Military Support for Israel Violates International Law: HRW

Geneva, MINA – The head of Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday that “states supplying weapons to Israel as it pursues conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon despite evidence of violations of international law are empowering belligerents elsewhere.”

Tirana Hassan, HRW’s Executive Director, said that countries like the United States, Germany and Britain could influence Israel’s actions and should do so by ending arms sales.

“If there continues to be military support to the Israeli Defense Force and they (Western governments) know that these weapons are being used in the commission of war crimes, then that should be enough for weapons sales and transfers to stop,” she told Reuters in an interview, as quoted by Palinfo.

“At this stage, the parties that could have some sort of influence and curb the behavior of the warring parties, when it comes to Israel, it’s the U.S, it’s the UK, and it’s Germany, and it’s through weapons sales and transfers.”

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Hassan said that when states which abused rights saw there were no consequences, they felt emboldened to continue.

Governments supplying them with weapons were undermining their own credibility as defenders of international law and human rights as well as the credibility of the international system, she said.

“It sends a message that these rules apply differently to us and our allies as they do to others, and that has really serious consequences,” she said.

This contradiction when Western countries were demanding accountability for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was being exploited by countries like Russia and China, she said.

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“They are very quick to point out double standards from the West and are trying to use that to undermine the system.”

Hassan’s media statements came as the UN rights office released a report on the death toll in the Israel-Hamas Gaza war, where it said nearly 70% of verified fatalities were women and children.

“This should now motivate the world into action. There is really no justification for the killing of children,” Hassan said. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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