The HAMAS Case

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REPORT ON

THE SIEGE OF GAZA

BY ROMANO RUBEO

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A. INTRODUCTION

1. I have been instructed by Riverway Law to provide a report on matters within my expertise in support of the application to the British Home Secretary to deproscribe Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah (‘Hamas’).

2. The purpose of this report is to explain the legal and humanitarian consequences of the siege imposed by Israeli authorities on the Gaza Strip as a form of collective punishment following the victory of Hamas in the legislative elections of 2006.

B. QUALIFICATIONS

3. I have authored this report in my personal capacity.

4. I am a journalist and translator based in Italy. I am the managing editor of the Palestine Chronicle where I contribute extensively on issues related to the Middle East. My work also appears in various academic journals and online publications, often highlighting Palestinian issues.

5. I hold a Master's degree in Foreign Languages and Literature. I have a specialization in translation, focusing on both audiovisual media and journalism, which enhances my contributions to international media outlets.

6. I often collaborate with other prominent figures, such as Dr. Ramzy Baroud and Professor Ilan Pappé to provide commentary on current political issues, including Israel-Palestine relations and global indigenous movements.

7. As a respected voice on Palestinian issues, my journalism has contributed to global conversations about conflict, activism, and rights in the Middle East through debates, conferences, presentations, and media interviews, especially through my editorial influence at The Palestine Chronicle.

8. In writing the present Report, I have relied principally on:

• Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. “- Suffocation and Isolation 17 Years of Israeli Blockade on Gaza.”

• Gaza Could Become Uninhabitable in Less Than Five Years Due to Ongoing ‘De-development’– UN Report.” UN News. September 1, 2015.

• “The Legal Status of the West Bank and Gaza - Question of Palestine.” United Nations. Question of Palestine. December 22, 2023.

• “The International Committee of the Red Cross as Guardian of International Humanitarian Law.” International Committee of the Red Cross. June 26, 2024.

C. TIMELINE AND HUMANITARIAN IMPACT

9. On May 26, 2005, President Mahmoud Abbas met with US President George Bush in the White House, where President Bush affirmed his desire that Hamas would not win the upcoming elections in Palestine. US officials stated that despite the Bush administration’s overt support for the democratic process, in the case of a Hamas victory, the US would refuse to engage with a government that would turn Gaza into ‘Hamastan.’¹ President Bush’s comments in his meeting with President Abbas suggested that Palestinians could later pay a cost if they voted the wrong way. In his words, he was sure Hamas would lose because “I think Palestinian moms want their children to grow up in peace…”²

10. Indeed, Hamas did win. Following a saga of interior politicking and a series of controversies, legislative elections took place in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on January 25, 2006, to elect the second Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) – the legislative body of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas won a surprising landslide victory, securing 74 of the 132 seats to Fatah’s 45. Those elections, which had a 77% voter turnout, were deemed by many electoral experts and committees globally to have been free and fair. For instance, a delegation of 84 foreign observers sent by the National Democratic Institute in partnership with the Carter Foundation judged the process to compare “favorably to international standards. The observers included former US President Jimmy Carter, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, former Albanian President Rexhep Meidani, and former Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palaci. That delegation concluded that the elections were conducted in a free and fair manner and should be considered to reflect the will of the people.³

11. The Hamas victory presented a quagmire for US officials who had openly opposed the movement participating in the elections. Bush’s immediate reaction was to refuse to recognize the newly elected authorities until they committed to a renunciation of violence and a recognition of Israel.⁴ Similarly, after congratulating Abbas and the Palestinian people ‘on an electoral process that was free, fair and secure’, the Quartet (Russia, US, UN and EU) statement from January 26^th iterated its desire that ‘all participants in the democratic process’ would ‘renounce violence and terror, accept Israel’s right to exist, and disarm.’⁵ A statement four days later would affirm that adherence to these conditions would be a prerequisite for ‘future assistance to any new government.’⁶ All these commitments of course, were expected to come unilaterally from the Palestinian side, without Israel being expected to make any similar declarations in favour of Palestinian statehood.

12. The global reaction to the Hamas victory in 2006, provided implicit justification for the subsequent squeeze imposed by Israeli and US authorities on the Gaza Strip. On February 19, the Israeli government decided to halt the monthly transfer of approximately $50 million in tax and customs revenues to the Palestinian Authority. The US and the EU followed in suit two months later.⁷ The Israelis justified this action by stating that the inauguration of a Hamas-led legislature indicated that the Palestinian leadership was now under the control of Hamas.⁸ Whilst these sanctions came with assurances that aid could reach Palestinians through other channels, in practice, US sanctions meant that banks were often deterred from transferring money to the Palestinian Authority, in order to avoid action from the United States.⁹ Even President Mahmoud Abbas would say that ‘the Palestinian people should not be punished for their democratic choice.’¹⁰

13. Though the Quartet would admit by the end of May 2006 that its policies were impacting the entire population of Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, and that this could create a humanitarian disaster¹¹, the policy approach adopted by foreign donors meant that the narrative grounding had been laid for the imposition of comprehensive siege conditions on Gaza by Israeli authorities. ‘Hamastan’ was, despite housing over 1.4 million people (838,000 of whom were under the age of 18) in 2006, nothing but a terror enclave that vehemently opposed Israel’s right to exist. The license was provided for the Israelis to implement the policies they deemed necessary to solve their Gaza problem. Though it would not just “sink into the sea”, as former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin had once wished,¹² Israeli authorities settled to turn the strip into what former British Prime Minister David Cameron referred to as an “open air prison”¹³, with a series of wars and siege tactics that ushered in “16 years of de-development and suppressed human potential.”¹⁴

14. On the 25^th of June 2006, Hamas operatives launched an operation to capture Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. In response, on the morning of June 28, 2006, Israel bombed Gaza’s sole power station, firing six missiles at the stations six transformers. Two of the missiles missed, and so two more were fired minutes later, destroying the remaining transformers.¹⁵ The IDF then launched ‘Operation Summer Rain’ which continued until November. By only early September, at least 240 Palestinians had been killed, with approximately one in five of the casualties being children.¹⁶ The basic pattern of Israeli incursions that devastated Gazan infrastructure, and punished gravely the civilian Palestinian population had begun, even whilst Fatah elements were still present within the Gaza strip.

15. The walls continued to close in on Gaza’s residents. In June 2007, Egypt closed its Rafah border with Gaza except for sporadic and limited openings which met only one-tenth of Gaza residents’ travel needs.¹⁷ In the same month, Israeli authorities closed the Karni crossing which had been used to transport commercial goods into Gaza. Four months later, in October, Israel announced the permanent closure of the Sufa Crossing. The amount of goods entering Gaza decreased by 71% from before the closing of the Karni crossing, from an average of 253 truckloads per day in April, to an average of 74 in October.¹⁸

16. Under a court order, in October 2012, the Israeli Defense Ministry disclosed a 2008 document about restrictions it imposed on the entry of food between 2007 and 2010. The document calculated the minimum number of calories needed by Gaza residents and used this to determine the quantity of food allowed into the Strip, therefore using food as a weapon in its war on the Palestinians.¹⁹ The document reflected the callous advice offered by Israeli government adviser Dov Weisglass, to then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2006: “It’s like a meeting with a dietician. We have to make them much thinner, but not enough to die.”²⁰ On November 4, 2008, Israel sealed all border crossings and prevented all humanitarian aid and staff from entering Gaza.

17. Following a move by the US to organize a Fatah-led coup against Hamas, the latter took full control of the Strip on June 15, 2007²¹. Since then, Haniyeh repeatedly called for reconciliation talks with Fatah. On September 19, 2007, Israel declared the Gaza Strip a “hostile entity,” saying the Israeli side reserves the right to impose additional restrictions on the supplies of electricity and fuel to the territory if rocket fire continues from Gaza on Israel. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon “called on Israel to reconsider its position on Gaza, because this runs counter to its obligations under international humanitarian law with respect to the civilian population and aims at collective punishment of Palestinians already reeling from a continuing isolation of the strip,” according to the UN News website.²²

18. February 2008 saw the launching of Operation Hot Winter - allegedly in response to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip – an assault that killed at least 110 Palestinians including 26 children. Later that year, following a tentative ceasefire agreement, Israel launched a border raid in November, which proved to be the preamble to a bloody and devastating assault: Operation Cast Lead. For 23 days, Israeli planes pummeled the Gaza strip, killing at least 1,383 Palestinians, including 333 children and 114 women, and injuring over 5,300 more according to UN figures.²³. Within Gaza, the human cost was devastating. The UNRWA director spoke about Gazan children being ‘trapped… traumatised… terrorized.’²⁴ The siege conditions did not let up, even after the assault: following the ceasefire, Israel placed bans on books, music, and even clothes from entering the Gaza Strip.²⁵ The sick logic of ‘mowing the lawn’ was playing out in real time, and the trend of periodic assaults designed to degrade Gazan capabilities in a protracted ‘war of attrition’ was set in motion.²⁶

19. On November 14, 2012, Israel launched a four-day attack on Gaza under the name Operation Pillar of Defense, killing 162 Palestinians, injuring 1,300 others, and destroying 200 homes. 2 years later, In July 2014, Israel would launch another attack under the name Operation Protective Edge. The 51-day attack would kill 2,147 Palestinians and wound 10,870 others. 17,123 homes were hit, of which 2,465 were destroyed. Whilst the people of Gaza ailed under these attacks, the humanitarian condition in Gaza continued to deteriorate. The UN in September 2015 warned for the first time in a report that Gaza could become uninhabitable in less than five years due to ongoing ‘de-development.’²⁷ An 11-day attack on Gaza in May 2021 would kill 254 Palestinians including 66 children, and injure 1,948 others, and in May 2023, a five-day assault on Gaza would kill 33 Palestinians including 6 children and 3 women.

20. On October 7, 2023, the armed wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, would launch Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, attacking the military positions belonging to the Israeli army Gaza Division, as well as settlements and Kibbutzim in Southern Occupied Palestine. Much of the context and reasoning behind the offensive is provided by the siege conditions, and the untenable humanitarian crises that had perdured within the Gaza Strip for the preceding decade and a half. On October 9, 2023, then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant order a ‘total siege’ on Gaza. “We are putting a complete siege on Gaza… No electricity, no food, no water, no gas – it’s all closed… We are fighting animals and are acting accordingly.”²⁸ That declaration, as shocking as it was for many, was in many ways simply a continuation of preceding policy.

D. PEACEFUL ATTEMPTS AT BREAKING THE SIEGE

21. Throughout the years, Palestinians in Gaza organized several forms of peaceful protest against the siege imposed by Israel, ranging from sit-ins, marches, rallies, or cultural activities.

22. Already in 2008, a human chain was formed to raise awareness of the hardship imposed on the Palestinian population in the Strip. At the time, Hamas leader Jamal al-Khudary, chairman of the Popular Committee against the Siege, described the initiative as “a peaceful and civilized act to let the people express their rejection of the siege and of collective punishment”.²⁹

23. In 2009, the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza was “established to mobilize the international community, to take action to end the illegal Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, using all possible legal methods.”³⁰

24. The Committee is a founding member of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which is “a grassroots people-to-people solidarity movement composed of campaigns and initiatives from different parts of the world, working together to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.” On May 31, 2010, Israeli soldiers boarded a flotilla of six ships manned by hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists from over 50 countries. The Gaza Freedom Flotilla was carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid and had set out from Istanbul, Turkiye, in an attempt to break Israel's blockade of Gaza. The Israeli military raid killed nine people and wounded many others, receiving widespread condemnation.³¹

25. On March 30, 2018, Palestinians in Gaza launched a series of weekly protests advocating for the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historic Palestine – today’s Israel – and for an end to the Israeli siege on Gaza.

26. The protests were largely organized by civil society, underscoring a push for peaceful methods of popular mobilization and resistance. The organizers of the Great March of Return have consistently emphasized that the protests were meant to be peaceful, with participants mainly demonstrating near the fence separating the Gaza Strip from Israel. Although Hamas did not directly organize the protests, it has supported them, which was understood to be a shift in Hamas’ position towards a non-violent approach to resistance. Yet the protests were brutally suppressed by Israel. According to official figures provided by the Palestinian Health Ministry, over 300 people were killed by Israeli forces while thousands were wounded.³²

27. That non-violent means have been adopted to resist occupation and oppose the siege is often under-emphasized. Former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar would have the following to say, drawing on the experience of the Great March of Return, to place armed resistance methods in their strategical, and undesirable, context. “We know that we don’t want war or fighting because it costs lives, and our people deserve peace. For long periods of time, we’ve tried peaceful resistance. We expected that the international community, free people and international organizations, would stop the occupation from committing crimes and massacring our people. Unfortunately, the world stood by and watched as the occupation war machine killed our young people… Does the world expect us to be well-behaved victims while we’re getting killed? For us to be slaughtered without making a noise? That’s impossible. We decided to defend our people with whatever weapons we have.”³³

E. LEGAL ASPECTS

28. Israel has been repeatedly accused of violating international law due to the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and its failure to alleviate or lift the blockade. Human rights groups, as well as legal professionals and international institutions, have decried the siege as a form of collective punishment in contravention of international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention.

29. According to the United Nations, Gaza is considered an occupied territory. “The position taken by the United Nations, supported by most countries of the world on the status of the West Bank and Gaza, is to consider those areas as occupied territories.”³⁴

30. Therefore, Israel’s actions in Gaza are governed by the 1907 Hague Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land, along with its Annexed Regulations (referred to as the "Hague Regulations"), and the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (referred to as the "IV Geneva Convention"). These legal frameworks are designed to safeguard civilians under military occupation.

31. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also “is of the opinion that the Fourth Geneva Convention is applicable in toto in the occupied territories.”³⁵

32. The ICRC acts as the guardian of international humanitarian law. “This special role of the ICRC is now formally recognized in the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which have been adopted both by the components of the Movement and by the States party to the Geneva Conventions, that is, practically all the worlds’ States.”³⁶

33. In a five-page statement issued in June 2010, the ICRC explicitly said that Israel’s blockade constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law embodied in the Geneva Conventions.

34. The ICRC said in the statement that “the whole of Gaza's civilian population is being punished for acts for which they bear no responsibility. The closure therefore constitutes a collective punishment imposed in clear violation of Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law.”

35. The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, ratified by Israel, bans collective punishment of a civilian population.

36. In September 2011, UN experts, led by then-UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Richard Falk, reiterated in a statement that “decisive steps must be taken to defend the dignity and basic welfare of the civilian population of Gaza, more than half of whom are children”, adding that “The Israeli blockade of Gaza must end immediately and the people of Gaza must be afforded protection in line with international law.”

37. The statement also said that “under human rights law and international humanitarian law the people of Gaza, even while living under occupation, have the right to an adequate standard of living, and to the continued improvement of living conditions.”

38. It continued, “This right includes access to affordable and adequate food, and sufficient quantities of safe, accessible and affordable water, as well as proper sanitation services and facilities. Gazans also have the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, but for many years have been experiencing declining and subsistence standards that are below minimum levels.”

39. These ‘minimum levels’ are not met in Gaza, where, at the time of the statement, “approximately 35 per cent of Gaza’s arable land and 85 per cent of its fishing waters are totally or partially inaccessible due to Israeli military measures.”

40. Over time, the situation in Gaza has not improved but has instead deteriorated, as highlighted in a 2022 report by the international non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch, issued to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the 2007 closure.

41. Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch said that Israel “has turned Gaza into an open-air prison”.

42. According to HRW, “Israel should end its generalized ban on travel for Gaza residents and permit free movement of people to and from Gaza, subject to, at most, individual screening and physical searches for security purposes.”

43. “As an occupying power that maintains significant control over many aspects of life in Gaza, Israel has obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure the welfare of the population there. Palestinians also have the right under international human rights law to freedom of movement, in particular within the occupied territory,” according to the report.

44. HRW determined that “most Palestinians who grew up in Gaza under this closure have never left the 40-by-11 kilometer (25-by-7 mile) Gaza Strip. For the last 25 years, Israel has increasingly restricted the movement of Gaza residents.”

45. Moreover, for over two decades, Israeli authorities have significantly restricted Palestinians' access to Gaza's airspace and territorial waters. They have blocked the reopening of Gaza’s airport, which was rendered inoperable by Israeli forces in January 2002, and prevented the construction of a seaport, forcing Palestinians to rely on land routes to travel abroad. The limited number of Palestinians allowed to cross at the Erez checkpoint are generally prohibited from using Israel’s international airport and must travel abroad via Jordan instead. To leave Gaza through Erez — whether to reach the West Bank or travel internationally — Palestinians must submit requests through the Palestinian Civil Affairs Committee in Gaza, which forwards the applications to Israeli authorities for permit approval.³⁷

46. In 2022, the impact of the blockade imposed by Israel has also been analyzed by the World Health Organization (WHO), which concluded in a report that “Severe restrictions on people’s movement and limitations on the entry and exit of supplies have negatively impacted conditions of life that determine health for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Rising unemployment, food insecurity and poverty are detrimental to health, and have been accompanied by obstacles affecting the adequate provision of clean water and sanitation that are essential for health protection.”

47. The WHO also stressed that Israel implements a “regime that restricts access for Palestinian patients and their companions. From 2008 to 2022, of permit applications by patients, over 70,000 or a third (30%) were delayed or denied. For patient companion permit applications, nearly 115,000 or 44% were delayed or denied in the same period.”³⁸

F. CONCLUSION

48. The humanitarian and legal situation in Gaza remains dire, shaped by prolonged restrictions, repeated military offensives, and severe socio-economic decline. Israel’s blockade, in place since 2007, has profoundly impacted the daily lives of Gaza’s residents, limiting access to essential services, movement, and economic opportunities. The blockade has been widely criticized by international organizations, including the UN, Human Rights Watch, and the World Health Organization, as a form of collective punishment that violates international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention.

49. Living conditions in Gaza have deteriorated significantly, with widespread unemployment, food insecurity, and poverty exacerbating the challenges of inadequate access to clean water, sanitation, and healthcare. Movement restrictions and the permit system imposed by Israel further hinder access to medical treatment, with thousands of patients and their companions denied or delayed permits over the years.

50. Despite attempts at peaceful resistance, including protests and international advocacy efforts, the blockade remains, contributing to a worsening humanitarian crisis. Reports by the ICRC and other human rights bodies emphasize Israel’s obligations under international law to ensure the welfare of Gaza’s civilian population and call for the immediate lifting of the blockade.

51. The ongoing situation in Gaza underscores the urgent need for accountability, respect for international legal norms, and meaningful efforts to address the humanitarian and political dimensions of the crisis. Without significant change, the prospects for sustainable peace and improved living conditions in Gaza remain bleak.

G. EXPERT OBLIGATIONS

52. I confirm that I have made clear which facts and matters referred to in this report are within my own knowledge and which are not. Those that are within my knowledge I confirm to be true. The opinions I have expressed represent my true and complete professional opinion on the matters to which they refer.

53. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought by anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

54. I confirm that I have not received any remuneration for preparing this report.

Romana Rubeo

Tagliacozzo (AQ)

ITALY

6 January 2025