legitimized by international law and U.N. resolutions concerning the right of peoples to self-determination, particularly Article 4A2 of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949.

Regarding the resistance in Palestine, in addition to Article 4A2, Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions of 1977 applies, particularly Article 1, paragraph 4, which grants rights to peoples fighting for liberation from colonialism, occupation, and racist regimes.

Israel refuses to comply with international law and U.N. resolutions. We recall here the New York Protocol issued by U.N. Security Council member states on September 25, calling for the implementation of Resolution 1701, a ceasefire, and Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, as well as the Security Council’s Resolution 2735, calling for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.

In its aggression, Israel commits serious crimes that violate international law, including:

• Crimes of aggression and crimes against peace as defined by art. 6c of the charter of the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg Charter) and U.N. General Assembly Resolution 3314 , and article 8 bis of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) constituting a violation of the U.N. Charter and a threat to international peace and security.
• Violations of Article 8 bis of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
• War crimes as described in Article 85 of Protocol I and Article 8 of the Rome Statute, as well as grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions as outlined in Article 85, paragraph 5, and customary rule 156.
• Acts of terrorism, as Israel’s targeting of civilians aims to spread fear, in violation of all international conventions on combating terrorism.
• Genocide under art. 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948 and Article 6 of the Rome Statute of the ICC.
• Crimes against humanity under art. 6c of the charter of the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg Charter) and Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the ICC, not only against the Lebanese and Palestinian people but against all humanity.

The Lebanese Democratic Lawyers strongly condemn Israel’s crimes and urgently call on the world – governments, international organizations, and human rights bodies – to:

1. Condemn Israel, impose sanctions, boycott it, sever diplomatic relations, and pressure it to stop its aggression and massacres against civilians in line with the Resolution adopted by the U.N. General Assembly at its 10th Emergency Special Session on September 13, 2024, and the Advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and from the illegality of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian territories.
2. Work towards expelling Israel from the U.N. and all international and regional organizations, including UNESCO and UNICEF.
3. Cooperating with South Africa, Venezuela, and other countries pursuing legal action against Israel and its officials before the relevant international courts by providing legal assistance and essential documents regarding the crimes committed against Lebanon and its civilian population.
4. Form delegations of lawyers to meet with the judiciary in each country, including bar associations, judges, and law professors, to demand legal condemnation of Israel and legal support for the Lebanese and Palestinian and Syrian people.
5. The Lebanese Democratic Lawyers affirm the right of peoples to self-determination and support the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation, racism, and colonialism. They salute the heroic resistance fighters and honor the martyrs who have fallen as a result of Israeli aggression on Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria, with a special tribute to the martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Lebanese Democratic Lawyers

Signed by:

Dr. Albert Farhat

Dr. Hassan Jouni

International Association of Democratic Lawyers