Raji Sourani, the director and founding father of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, is among the main human rights legal professionals in Gaza. The mere reality that he’s nonetheless alive is a few form of miracle.
As he travelled from the Hague, to Brussels, Madrid and Dublin, after the opening of the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice (ICJ) genocide case towards Israel, he spoke with EUobserver.
Since Israel launched its army operation in response to the Hamas assaults on 7 October, he has twice survived a focused bombing. ”I used to be simply fortunate to flee that,” Sourani advised EUobserver.
After his residence was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, the 70-year-old lawyer left Gaza on 19 December. He now lives in Egypt together with his household.
He’s certainly fortunate. After 7 October, solely worldwide residents, or these with double nationality and good contacts had been capable of go away the Gaza Strip.
Born and bred in Gaza, Sourani has spent most of his life representing Palestinian victims and documenting what has occurred within the occupied territories of the West Financial institution and the Gaza Strip. Whereas doing his job, he has been detained on six events by each Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
”Our job isn’t straightforward. For the Israelis, we’re terrorists with fits doing ’lawfare’,” he mentioned.
Sourani has been representing Palestinian victims since 2009 earlier than the Worldwide Prison Courtroom (ICC) — which lastly determined to launch an investigation into doable conflict crimes dedicated in Palestine in 2021, following 5 years of preliminary examinations.
And he was a part of those that satisfied the Islamist organisations (Hamas and Islamic Jihad) to signal the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC — making them additionally the topic to ICC investigations.
The ICC investigates and prosecutes people for conflict crimes and different worldwide crimes, whereas the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice (ICJ) settles authorized disputes between states. The 2 are sometimes confused because of each their names, and the very fact each are based mostly in The Hague.
”We’re romantic believers of justice, and we would like it for Palestine,” he mentioned. ”Nobody is skipping accountability.”
”We’ve got some of the well-documented conflicts in historical past due to human rights organisations,” he additionally mentioned, declaring that the Palestine-Israel battle can be well-documented all through the Israeli system.
ICC accused of politicisation
Though Israel has been accused of a variety of well-documented allegations, Sourani criticised the sluggish tempo of the ICC’s work in Palestine.
He does not wish to evaluate the ICC case of Palestine and Ukraine, however he does it anyway — criticising how speedy the ICC choices had been taken within the case of Ukraine and accusing the ICC prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan of being ”politicised” and ”selective”.
”That is sending a really ugly message, to not Palestinians, however to victims.”
Sourani mentioned that it is a ”huge disgrace” that Khan refused to satisfy together with his organisation on earlier events and with none provided actual justification, however that he travelled to Israel in November to satisfy with Israeli survivors and the households of victims after the assaults on 7 October.
”You can’t be selective,” he mentioned. ”We’re professionals, we’re first-class legal professionals, we’re representatives of victims, there are critical circumstances”.
Issues modified after the case of the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice (ICJ) was filed by South Africa in December. The ICC prosecutor then agreed to satisfy Sourani’s organisation, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.
The case within the Hague-based courtroom did not look good for Khan, in keeping with the Palestinian lawyer, as a result of ”years earlier than he was requested to do one thing and he did nothing.” If motion had been taken earlier, ”maybe there could be some form of deterrence,” Sourani warned.
The ICJ heard the primary arguments of the genocide case towards Israel this month, with South Africa looking for provisional measures, together with a ceasefire.
”On 11 January, South Africa made historical past,” Sourani mentioned.
”Our drawback was discovering a state or states [that wanted to launch a case at the UN’s top court] … We had been fortunate that day that they agreed to take the case”.
”South Africa means loads. It means the individuals who defeated the apartheid. The individuals to whom Nelson Mandela mentioned [of] South Africa would by no means be free till Palestinians are free.”
Sourani hopes the courtroom will grant provisional measures to cease the conflict in a ruling anticipated on Friday (26 January). ”There’s a want for immediate humanitarian support,” he warned.
When requested what Europe can do to deliver peace to this battle, Sourani mentioned: ”We do not need from Europe greater than supporting the rule of regulation”.
By saying that Israel has the appropriate to defend itself, Europe ”gave the political authorized cowl for Israel to do what’s doing till now,” he mentioned. ”The picture of Europe [is] destroyed within the area”.
”Selectivity and politicisation of worldwide regulation. That is the worst,” he added, arguing that Europe is ”complicit” in what is occurring at this time in Gaza and that this all ”exhibits [some] form of racism and colonialism.”
’Proper aspect of historical past’
The present state of affairs in Gaza is ”unprecedented,” the 70-year-old lawyer says. With many of the metropolis destroyed because of relentless Israeli bombings, he acknowledges that ”there isn’t a Gaza anymore”.
On 7 October, Hamas killed some 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped round 200 others. In response, Israel has killed over 24,000 Palestinians in Gaza and over 300 within the West Financial institution.
”That is the most important artifical disaster,” Sourani mentioned, as he identified that one-third of the estimated 16,000 individuals injured may also in all probability die as a result of there are ”no medicines” and ”no hospital to go to”.
In the meantime, half of Gaza’s inhabitants is going through hunger, in keeping with the UN.
About 80 % of the inhabitants is now concentrated in Al-Mawasi and Rafah, and plenty of of them reside on the streets and below depressing circumstances, Sourani mentioned.
”There is no such thing as a protected haven [in Gaza], both within the North or the South,” he warned, declaring that injustices create rage and anger.
”What is occurring in Gaza is unforgettable”.
”We wish an finish to the struggling of individuals,” he additionally mentioned, arguing that he holds ”strategic optimism” in his coronary heart and thoughts that this can be doable below the two-state resolution.
”We’re on the appropriate aspect of historical past”.