International (In)Justice and Palestine

Abstract

In the bleakest days of apartheid in South Africa one could always turn to the international community and its institutions for support. There were international standards and norms that apartheid violated and the international community was not afraid to assert such standards and to condemn South Africa for violating them. The West led the way in this condemnation of apartheid. But it is not so with Palestine. Despite the fact that the violation of international legal norms is much clearer in the case of Israel’s relations with Palestine, the response of the international community’s institutions (as contrasted with that of civil society) has been very different. This is particularly apparent in the response to the wall Israel is presently constructing in Palestinian territory, the invasion of Gaza in 2008/2009 and the attack on the high seas on the humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza in May 2010.

Professor of International Law, University of Pretoria and Leiden University. Former Special Rapporteur to the UN Human Rights Council on the Human Rights Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.