Since the release process will be lengthy, it is important that Israel insist that as a first step in any settlement Hamas hands over a complete list of the abductees and martyrs in its hands, with an up-to-date sign of life.
Documentation: The abductees are transferred from Hamas to the Red Cross (archive) |
Arab networks
The kidnapping of civilians and soldiers by Hamas constitutes a war crime of hostage-taking, because the organization uses the hostages to force Israel to take certain actions or to refrain from them as a condition, express or implied, for the hostages' safety or release.
However, on an even more serious level, of a crime against humanity, there is enforced disappearance, which is a kidnapping accompanied by a refusal to admit it and a refusal to provide information about the fate and whereabouts of the abductee.
The goal is to remove abductees from the protection of the law, and as part of a systematic and wide-ranging plan aimed at the civilian population.
The families of the abductees at the Gaza border, photo: Headquarters of the families
A careful analysis of Hamas's conduct regarding the abductees points to its responsibility for the crime against humanity of the forced girl. Some will ask: What good will defining Hamas' actions as war crimes or crimes against humanity do?
The fact that he must release the abductees immediately and unconditionally (as even the International Court of Justice has called for him to do) does not make much of an impression on the murderous terrorist organization.
However, when it comes to serious international crimes, such as taking hostages and forced disappearances, international law imposes an obligation on all countries of the world to act to stop the crime.
This obligation applies to the mediators in the settlement, Qatar and Egypt, and to any country that has a connection and the ability to influence Hamas (for example, South Africa).
Israel must press all the relevant parties to obtain full details of the abductees - and immediately.
The importance of receiving this information cannot be overstated.
Nohva terrorists on October 7.
, photo: GettyImages
First, this will ease the ongoing torture of the families of the abductees due to the uncertainty regarding the fate of their loved one.
Secondly, this will make it difficult for Hamas to disappear some of the abductees at a later stage and claim that they were never in their hands.
Since Hamas and Islamic Jihad, on their own initiative, publish from time to time videos documenting abductees and include an indication of their up-to-dateness, they cannot claim that full delivery of this information is impractical or endangers their continued possession of the abductees.
The mere continuation of the possession of the abductees is terrible enough.
Do not put up with the continuation of their forced disappearance.
Col. (Res.) Dr. Liron Liebman is a lawyer, mediator and lecturer from abroad at Sapir College. Former head of the International Law Department in the IDF and the military prosecutor
Were we wrong?
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us