The people’s verdict

In the face of the international legal and political systems’ paralyzing silence and utter failure to hold Israel accountable for its genocide in Gaza, international civil society has refused to stand idly by. Instead, it continues to forge a path, presenting essential working models for what true justice in Palestine must look like.

The latest, and arguably most critical, expression of this global conscience is the Gaza Tribunal. Its final session concluded in Istanbul on Sunday, October 26.

The Tribunal, launched in London in November 2024 and consciously modeled on the historic Russell Tribunal, has a mission to activate global civil society and provide a comprehensive ‘people’s record’ by rigorously documenting Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.

Its activities involved earlier hearings in Sarajevo and consolidating findings across three thematic chambers: International Law; International Relations and World Order; and History, Ethics, and Philosophy. The Istanbul session culminated with a Jury of Conscience issuing a powerful moral judgment that accused Israel of systematic exterminatory violence.

These civil society-led tribunals are held specifically to fill the ethical and legal void created by the international system’s failure to confront war crimes carried out by powerful states that are, by all appearances, practically immune from accountability.

In the case of Palestine, such initiatives are particularly critical. They contribute to a well-recorded indictment of Israeli war crimes, and of those who enable them through direct funding, the provision of weapons, or the blocking of any punitive actions at international institutions.

Though mechanisms exist through the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the International Criminal Court (ICC), the US government and other allies of Israel have consistently succeeded in blocking or at best obstructing the legal paths that could have stopped the war of extermination against Palestinians.

The Gaza Tribunal thus becomes a necessary platform for casting educated, evidence-based judgment – the very judgment that should have been adopted by the ICJ and enforced by the UNSC. Those behind these initiatives are well-experienced international law experts, academics, and well-regarded justice activists. They include renowned figures such as Dr Richard Falk, former UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine, and professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, who served as the Tribunal’s president.

In their ‘Final Findings and Moral Judgment’ statement, the panel of judges condemned the Israeli genocide, referencing its “holistic nature,” its “dehumanization of the people,” and its “sadistic character.”

Among other investigated crimes, the judges indicted and condemned Israel for the crimes of starvation and famine, domicide (the deliberate destruction of homes and shelter), ecocide (the systematic destruction of the environment and ecosystems), reprocide (the destruction of conditions for procreation and reproduction), and scholasticide (the systematic destruction of educational facilities, personnel, and the collective memory of a people).

The judges also condemned the killing of journalists, the very individuals attempting to document and expose the genocide, along with their families. “Silencing these journalists is instrumental to the concealment of the genocide and more journalists have been killed than in any other conflict,” the final statement starkly read.

The statement further condemned the prevalent use by Israel of torture, sexual violence, forced disappearances, and gender-based violence in detention, among a host of other egregious crimes.

Crucially, the final verdict directly assigned responsibility to powerful actors. The Tribunal found that “Western governments, particularly the United States and others,” have been complicit in the Israeli genocide and, in some cases, actively colluded with it.

The scope of complicity and collusion was not limited to state actors. It extended to media and academic institutions that, the Tribunal found, actively justify the Israeli crimes, silence the Palestinian voice, and provide wholesale condemnation of all Palestinians – a position entirely consistent with Israel’s own narrative.

The powerful indictment of Israel is not merely symbolic. Its practical value, however, depends entirely on our collective ability to leverage its findings. We must use this evidence to advance the many legal cases lodged against Israeli leaders, military officials, and individual soldiers.

The massive files, victim testimonies, expert analysis, and eyewitness accounts constitute a treasure trove for those committed to seeing Israeli war criminals punished for one of the worst crimes carried out against a civilian population in modern history.

It is critical to recognize that much of the ongoing legal proceedings concerning Gaza – at the ICJ, the ICC, and in various national courts – have been pioneered and sustained by civil society. These efforts are led by human rights groups, legal research organizations, and justice activists.

The Gaza Tribunal, therefore, is not an endpoint; it is a vital step on the path to justice and accountability. It has consciously built upon the work of past initiatives and now serves as a major, indispensable stepping stone for future action.

Unlike divine judgment, human justice is neither guaranteed nor inevitable; it is a fierce process. Its attainment rests entirely on the determination of those who fight for it and aspire to achieve it.

Excerpted: ‘Verdict from the People: Why the Gaza Tribunal is about Accountability, Not Symbolism’. Courtesy: Counterpunch.org