TEHRAN — Philippe Sands, a professor of law at University College London and human rights lawyer at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, has criticized Germany’s “silence on crimes committed on the territory of Palestine, in Gaza and in the West Bank.”
Writing an article on Voxeurop published on October 12, he said Germany’s silence about Israel’s crimes in Gaza and the West Bank “has been loud.”
The Franco-British lawyer who was awarded the German Book Trade’s Peace Prize on Sunday also said Germany’s restrictions on those who speak out loudly against crimes committed against Gazans are “troubling”.
“To silence those who seek to call out the crimes is indecent,” he wrote.
On Sunday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier praised him as a humanist “who, despite growing resistance, fights tirelessly for human rights, justice and mutual understanding.”
“Inappropriate silence”
In his acceptance speech while receiving the award, Sands criticized Germany’s “inappropriate silence” regarding Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
On November 21, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Some argue that the war on Gaza is a clear example of genocide but some others disagree.
“Whatever the rulings, the debate about labels is, I fear, an unhelpful distraction. There is no hierarchy among the various international crimes. To kill as a war crime or a crime against humanity is not less grave than a genocide. These are all terrible crimes,” he wrote.
Sands said those who “demand accountability” for crimes “should not be silenced or excluded or punished, merely for exercising a freedom of expression.” He suggested that “writers and journalists, songsters and poets, filmmakers and others must be able to tell their stories.”
“Germany has called out and acted on many horrors, from the Yazidis to the Uighurs, from Syria to Sudan and Ukraine, but it has been silent about the crimes committed against Palestinians in Israel since October 7, 2023,” he explained.
“On Gaza and the West Bank, the German silence has been loud. Relatedly, the restrictions on debate are troubling. This is all the more so after the ICJ’s clear advisory opinion of 2024, on the Palestinian right of self-determination. Britain, Canada, France and others have since recognized a Palestinian state. In recent days they have imposed sanctions. The British Foreign Secretary has characterized conduct in the occupied territories as ethnic cleansing.”
He stated that Germany “knows about ethnic cleansing” in Gaza but why it is silent is a matter of question.
However, he said, some German officials have taken a departure from Berlin’s policy and began strongly criticizing Israel for its behavior toward Palestinians.
“Some German leaders have begun to speak more sharply in their criticism of Israel’s actions. That is right, even if so tentative and limited. It is not anti-Semitic. It is not ‘anti-Israel’. It is truth.”
Sands suggested that the Berlin government must break its silence about the crimes that Israel has been committing against Palestinians.
“Eighty years after Nuremberg, (Germany) must surely be to break silences about international crimes, wherever they occur and by whomsoever they are committed, even friends, especially friends.”
He said, “Silence is not the way. Not for a family. Not for a community. Not for a country.”
Sands insisted on “bringing truth to power, confronting prejudice and double standards, excavating matters that some wish to hide.”
While the U.S. has imposed sanctions on the ICC and threatened its judges, Sands said, “Let us protect the writers and the jurists, so they may be free from threat, attack or sanction.”
Sands concluded his remarks by citing a poem from his favorite Canadian poet who says:
Let us run no more, with the lawless crowds, whoever they may be.
Let us hold to account the killers in high places, even as they say their prayers aloud.
Let us ring the bells, that still can ring.
Let us not forget there is a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: tehrantimes.com
