VICTIMHOOD AND PERPETRATION IN GAZA: CONTEXTUALIZING ISRAEL'S WAR CRIMES DURING OPERATION CAST LEAD

John F. Engers, Santa Clara University

Abstract

Between December of 2008 and January of 2009, the streets and buildings of the Gaza strip appeared less like a city and more like the ghostly ruins of an urban battle zone. Three weeks of rocket and mortar fire, incendiary chemicals, and aerial bombardments had decimated the infrastructure and left thousands of civilians dead or injured. The destruction was the result of Israel’s “Operation Cast Lead,” which was purported to be a defensive response to Hamas’ rocket fire directed at the civilian infrastructure of Southern Israel. Soon following the conclusion of the operation, the international community began to voice concerns as to the legality of its execution under International Humanitarian Law (IHL). This paper analyzes the United Nations’ response to the international outcry following Operation Cast Lead, and attempts to elucidate the ways in which that response both succeeded and failed.