Raji Sourani, the director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, left Gaza in November 2023. The 70-year-old Paris-based lawyer, who has long been at the forefront of international legal proceedings launched by the Palestinians, has criticized France's stance toward Israel and the silence from Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor.
I was living in the Tel al-Hawa district of Gaza City, with my wife and 30-year-old son. As soon as it began, the Israelis asked everyone to evacuate. I stayed. On October 18, a fireball destroyed our house. I'm sure that that bombing was deliberate. We moved in with my brother, then again into another family home. A few days later, a mosque and a police station near where we lived were bombed. That's when I decided to leave Gaza. I headed south to Khan Yunis, with the UN; and then, in November 2023, I managed to enter Egypt.
I'm very disappointed, dismayed and shocked. I don't understand how France, whose motto "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" ("Liberty, Equality, Fraternity") has inspired us all, could buy into Israel's version of self-defense. How can France and Europe stand with Ukraine, against the Russian invasion and occupation; but apply international law selectively when it comes to Palestine? How can they say that Ukraine has the right to resist occupation but argue that Israel's criminal and belligerent occupation is self-defense? Are you applying the ancient Roman rules where there were rights for masters and none for slaves? Are we the slaves of the 21st century? It's Kafkaesque!
South Africa has given the West a lesson on morality and the rule of law. I'm proud to be part of its legal team. The ICJ ordered provisional measures because it considered that the risk of genocide was plausible. Unfortunately, the judges do not have the means to ensure that their decision is respected. Their executive branch consists of countries, particularly in Europe and the US. And these powers have merely asked Israel to comply with the ICJ's measures. They have done nothing to force it to do so. Not forcing Israel to respect international law is to accept the law of the jungle, and to be complicit in genocide, forced displacement and famine.
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