2024-01-27 15:32:44
Las israeli troops They have been dynamiting hundreds of houses and agricultural fields on the periphery of Gaza to create a “security zone” in its border perimeter, as confirmed this week by the Hebrew Army itself. That no-man’s zone aspires to prevent infiltration of Palestinian militiamen in Israellike the one that gave rise to the attack of Hamas on October 7, in which 1,150 people died, but it is not rising in Israeli territory but within the occupied Palestinian territory. The maneuver is a clear challenge to the United Stateswho insists that “the territorial integrity of Gaza must be respected”, as well as an apparent violation of international law. And, in practical terms, it will not only prevent thousands of displaced palestinians can return to their homes, but it will reduce the tiny enclave coastal.
The news broke this week apparently accidentally, when the Israeli army It reported the death last Monday of 24 soldiers on the outskirts of Yan Yunis, the second most populated city in the Strip and now completely surrounded by its troops. One of his spokespersons explained that the soldiers were part of a demolition unit who was attacked with grenade launchers when she was placing explosives in several buildings about 650 meters from the border with Israel. “Troops were demolishing terrorist structures and infrastructure to create safe conditions for the return of southern residents to their homes,” spokesman Daniel Hagari said. They died “in the security zone between Israeli communities and Gaza.”
Beyond confirming that this strip is part of a plan to strengthen security in southern Israel, the military has not wanted to provide more details since then. The matter is extremely sensitive. But, according to Israeli sources cited by ‘The Wall Street Journal’, the “security zone” will have 1 kilometer wide and will travel the perimeter of the Strip. The entry of Palestinians will be completely prohibited. “There will be a buffer zone: there will be no one there, just minesto ensure that October 7 does not happen again,” the former head of Israeli military intelligence told the press this month, Amos Yadlin. The Strip has only 40 kilometers longand between six and 10 kilometers wide, depending on the section. And it is one of the most densely populated areas on the planet.
More than a thousand demolished buildings
The Israel security is being built at the expense of security of the Palestinians. According to Israeli Channel 12, its forces have already demolished 1,100 buildings of the 2,850 that are on the route drawn for the “buffer zone.” Blasting that has affected hundreds of residential housingas well as greenhouses, Farmlands o schools, according to videos and satellite images analyzed by ‘The Washington Post’. The class of actions that are being examined in The Hague, where the international Court of Justice (ICJ) settles the complaint for genocide against Israel Presented by South Africa. This same week the court not only declared itself competent to address the case, but also ordered the Jewish State to take measures to prevent the genocide in Gaza, punish its incitement and allow the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave, which is severely restricted.
In Gaza, a “closed zone” along the border existed for more than a decade, although significantly smaller, about 300 meters wide. Dozens of Gazans have been shot dead when entering it, according to B’tselem, in many cases, farmers who were trying to tend their gardens. To prevent this, the Israeli Army used fumigate the fields in that area with herbicides.
US frontal opposition
Israeli plans have been telegraphed since the early stages of the offensive. “When this war is over, not only will Hamas be gone, but the territory of Gaza will be reduced“said the then Foreign Minister in mid-October, So Cohen. Your Government has tried to obtain the approval of several Arab countries about it, according to Reuters, but it has been met with frontal rejection time and again. Particularly from Washington. This same week, his Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, once again repeated the White House’s rejection of crippling Gaza with a “security zone.” “We have been very clear in our opposition to the forced displacement of the population, as well as the need to maintain the territorial integrity from Gaza,” Blinken said.
And both practices are flagrant violations of the International human right. “When created in occupied territory, the security zone implies the acquisition of territory through the use of forcewhich violates the right to free self-determination of the Palestinian people and is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention“, he assures this newspaper, Ana Manero, professor of Public International Law at the Carlos III University of Madrid. Human rights organizations have also pointed out that the deliberate destruction of civilian homes and crop fields may constitute a war crime.
It is not the first time, however, that Israel has done something similar, breaking international law. The best known case is that of separation wall build in West Bank to prevent attacks from occupied territory. Of his more than 700 kilometers longhe 85% of the layout takes place within the Palestinian territory, which has served Israel to de facto annex 9.5% of the West Bank. In 2004 the ICJ in The Hague issued an advisory opinion declaring the illegal wall and forcing Israel to demolish it.
Its construction, he said then, has involved “the confiscation and destruction of Palestinian land and resourcesthe disruption of thousands of protected civilian lives and the de facto annexation of large areas of territory.” Israel ignored the ruling and the wall has not stopped expanding since then.
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