Gaza In the Balance of Law

The Faculty of Law and Political Science at Beirut Arab University held a legal seminar entitled "Gaza.. in the Balance of Law ". The Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science, Professor Mohammad Kassem, Professor Mohamed Walid Abdel Rahim, and the Lawyer Cinderella  Merhej participated in the seminar.
The Secretary-General of Beirut Arab University, Dr. Omar Houri, a Representative from the Palestinian Embassy in Beirut, Ms. Faiza Abdel Rahim, faculty members and a crowd of jurists, journalists and university students also attended the seminar.
The seminar started with a speech by the Faculty Dean about a statement of a Jewish rabbi, in which he explicitly authorized the rape of women by Israeli occupation army soldiers and proclaimed that children should be killed.
He continued: “This is their faith and their intention to displace or exterminate the people of the Gaza Strip has been clear and public since the beginning, so this kind of seminars has to be held away from politics in order to examine international legal frameworks, and where it can reach."
Walid Abdel Rahim refuted "Israel's violations of international humanitarian law and the facts that have contributed to shaping the general situation of Palestinians in general, and the people of Gaza Strip in particular, the repeated Israeli terrorism since the beginning of the twentieth century especially since 1948, a comprehensive and complete blockade of the Gaza Strip and indiscriminate shelling of civilians, the use of internationally prohibited weapons against civilians, as well as the forced displacement of more than 1.6 million Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip, bombing of hospitals and houses of worship, and the targeting of journalists, led to the unstable situation in the Gaza Strip ".
Abdel Rahim continued: “Isrel's conduct is a grave violation of international humanitarian law, and in its war against Gaza Israel has used the prohibited methods and means of use in its military operations, violating the fundamental norms and principles underlying international humanitarian law. For this reason, Israel shall take responsibility for its actions and attitudes against Gaza and shall be referred to the International Court of Justice."
Lawyer Cinderella Merhej then explained that “the criminal responsibility of Israeli officials and the crimes committed in Gaza, and the existing armed conflict is an international conflict which applies on it the effects of the law of war and the four Geneva Conventions and Protocols thereto.”
Merhej also mentioned: “Many facts illustrate Israel's extremist behaviour against the people of Gaza Strip, all of which put us before the reality of Israel's intention to genocide. The Israeli response to Israel – Gaza war and the repeated targeting of civilians without achieving the objectives of war, genocide and other facts places Israel before war crimes and crimes against humanity. "

The Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science, Professor Mohammed Kassem, concluded the seminar by reiterating what President Jamal Abdel Nasser said: “What was taken by force, can only be restored by force”, noting that “power has multiple manifestations of knowledge, weapon, faith, and many more.” At the end, questions and discussions took place among attendees and panellists.