{"id":12156,"date":"2023-11-14T12:01:42","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T18:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sensorialsunsets.com\/?p=12156"},"modified":"2023-11-27T14:25:22","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T20:25:22","slug":"gaza-israel-some-notes-on-bolivias-announcement-of-severing-diplomatic-relations-with-israel-and-the-recall-of-ambassadors-for-consultations-by-chile-colombia-and-honduras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sensorialsunsets.com\/en\/gaza-israel-some-notes-on-bolivias-announcement-of-severing-diplomatic-relations-with-israel-and-the-recall-of-ambassadors-for-consultations-by-chile-colombia-and-honduras\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza \/ Israel: Some Notes On Bolivia’s Announcement Of Severing Diplomatic Relations With Israel And The Recall Of Ambassadors For Consultations By Chile, Colombia And Honduras."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Follow closely the situation in Gaza and Israel thanks to the international law professor, Nicolas Boeglin.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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GI<\/h3>\n\n

On October 31, 2023, Bolivia formally announced the severance of its diplomatic relations with Israel, in view of the human drama to which the Palestinian civilian population has been subjected by Israel since the afternoon\/evening of October 7, 2023.<\/p>\n\n

It is an intense bombing campaign on an area with one of the highest population densities in the world, which has already caused, since October 7, the death of more than 9,000 people in Gaza, of which more than 3,700 are children and more than 2,300 are women. <\/p>\n\n

The latest count (as of November 12<\/strong>) of fatalities and injuries in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank by a United Nations agency is available in detail at this link<\/a> and reports that most of the fatalities are children and women:<\/p>\n\n

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The Palestinian fatality toll in Gaza as of 10 November at 14:00 (latest update provided) stood at 11,078, of whom 4,506 were said to be children and 3,027 women. About 2,700 others, including some 1,500 children, have been reported missing and may be trapped or dead under the rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery. Another 27,490 Palestinians have reportedly been injured.<\/em> \/\/ No fatalities among Israeli soldiers operating in Gaza have been reported over the past 24 hours. The total number of soldiers killed since the start of ground operations stands at 47, according to Israeli official sources”.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

GI<\/h3>\n\n

About 10 days earlier, in the same count as of November 2<\/strong>, available in detail at this link<\/a>, it was indicated that:<\/p>\n\n

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Since 7 October, 9,061 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 3,760 children and 2,326 women, and about 22,911 have been injured, according to the MoH in Gaza. <\/em>\/\/ Rescue teams, primarily from the Palestinian Civil Defense, are struggling to carry out their missions, amid continuous airstrikes, severe shortage of fuel to run vehicles and equipment. This is particularly concerning as thousands are estimated to be trapped under rubble. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced that, due to the lack of fuel, it had been forced to reduce the number of ambulances it operates. <\/em>\/\/ According to the MoH in Gaza, over two thirds of the fatalities were killed in their homes. Relatedly, as of 26 October, a total of 192 Palestinian families had lost ten or more of their members, 136 Palestinian families had lost six to nine members, and 444 families had lost two to five of their members, the Ministry says<\/em>“.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

It should be noted that, of the more than 27,000 wounded Palestinians, many of them are seriously wounded and are lying in hospitals or partially destroyed shelters in extremely critical conditions, without sufficient water, food, medical care, medicines or sufficient energy flow to feed some hospitals, as will be detailed below.<\/p>\n\n

Outrage was further heightened on October 31 with Israel’s deliberate shelling of the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, (see\u00a0note<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Lib\u00e9ration<\/em>)which clearly qualifies as a war crime. A second bombing was observed at the same site on November 1 (see note<\/a>\u00a0from El Independiente), causing even greater outrage. In the first, Israel claimed, through its army spokesman, to have carried out this operation to physically eliminate a single Hamas fighter. <\/p>\n\n

On October 30, the only Turkish-funded cancer hospital in Gaza was bombed, prompting an immediate reaction from Turkey (see official statement<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n

Parallel to the drama in Gaza, violence in the West Bank has escalated since October 7 between Palestinians and Israeli settlers, with more than 130 Palestinian deaths, including more than 40 children, victims of Israeli security forces and settlers (see official statement<\/a> of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of 3\/11\/2023).<\/p>\n

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\"Follow
Vigil in memory of the Palestinian victims in Gaza, organized in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica on the afternoon\/evening of November 2, 2023. Photo courtesy of the Palestine Solidarity Network \/ Costa Rica<\/a>..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Brief Notes From A Public International Law Perspective<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

From a legal perspective, and in particular that of public international law, it is clear that international humanitarian law is fully applicable to the situation in Gaza since the evening\/night of October 7, and that both sides must respect its rules when carrying out their military operations. One in particular, which is to clearly discriminate, in their operations, between military targets and the civilian population.<\/p>\n\n

Recently, a notorious number of professors of public international law and foreign relations in Spain have circulated a collective letter (see full text<\/a>), which has been joined by several Latin American academics, demanding respect for these rules of international humanitarian law. <\/p>\n\n

In points 6 and 7 it is indicated that:<\/p>\n\n

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6.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Los ataques cometidos por Ham\u00e1s el 7 de octubre contra civiles israel\u00edes, como el asesinato, la mutilaci\u00f3n y la toma de rehenes constituyen graves violaciones del Derecho internacional que podr\u00edan ser calificados como cr\u00edmenes de guerra o cr\u00edmenes contra la humanidad. Sus autores, que tienen la obligaci\u00f3n de cesar inmediatamente en su comportamiento il\u00edcito, liberando sanas y salvas a las personas secuestradas, deber\u00edan ser perseguidos y juzgados por un tribunal competente”.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

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7.<\/em><\/strong> La comisi\u00f3n de graves violaciones del Derecho internacional no justifica una respuesta armada que a su vez incumpla este Derecho. Dicho de otro modo, los actos terroristas de Hamas no justifican los cr\u00edmenes posteriores del Estado de Israel. Ante los graves cr\u00edmenes perpetrados por Hamas, Israel tiene, seg\u00fan la Carta de las Naciones Unidas (art. 51), el derecho inmanente de leg\u00edtima defensa, esto es, el derecho a usar la fuerza necesaria para repeler un ataque armado actual o inminente, mientras dure el ataque, y mediante los medios proporcionados para repelerlo. Pero la leg\u00edtima defensa no lleva aparejado el derecho a las represalias armadas. Estas constituyen un uso il\u00edcito de la fuerza, y son contrarias al Derecho internacional, tal como establece, en su interpretaci\u00f3n de los principios b\u00e1sicos de la Carta de las Naciones Unidas, la Declaraci\u00f3n 2625 (XXV) de su Asamblea General. De este modo, las acciones armadas de car\u00e1cter punitivo (los “castigos colectivos”) son ilegales, y acarrean responsabilidad internacional para el Estado que las lleva a cabo. Debe respetarse el Derecho internacional humanitario \u2013incluidos los Convenios de Ginebra\u2013 e Israel tiene la obligaci\u00f3n de cesar inmediatamente esas acciones de represalia contra la poblaci\u00f3n civil palestina<\/em>“.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

GI<\/h3>\n\n

On the other hand, in points 10 and 11 of this collective letter (whose complete reading, as well as its re-reading, we recommend), it is pointed out that:<\/p>\n\n

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10.<\/strong>\u00a0Desde el inicio del ataque a Gaza, las declaraciones de las autoridades pol\u00edticas y militares israel\u00edes indican sin ambages una intenci\u00f3n de no sentirse obligados por los principios fundamentales del Derecho internacional y una intenci\u00f3n de aplicar un castigo colectivo y de crear expresamente una crisis humanitaria. Los ataques armados indiscriminados y a gran escala contra la poblaci\u00f3n civil son contrarios a los derechos humanos y al Derecho internacional humanitario y generan responsabilidad para Israel y, adem\u00e1s, responsabilidad penal individual para sus autores y para quienes hayan ordenado su comisi\u00f3n. Israel tiene la obligaci\u00f3n de ponerles fin inmediatamente”.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

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11.<\/strong>\u00a0No solo las partes en este conflicto deben respetar las normas internacionales protectoras de los derechos humanos y el Derecho internacional humanitario en todo momento y en toda circunstancia. El resto de los Estados, como Parte de los Convenios de Ginebra, tienen el deber de hacer cumplir estas normas en toda circunstancia. En este sentido, deber\u00edan utilizar su influencia para que cesen las infracciones del Derecho internacional humanitario y abstenerse de alentar la comisi\u00f3n de m\u00e1s infracciones de este Derecho por las partes en el conflicto”.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

In the same sense, the Spanish Association for the Application of International Human Rights Law (AEDIDH) had pronounced earlier, also from Spain, in a communiqu\u00e9<\/a> whose reading is recommended, recalling that the similar Israeli military offensive in Gaza in 2014 by Israel is already of interest to a specific branch of public international law: international criminal law. On this last aspect, we had at the time the opportunity to analyze a decision of February 4, 2021 of a Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) authorizing the Office of the Prosecutor to carry out investigations in all Palestinian territories, without exception of any kind: a decision, as has become customary, little publicized in some international media (Note 1<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n

GI<\/h3>\n\n

Returning to the human tragedy that has been unfolding in Gaza since October 7, we thank our esteemed readers for sending us similar pronouncements from associations of professors of international law, as well as from similar human rights organizations, extremely cautious and cautious in Latin America and in some other latitudes, despite the images of what is happening to the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n

In the particular case of the United States, the American Journal of International Law<\/em>(ASIL) issued a statement on October 13 condemning the Hamas attack (see\u00a0full text<\/a>) from the perspective of international law. After this statement, he has chosen not to refer any more to what is happening in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n

By contrast, in Ireland, in a collective appeal by professors calling on Irish universities to suspend sine die<\/em> their relations with Israeli entities (see\u00a0letter<\/a>\u00a0con fecha del 4\/11\/2023), it reads that:<\/p>\n\n

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We call on all universities in Ireland to immediately sever any existing institutional partnerships or affiliations with Israeli institutions. Those ties should be suspended until the occupation of Palestinian territory is ended, the Palestinian rights to equality and self-determination are vindicated, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return is facilitated<\/em>“.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Bolivia’s Communiqu\u00e9 Shortly<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

The official communiqu\u00e9 issued by the Bolivian diplomacy (see text<\/a>) reads: <\/p>\n\n

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[…] consecuente con los prop\u00f3sitos y principios de la Carta de las Naciones Unidas, los derechos a la vida, la libertad, la paz, el rechazo a todo tipo de tratos crueles, inhumanos o degradantes, establecidos en la Declaraci\u00f3n Universal de los Derechos Humanos, el Derecho Internacional, as\u00ed como en el Derecho Internacional Humanitario, y en el marco de su posici\u00f3n principista de respeto a la vida, estamos remitiendo una comunicaci\u00f3n oficial al Estado de Israel, en la cual se hace conocer la decisi\u00f3n del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia de romper relaciones diplom\u00e1ticas con ese pa\u00eds\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

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Exigimos el cese de los ataques en la Franja de Gaza que han provocado, hasta ahora, miles de v\u00edctimas fatales civiles y el desplazamiento forzado de palestinos; as\u00ed como el cese al bloqueo que impide la entrada de alimentos, agua y otros elementos esenciales para la vida, violando el Derecho Internacional y el Derecho Internacional Humanitario en el tratamiento de la poblaci\u00f3n civil en conflictos armados<\/em>“.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

It should be noted that diplomatic relations between Bolivia and Israel were formally reestablished in November 2019. It should also be recalled that, on the occasion of the Israeli military ground offensive in Gaza in July 2014, several Latin American States had similarly reacted to the disproportionate and indiscriminate nature of Israel’s attacks against the civilian population of Gaza (see BBC article<\/a>). On that occasion, we had the opportunity to write that:<\/p>\n\n

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Un estudio pormenoriza las declaraciones y manifestaciones de los distintos jefes de Estados de Am\u00e9rica Latina a la violencia de la ofensiva militar desplegada por Israel, incluyendo el uso del calificativo de \u201cgenocidio\u201d por parte del presidente del Uruguay, el de \u201cmasacre\u201d por parte de la presidenta de Brasil y las ambig\u00fcedades de la posici\u00f3n adoptada por las autoridades de Costa Rica. En un comunicado oficial, la canciller\u00eda del Uruguay, encabezada por Luis Almagro (hoy secretario general de la Organizaci\u00f3n de Estados Americanos \u2013OEA-), no dud\u00f3 en calificar de \u201ccrimen de guerra\u201d la matanza de civiles palestinos, en agosto del 2014<\/em>“.<\/p>\nNote 2<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n

GI<\/h3>\n\n

In August of this same year 2014, Ecuador announced that its president was canceling a planned official visit to Israel, after recalling its ambassador to Israel for consultation the previous month (see note<\/a> from the BBC August 2014).<\/p>\n\n

It is also worth recalling that, in the Americas, Nicaragua broke off diplomatic relations with Israel in 2010, following Israel’s attack on a humanitarian flotilla (see\u00a0press release<\/a>\u00a0from LaPrensa, June 2010), while Cuba has not had relations with Israel since 1967. Venezuela severed diplomatic relations with Israel in January 2009, following the dramatic military offensive in Israel observed between December 2008 and January 2009 (see\u00a0press release<\/a>\u00a0from El Pais\/Spain). Like Venezuela in 2009, Bolivia also broke off diplomatic relations with Israel and officially resumed them a few years ago, at the end of November 2019 (see\u00a0press release<\/a>\u00a0from 2019 of the Turkish news agency TRT).<\/p>\n\n

The conclusions of the report issued by the Commission of Inquiry (created within the United Nations – Human Rights Council – in relation to the Israeli offensive carried out between December 2008 and January 2009) continue to be a constant source of concern, particularly in light of what has been happening in Gaza since October 7 (Note 3<\/strong>). Similarly, in 2014, a commission of inquiry was created within this same Human Rights Council on July 23, 2014, with a voting board in Geneva recording a single red vote against: that of the United States (Note 4<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n

A Strange Feeling Of “D\u00e9j\u00e0 Vu”<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

In this regard, it should be noted that, in the past, military offensives in Gaza officially carried out by Israel to also “eliminate Hamas terrorists<\/em>” have shown dramatic deadly results for the Palestinian civilian population, very little reported in some international media:<\/p>\n\n