THE HAGUE/ISTANBUL

International law experts say US President Donald Trump’s plan to “take over” Gaza and forcibly remove Palestinians violates international law.

Experts told Anadolu that Trump's proposal to expel Palestinians and place Gaza under US control continues a systematic policy of displacement dating back to 1948, and constitutes a war crime under the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute.

'Palestinians have right to return'

John Quigley, professor of law at Ohio State University in the US, said most Gazans are descendants of Palestinians expelled from their homes in 1948 and therefore have a right to return.

"The people in Gaza are in a rather strange legal position. Most of them are in families of people who were expelled from their home areas in Palestine in 1948. This would be the bulk of the population of the Gaza Strip.

"Those people have a right to return to their home areas in Palestine. That is now territory that has been taken by Israel since 1948," he said.

Quigley said Trump's proposal is clearly unlawful.

"That would clearly be unlawful for the United States to insert itself on the ground in Gaza without the consent of the Palestinian people. It is their territory.

"They have a right to determine who would come in. I mean no European state could have its territory or part of its territory taken over by an outside party without consent. And that is essentially what Mr. Trump is suggesting the United States might do."

He also noted that similar rhetoric has been used by Israeli ministers before.

"It's rather strange after genocide has been committed against a population to say that the way to deal with the resulting circumstance is to remove all the people.

"So Mr. Trump would obviously not acknowledge that genocide has been committed, but that is the factual situation.

"So when genocide is committed, there is an obligation of reparation to repair, to the extent possible, what has been done. And moving the people out of their territory is certainly not the way to do that. That is a further invasion of their rights."

'Forced displacement by itself is war crime'

Susan M. Akram, clinical professor at US' Boston University School of Law, said Trump’s plan violates multiple legal provisions.

"Forced displacement by itself is a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC):

"Forced displacement by itself is a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Articles 45 and 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibit forcible transfers of either individuals or groups, as well as deportations from occupied territories.”

"Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention makes unlawful deportations or transfers of protected persons (all civilians and those who are not in active combat, and occupied peoples) grave breaches. Grave breaches are war crimes, but also constitute elements of crimes against humanity and genocide."

'Ethnic cleansing is also war crime'

Akram said the Rome Statute clearly defines the displacement of civilians as a war crime.

"Article 8 of the Rome Statute is explicit in setting out the elements of the war crime of displacing civilians, and Art. 7 of the Rome Statute includes forcible transfer or deportation part of crimes against humanity," she said.

She also pointed to the legal responsibility of the US in international law.

"Complicity with genocide is a separate crime, and a violation of state responsibility under the Genocide Convention.

"The case brought by Nicaragua against Germany pending at the ICJ is precisely on this issue, but other states can be named, and individuals responsible for ordering genocidal acts can be included in cases at the ICC. Incitement to genocide -- which calling for population transfers would include -- are also prosecutable, both at the ICC and in domestic courts."

'Systematic policy since 1948'

Nijmeh Ali, a lecturer at New Zealand's University of Otago, said the policy of forced displacement could have serious legal consequences for both Israeli and American officials.

"US officials who provide military aid or diplomatic cover could be scrutinized under Article 25(3)(c) for aiding and abetting these crimes.

"Additionally, under universal jurisdiction, countries such as Belgium, Spain, and South Africa allow the prosecution of war crimes regardless of where they occur, meaning Israeli and U.S. officials could face arrest warrants in foreign courts," she said.

Ali noted that Israeli officials have openly supported Trump’s plan, as it aligns with previous statements by Israeli ministers and politicians advocating mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

"Israeli officials did not hide their support for Trump’s Plan in conducting mass displacement of the Palestinians in Gaza since it is aligned with previous statements made by Israeli ministers and politicians, particularly those made at the beginning of the war who have openly and with no ethical or legal boundaries, expressed intentions to empty Gaza and resettle it with Jewish settlements," she said.

Statements referring to "ethnic cleansing" and the permanent removal of Palestinians indicate these actions are not spontaneous but rather part of a broader policy, Ali added.

"Still, part of a broader project might be encapsulated with 'prosperity' and 'human matter,' as Trump presents it," she said, adding that for Palestinians, forced displacement has been an ongoing policy since 1948, leaving most of them refugees.

"In this context, the mass killing, destruction, and deliberate creation of unlivable conditions in Gaza could be interpreted as evidence of genocidal intent, as defined under international Law," she said.

A ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, following 15 months of Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed nearly 48,200 Palestinians and left the enclave in ruins.