In recent hostilities, first in the Gaza Strip and now in Lebanon, the Israeli military has adopted a new modus operandi: issuing blanket relocation directives instructing millions of people to indefinitely leave their places of residence. The apparent objective is to enable Israel to engage an enemy embedded in densely populated civilian areas while ostensibly respecting its obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL), including the obligation to direct operations only against military objectives, to refrain from attacks expected to cause excessive incidental civilian harm, and to implement precautions in attack. 

Our presentation will critically appraise this practice through an analysis of the prohibition on forcible displacement and its relationship with the IHL rules on the conduct of hostilities. The conclusion we will seek to defend is that the mass displacements in question misappropriate humanitarian principles and in fact violate IHL. 

Chair: Dr Maria Varaki

About the speakers

• Dr Eitan Diamond is Manager and Senior Legal Expert at the IHL Centre, overseeing its work on the Israel-Palestine context. He also serves on the boards of the Israeli NGOs Gisha, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and Parents Against Child Detention, as well as on the Editorial Board of the Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies. In addition, he pursues independent legal research.
• Dr Ellen Nohle serves as a Senior Legal Advisor and Legal Research Specialist at the International Humanitarian Law Centre, focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian context. She previously worked as a Swedish diplomat and legal advisor for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Her publications focus primarily on the legal regulation of violence in international law.