Israel: The Graveyard of International Law

International law applies to everyone, or does it?

There was a time when international law meant something. When violations of the Geneva Conventions were grounds for global outrage, sanctions, and legal proceedings. When institutions like the United Nations and the International Criminal Court held at least the pretense of neutrality. That time is over. And Israel is the reason why.

No other country has so consistently, so brazenly, and with such impunity violated the fundamental tenets of international law as Israel. From its ongoing occupation of the West Bank to its repeated, targeted destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza, Israel has spent the past decades pushing the boundaries of what the world will tolerate. In 2024 and 2025, it stopped pushing and started bulldozing.

In Gaza, Israel's campaign has gone far beyond the traditional horrors of war. It has included direct attacks on hospitals, refugee camps, aid convoys, and food distribution points. In recent months alone, over 100 medical facilities have been damaged or destroyed, and more than 200 aid workers have been killed. UN-backed food queues have been bombed. Civilians have been gunned down while trying to collect flour. The UN has described it as a "systematic extermination" of people seeking food, medical care, and shelter. And these aren’t accusations made lightly. They are supported by satellite imagery, survivor testimony, forensic evidence, and in some cases, Israel's own footage.

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Mass graves have been found outside destroyed hospitals, some containing patients who were allegedly executed after being left behind. The targeting of women and children has been documented with consistency, particularly in densely populated residential zones that were given no warning before being flattened. Schools, mosques, and cultural sites are not collateral damage – they are frequently the targets. The deliberate nature of these strikes is not speculation; it's evident in the pattern, in the frequency, in the absence of military targets nearby.

While Gaza burns, the West Bank is being carved up in silence. Settler violence has skyrocketed, with armed groups openly backed by the Israeli state attacking Palestinian villages, torching homes, and seizing land. The Israeli government, far from stopping it, has legalized outposts that were previously considered illegal even under Israeli law. Entire communities are being erased from the map, and replaced by settler-only housing, roads, and checkpoints. In many cases, water access and basic infrastructure are being redirected away from Palestinian villages. It is not a security operation. It is a land grab.

In parallel, Israel has accelerated its administrative policies of ethnic cleansing. Residency revocations, home demolitions, arbitrary arrests, and travel restrictions have all increased. Palestinian students, doctors, and journalists are regularly detained without charge under the guise of "security." Those who speak up face jail. Those who resist are branded as terrorists.

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International responses have ranged from timid to complicit. The United States continues to fund Israeli operations, despite clear evidence of war crimes. The European Union, while acknowledging potential human rights violations, has refused to impose meaningful sanctions. And the ICC, despite issuing arrest warrants, is being ignored outright. Israel has refused to cooperate with investigations, and Western governments are making sure that no one faces consequences.

The ICJ has already ruled that Israel's occupation and settlement policies violate international law. UN experts have repeatedly described Israel’s actions as apartheid. Yet the violations continue, accelerated by the certainty that no one will act.

White phosphorus has been used in civilian areas, a violation of international conventions on chemical weapons. Children have been shot at checkpoints. Pregnant women have been denied access to hospitals. Aid has been blocked, then bombed when it finally arrived. These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a system.

There is no other word for it: impunity. Israel operates with the confidence that it will never be held to account. And why wouldn’t it? Every red line has been crossed, and the response has been a shrug.

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The global institutions designed to protect civilians have proven toothless. Legal rulings are ignored. Arrest warrants are dismissed as political. Investigations are stonewalled. Meanwhile, media narratives are carefully managed. Words like "clashes," "escalation," and "tensions" are used to describe ethnic cleansing. The victims are blurred into statistics, while Israeli spokespeople dominate Western airwaves.

The hypocrisy of the so-called rules-based order has never been more visible. Countries that wage war in the name of democracy and human rights are silent as their ally demolishes both. International law is invoked selectively, used as a weapon against enemies and never applied to friends. This isn’t just about Israel. It's about the collapse of credibility in the entire system.

International law is supposed to be the last line of defense for the vulnerable. But in Gaza and the West Bank, it is a ghost. A set of rules enforced only on the powerless. The agencies designed to uphold it are paralyzed. The states meant to enforce it are financing the violations.

Israel has turned international law into a joke. And the world, by allowing it, has joined the punchline.

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