Introduction
On August 19th, 2024, World Humanitarian Day, the UN revealed itself deeply concerned about the “unacceptable levels” of violence against humanitarian workers registered in the past year (Le Monde, 2024). Indeed, a new record of 280 workers killed and 224 wounded was reached in 2023 – compared to 180 and 191, respectively, averaged between 2019 and 2022 (AWSD, 2024). Of these, 163 casualties were registered in Gaza alone (AWSD, 2024). As the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs envisions even higher numbers for 2024, the leaders of various humanitarian organisations and UN agencies demand the end of this “era of impunity” (Le Monde, 2024).
Aid workers, meaning employees and personnel of non-profit aid groups that provide material and/or technical assistance in humanitarian contexts (AWSD, 2024), are safeguarded under International Humanitarian Law as Specifically Protected Persons. Such principle is enshrined under the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their additional protocols (specifically Article 71 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I), as well as within UN Security Council Resolutions (n. 2175 of 2014, n. 2286 of 2016) and various UN and State initiatives (Norwegian Refugee Council, 2024). Similar norms, found in Article 79 of the 1977 Additional Protocol, apply to journalists and media professionals, who shall be considered as civilians as long as they don’t take direct part in hostilities.
By bringing as examples some renowned international cases, this article aims to give a brief overview of the treatment that has been reserved for aid workers, journalists, and activists in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (“the OPT”) throughout the past decades. Without undermining the importance of Palestinian casualties (as locals are often the first and most numerous workers in the field), the following international victims illustrate more than others the degree of impunity that Israel retains vis à vis international laws and common state practices.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, and those before her
In Didim, a coastal Turkish town in the province of Aydın, people have gathered by the thousands to mourn Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank on September 6, 2024 (Al Jazeera, 2024).
During the funeral, strict security measures were in place as high government officials attended: political representatives, along with Eygi’s parents, asked for justice to be done (Al Jazeera, 2024). On Saturday, Türkiye’s Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş denounced the event, affirming that responsibility “lies with Israel and its supporters,” while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan promised to ensure that “Ayşenur Ezgi’s death does not go unpunished” (Al Jazeera, 2024).
Before she was killed, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi had been in the West Bank for only a few days, training as a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) to oppose Israel’s illegal settlements (Al Jazeera, 2024). Along with other activists, she had been assigned to a protest in Beita, where weekly demonstrations take place against the Evyatar colony: this settlement, previously unauthorised by the Israeli State, had been legalised earlier this year (Schmitz, 2024).
Against this backdrop, according to witnesses, Israeli soldiers initiated the conflict by using tear gas and shooting at the demonstrators, who defended themselves by throwing stones. In the meantime, the ISM volunteers – including Eygi – retreated and sheltered, ending up physically overlooked by the armed soldiers. As reported by activist Jonathan Pollak, after 20 minutes, two shots were fired: one wounded a Palestinian boy, and one killed Ayşenur (Al Jazeera, 2024).
On September 10th, the Israeli army released a statement observing that it was “highly likely that she [Eygi] was hit indirectly and unintentionally” by Israeli fire “which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot” (Al Jazeera, 2024).
Despite Ayşenur’s parents’ requests, the US – albeit “deeply disturbed” by the killing of its citizen – has decided not to pursue an independent investigation and has asked Israel to provide “full accountability” for the activist’s death. Chris Van Hollen, US Senator, underlines that Eygi is the third American citizen to be killed in the West Bank since October 7th and condemns the Biden administration for “not doing enough to pursue justice and accountability on their behalf” (Al Jazeera, 2024).
Yet, a fate like Eygi’s is not uncommon in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Since October 7th, Israel has killed more than forty thousand Palestinians and injured at least ninety-five thousand (AJLabs, 2024). Outside of the Gaza Strip, violence and human rights violations have also increased, amounting to at least 703 Palestinian casualties at the hands of Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank alone (Middle East Eye, 2024).
Like Eygi, aid workers, international volunteers, and media personnel, both in Gaza and the West Bank, are not safe either.
It was 2022 when an Israeli sniper shot and killed US-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh while her team was covering a raid in Jenin, West Bank (Al Jazeera, 2024). As mentioned, journalists – like aid workers – are protected under International Humanitarian Law. Although, even then, the Israeli army alluded to an “accidental hit” and manifested absolutely no intention to punish the perpetrators. Despite several independent investigations – yet not one from the US – the murder of the Al Jazeera journalist has gone unpunished (Reporters Without Borders, 2024).
ISM, the organisation under which Eygi was conducting her training, was the same one Rachel Corrie was part of. The 23-year-old American activist, now a symbol of peace and resistance, was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003 for peacefully protecting a Palestinian home near Rafah (Rachel Corrie Foundation, 2024).
In February 2015, Israel’s Supreme Court accepted the army’s claim that Corrie was killed during a military operation aimed at uncovering armed groups’ tunnels in the area. By recognizing this status of “wartime activity,” the Israeli Defence Ministry was hence exempted from any liability (Human Rights Watch, 2015). As Sarah Leah Whitson, former director of the Middle East and Near Asia division of Human Rights Watch, points out, the ruling “sends the message that Israeli forces have immunity even for deaths caused by alleged negligence” (Human Rights Watch, 2015; Amnesty International, 2012).
Despite international outrage and criticism from many international organisations, since Corrie’s trial, Israel has only broadened its immunity to tort liability for its armed forces’ wrongdoings (Human Rights Watch, 2015).
More recently, in July 2024, ISM volunteers were helping farmers tend to their olive grove near Qusra, south of Nablus, when a group of ten settlers violently attacked them: they threw stones, struck a German national in the face with a metal pipe, and severely beat two other American volunteers with batons. When Israeli soldiers arrived, they rejected help from police forces, and – according to the volunteers – they did not make any arrests (TRTWorld, 2024).
Similarly – despite the situation in Gaza being exceptionally dire due to the ongoing military operation – already in the early 2000s, aid workers and volunteers faced important challenges in the Strip.
The writings of Vittorio Arrigoni (also known as Vik) – an Italian activist and journalist who was in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009 – sparked discussions in Italy and all over Europe. For years, he documented Israel’s abuses against both Palestinians and internationals; because of his work, one time, he was held and beaten up by Israeli forces at the border with Jordan; another time, while trying to reach the International Nonviolence Conference, he was again arrested, harmed, and expelled from the region (Traversa, 2024). Arrigoni was then killed in 2011 in the Gaza Strip by a Jihadist Salafi formation (albeit the killers have later dismissed their affiliation to the group) and remains, to this day, a symbol of humanity and solidarity.
Additionally, this year, in April, seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen were killed in the Gaza Strip by an Israeli strike: they held various citizenships, including British, Polish, Australian, Palestinian, and dual US-Canadian. Once more, the hit was described by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “tragic and unintentional” (Khalil, Abualouf, 2024).
Conclusions
Although disturbing, these stories are an incredibly minimal percentage compared to the thousands of Palestinians who face and endure detention, harm, and death daily. Yet, they show the utmost impunity of Israel vis à vis abuses and crimes specifically directed at those trying to divulge the truth and aid the Palestinian people.
Foreign presidents, ministers, and politicians keep on denouncing the loss of their citizens without truly committing to seeking justice for them: as seen, arrests are often not made, investigations are approximative, and trials remain arbitrary.
As with all other parts of the conflict, Israel is required to respect the distinction between combatants and civilians and especially avoid deliberate attacks on Specifically Protected Persons. If and when such principles were disregarded – especially against one’s nationals – the international community has a duty to denounce unlawful actions, request investigations, and promote accountability measures both in the interest of those directly affected, the overall respect of International Humanitarian Law and the durability of humanitarian operations in times of conflict.
Instead, since October 7th, Israel has killed almost 42 thousand people between Gaza and the West Bank, mostly unarmed civilians. Women, children, and the elderly are accompanied by numerous aid workers and journalists unlawfully attacked and often murdered (Al Jazeera, 2024). As of September 2024, 138 aid workers have been killed and 28 wounded (AWSD, 2024). Meanwhile, 114 journalists were confirmed dead and 35 injured (CPJ, 2024). Despite these numbers, Israel’s military operations do not seem to be drawing to a close.
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