Ecocide in the Middle East? A Case Study of the ICC Investigation on the Situation in the State of Palestine

Resumen

The risks possessed by the environmental consequences of armed conflict for the very foundations of human living conditions have been long studied. However, nature continues to be impaired by wars the world around, while the relevant provisions of international humanitarian and criminal law prove to be inadequate. Despite these pitfalls, recent figures on the scale of the environmental destruction caused during the 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict deserve a thorough legal analysis. On the occasion of the warrants of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli leaders, this paper seeks to assess whether there were reasonable enough grounds to charge them with causing excessive environmental damage. In order to do so, the present study will first conduct a comprehensive review of the criminal elements of Article 8(2)(b)(iv) of the Rome Statute, based on previous literature and relevant jurisprudence of international criminal tribunals. Afterwards, employing both analytical and doctrinal methods, it will contrast the legal findings against the factual background of the case. With the aim to stress the necessity of enhancing the current legal framework to protect the environment during both war and peace, this paper elaborates further on the limitations of the war crime of excessive environmental damage, while shedding light on the unnoticed environmental violence placed upon Gaza.