2023-11-23 09:29:19
Pair Clara Hidalgo
Published yesterday at 7:46 p.m., Updated now
An assault tank, in southern Israel near the border with Gaza, November 21, 2023. RONEN ZVULUN / REUTERS
Since the announcement Tuesday evening of an agreement between Hamas and Israel, many states and international organizations have used these three different terms.
A first agreement between Hamas and Israel was announced Tuesday evening. The Israeli government obtained the release of 50 hostages held by Hamas, in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners and a “humanitarian break» in Gaza. This break will begin “in the next 24 hours and will last four days, with the possibility of extension», Specified the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X. This agreement was made possible by mediation led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
As a reminder, around 240 Israelis were kidnapped during the bloody attack launched on October 7 against Israel by the Islamist movement in power in the Gaza Strip. And more than 5,100 Palestinians are prisoners in Israel, among them Islamist Hamas fighters.
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The Palestinian terrorist group welcomed the agreement, but preferred to speak of a “humanitarian truce”, when Israel and Qatar speak of a “pause”. China and Jordan, for their part, spoke of a “ceasefire» in their press releases. Terms which do not refer exactly to the same realities.
Humanitarian truce and humanitarian pause
A truce or humanitarian pause means “a temporary suspension of hostilities, agreed between the parties to the conflict for purely humanitarian purposes», defines on its website of the International Committee of the Red Cross. A semantic difference nevertheless remains between the two terms, underlines Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, strategic advisor in international humanitarian law for Médecins sans frontières and author of Practical dictionary of humanitarian law (Ed. La Découverte). Because “the term “truce” refers to military vocabulary, to the cessation of fighting”, while the word “pause” East “less militarily loaded».
The presence of the qualifying adjective “humanitarian» after these two terms proves that one of the objectives of this agreement between Israel and Hamas is “facilitating relief operations“. In the case of the current conflict, the qualifier “humanitarian» shows in fact “that the intention of this temporary pause in hostilities is not only intended to ensure security during the release of the hostages and the’exchange of prisoners, but also to allow the entry and movement of convoys» in the Gaza Strip.
Also read: Hamas-Israel conflict: how the hostage release negotiations took place
But for Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, this adjective is used ambiguously in this operation, because the “humanitarian nature of this pause in the conflict is still in the embryonic stage». «If we should rejoice at the release of hostages and’exchange of prisoners, which is carried out according to humanitarian law», Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier is worried “due to the fact that the right to relief of the population of Gaza, which is unconditional in the law of armed conflict, is in reality subject to the success of the political-military negotiations between the parties“. Since October 21 and the opening of the Rafah crossing, 1,353 trucks have been able to enter the Palestinian territory, or 42 per day on average, the Palestinian Red Crescent said yesterday on X.
The ceasefire is “a cessation of hostilities decided by the parties involved in the conflict, or decreed unilaterally by one of them», explains the strategic advisor in international humanitarian law. This term is generally used in the context of “of a peace negotiation“. However, the negotiation carried out here by the mediation of Egypt, Qatar and the United States “is more limited». «It only concerns the release of hostages and a cessation of hostilities for a few days to facilitate the exchange of people and the passage of relief convoys.», continues the expert.
Which term is most appropriate?
In reality, the choice of the appropriate term “has little importance», analyzes Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, “because it is more of a communication strategy“. Each State chooses the term it uses based on “what he wants to see happen“. For example, China and Jordan have used the term “ceasefire» in their press releases this morning, “certainly because they hope for a peace negotiation between Hamas and Israel». On the contrary, employer terms them «truce” or of “pause» implies that “the war is not over“. This is the choice that Israel made by speaking of “pause» in his press release, published on the Prime Minister’s office website. «Benjamin Netanyahu also affirmed that Israel would resume fighting after the release of the hostages», explains Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier.
For the strategic advisor in international humanitarian law, the important question that arises today is: “Will the agreement be respected?” That’s to say, “will security really be ensured during exchanges of hostages and prisoners? And will humanitarian convoys finally be authorized in accordance with humanitarian law, without being targeted?» Compliance with these security commitments must therefore be “monitored» et «checked“, she urges.
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