Email this article The Legality of the Israeli Naval Blockade of the Gaza Strip
Abstract
On 31 May 2010, Israeli naval forces boarded and seized the “Mavi Marmara”, the largest ship in an international aid flotilla which had sought to
breach the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. The incident sparked an international outcry and prompted debate regarding the legality of the Israeli naval blockade. The details concerning the subsequent investigations and findings were published in the Israeli Turkel Report dated 23 January 2011, the Turkish report dated 11 February 2011, and the UN Palmer Report which was provided to the UN Secretary General on 2 September 2011. The findings of the Turkel, Turkish, and UN Palmer Reports are not binding, and so it remains that to date the relevant legal issues have not been authoritatively determined.
This paper provides a detailed examination of the legality of the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Section 1 examines what a naval blockade is and identifies the applicable legal framework. Section 2 considers the development of the law concerning the naval blockade and establishes what it is today. Section 3 examines Israel’s compliance with the law of the blockade as stipulated by the San Remo Manual, for the most part. The findings of the Turkel, Turkish, and the UN Palmer Reports are also considered in detail. Finally, Section 3 briefly considers whether the naval blockade may be deemed illegal under other humanitarian law provisions.
breach the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. The incident sparked an international outcry and prompted debate regarding the legality of the Israeli naval blockade. The details concerning the subsequent investigations and findings were published in the Israeli Turkel Report dated 23 January 2011, the Turkish report dated 11 February 2011, and the UN Palmer Report which was provided to the UN Secretary General on 2 September 2011. The findings of the Turkel, Turkish, and UN Palmer Reports are not binding, and so it remains that to date the relevant legal issues have not been authoritatively determined.
This paper provides a detailed examination of the legality of the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Section 1 examines what a naval blockade is and identifies the applicable legal framework. Section 2 considers the development of the law concerning the naval blockade and establishes what it is today. Section 3 examines Israel’s compliance with the law of the blockade as stipulated by the San Remo Manual, for the most part. The findings of the Turkel, Turkish, and the UN Palmer Reports are also considered in detail. Finally, Section 3 briefly considers whether the naval blockade may be deemed illegal under other humanitarian law provisions.