Joniversity | Gaza Blockade and Flotilla Legal Issues @Joniversity | Uploaded July 2010 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
We hear all the time that Israel broke international law when they boarded the Gaza flotilla ships in International waters... well did they? Prof. of law Ruth Lapidot explains...
Textual content of video:
Important to note:
- The situation between Israel and Hamas is Armed Conflict - this means that you can control ships going to Gaza even at high seas.
- The rules on blockades are still under international customary law, i.e. no international treaty
Definition of blockade:
- One state prohibits the entry and exit of both neutral and enemy ships and aircrafts to an area which is considered by this party to be an area subject to this blockade.
The sources of the law on blockade:
- Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law; - London Declaration concerning the Laws of Naval War; - Guides to Law of Naval Operations by leading countries; - San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea.
Conditions of blockade legality:
- Declare if and when you apply a blockade; - You have to apply and enforce the blockade; - You must not cut off the territorial sea of another state; - The blockade must apply to everybody. - Must permit passage of humanitarian assistance, BUT: the state that applied the blockade can decide when, where and through which port the aid will reach the coast AND A neutral organization/group can examine where the supplies go; - You may not starve the civilian population: In the 18 months prior to the Gaza flotilla, over one million tons of humanitarian supplies were delivered by Israel to the people of Gaza. In the first quarter of 2010 alone, Israel delivered 94,500 tons of supplies to Gaza. Including: - 40,000 tons of wheat -- which is equal to 53 million loaves of bread; - 2,760 tons of rice -- which equals 69 million servings; - 1,987 tons of clothes and footwear -- the equivalent weight of 3.6 million pairs of jeans; and - 553 tons of milk powder and baby food -- equivalent to over 3.1 million days of formula for an average six-month-old baby.
What can be done to ships disobeying the blockade?
In regards to merchant ships: You have the right to capture, visit, search and if the ship resists you can attack it; When can these rules be applied at high seas?; When the ship intents to break the blockade.
Links and more information:
The full talk by Ruth Lapidot:
youtube.com/watch?v=WSssIzsAdjI
Behind the Headlines: The Israeli humanitarian lifeline to Gaza:
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Behind+the+Headlines/Israeli_humanitarian_lifeline_Gaza_25-May-2010.htm
US Commander's Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations:
http://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/a9b8e92d-2c8d-4779-9925-0defea93325c/1-14M_(Jul_2007)_(NWP)
Customary international law
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customary_international_law
San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Remo_Manual_on_International_Law_Applicable_to_Armed_Conflicts_at_Sea
London Declaration concerning the Laws of Naval War
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Declaration_concerning_the_Laws_of_Naval_War
Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Declaration_Respecting_Maritime_Law
Prof. Ruth Lapidot bio:
http://law.huji.ac.il/eng/segel.asp?staff_id=33&cat=545
We hear all the time that Israel broke international law when they boarded the Gaza flotilla ships in International waters... well did they? Prof. of law Ruth Lapidot explains...
Textual content of video:
Important to note:
- The situation between Israel and Hamas is Armed Conflict - this means that you can control ships going to Gaza even at high seas.
- The rules on blockades are still under international customary law, i.e. no international treaty
Definition of blockade:
- One state prohibits the entry and exit of both neutral and enemy ships and aircrafts to an area which is considered by this party to be an area subject to this blockade.
The sources of the law on blockade:
- Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law; - London Declaration concerning the Laws of Naval War; - Guides to Law of Naval Operations by leading countries; - San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea.
Conditions of blockade legality:
- Declare if and when you apply a blockade; - You have to apply and enforce the blockade; - You must not cut off the territorial sea of another state; - The blockade must apply to everybody. - Must permit passage of humanitarian assistance, BUT: the state that applied the blockade can decide when, where and through which port the aid will reach the coast AND A neutral organization/group can examine where the supplies go; - You may not starve the civilian population: In the 18 months prior to the Gaza flotilla, over one million tons of humanitarian supplies were delivered by Israel to the people of Gaza. In the first quarter of 2010 alone, Israel delivered 94,500 tons of supplies to Gaza. Including: - 40,000 tons of wheat -- which is equal to 53 million loaves of bread; - 2,760 tons of rice -- which equals 69 million servings; - 1,987 tons of clothes and footwear -- the equivalent weight of 3.6 million pairs of jeans; and - 553 tons of milk powder and baby food -- equivalent to over 3.1 million days of formula for an average six-month-old baby.
What can be done to ships disobeying the blockade?
In regards to merchant ships: You have the right to capture, visit, search and if the ship resists you can attack it; When can these rules be applied at high seas?; When the ship intents to break the blockade.
Links and more information:
The full talk by Ruth Lapidot:
youtube.com/watch?v=WSssIzsAdjI
Behind the Headlines: The Israeli humanitarian lifeline to Gaza:
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Behind+the+Headlines/Israeli_humanitarian_lifeline_Gaza_25-May-2010.htm
US Commander's Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations:
http://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/a9b8e92d-2c8d-4779-9925-0defea93325c/1-14M_(Jul_2007)_(NWP)
Customary international law
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customary_international_law
San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Remo_Manual_on_International_Law_Applicable_to_Armed_Conflicts_at_Sea
London Declaration concerning the Laws of Naval War
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Declaration_concerning_the_Laws_of_Naval_War
Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Declaration_Respecting_Maritime_Law
Prof. Ruth Lapidot bio:
http://law.huji.ac.il/eng/segel.asp?staff_id=33&cat=545
