International Assoc. of Democratic Lawyers statement: Israel’s 2,500 acts of aggression against Lebanon

Israel refuses to comply with international law and U.N. resolutions. We recall here the New York Protocol issued by U.N. Security Council member states on September 25, calling for the implementation of Resolution 1701, a ceasefire, and Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, as well as the Security Council’s Resolution 2735, calling for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.

In its aggression, Israel commits serious crimes that violate international law, including:

• Crimes of aggression and crimes against peace as defined by art. 6c of the charter of the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg Charter) and U.N. General Assembly Resolution 3314 , and article 8 bis of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) constituting a violation of the U.N. Charter and a threat to international peace and security.
• Violations of Article 8 bis of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
• War crimes as described in Article 85 of Protocol I and Article 8 of the Rome Statute, as well as grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions as outlined in Article 85, paragraph 5, and customary rule 156.
• Acts of terrorism, as Israel’s targeting of civilians aims to spread fear, in violation of all international conventions on combating terrorism.
• Genocide under art. 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948 and Article 6 of the Rome Statute of the ICC.
• Crimes against humanity under art. 6c of the charter of the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg Charter) and Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the ICC, not only against the Lebanese and Palestinian people but against all humanity.

The Lebanese Democratic Lawyers strongly condemn Israel’s crimes and urgently call on the world – governments, international organizations, and human rights bodies – to:

1. Condemn Israel, impose sanctions, boycott it, sever diplomatic relations, and pressure it to stop its aggression and massacres against civilians in line with the Resolution adopted by the U.N. General Assembly at its 10th Emergency Special Session on September 13, 2024, and the Advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and from the illegality of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian territories.
2. Work towards expelling Israel from the U.N. and all international and regional organizations, including UNESCO and UNICEF.
3. Cooperating with South Africa, Venezuela, and other countries pursuing legal action against Israel and its officials before the relevant international courts by providing legal assistance and essential documents regarding the crimes committed against Lebanon and its civilian population.
4. Form delegations of lawyers to meet with the judiciary in each country, including bar associations, judges, and law professors, to demand legal condemnation of Israel and legal support for the Lebanese and Palestinian and Syrian people.
5. The Lebanese Democratic Lawyers affirm the right of peoples to self-determination and support the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation, racism, and colonialism. They salute the heroic resistance fighters and honor the martyrs who have fallen as a result of Israeli aggression on Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria, with a special tribute to the martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.