JUSTICE INFO: How did you react when US President Donald Trump spoke about the “Gaza riviera”, building hotels and relocating more than two million Gazans to another country?
RAJI SOURANI: It felt unreal. These are empty words. For the last 15 months, the Israelis have been trying to push us out, and before that, for 17 years, they imposed a blockade [since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007]. They tried to push us out and didn’t succeed.
What does it mean when Trump warned that “all hell is going to break out” if the hostages are not released before Saturday noon?
What hell can be worse than what we went through? People don’t realize that we have been going through a genocide for the last 15 months: we endured massive killing, massive destruction, massive starvation, massive displacement, without any hospitals, any schools, any gas, any electricity, any streets, and despite all that, no one moved out. 85% of Gazans are refugees, traumatized by the 1948 Nakba [“the catastrophe”, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly displaced], and never ever will they move again. They are the stones of the valley.
From your perspective, it’s a genocidal war?
Absolutely. Look at three statements of Israeli officials on October 10: the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, said: “Everybody in Gaza is complicit”. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said “no food, no water, no electricity and no fuel” and “Gazans are human animals and we will get them all”. Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Gazans should leave Gaza”. Their strategy was to push people to the south of Gaza and then move them to Sinai, Egypt.
What do you expect from Israeli society?
Israel is a sick society like German society was during World War Two. No one talks about Gazans. They only talk about hostages. They don’t care about genocide. They have their brothers, husbands, sons going to Gaza in the army. They know what is happening. They don’t care. I have some Israeli friends. They are heartbroken like us.
The Israelis will try to make a new Nakba, but Palestinians won’t be good victims. This degree of deep injustice is bringing evil.
What about the Israeli hostages?
We have 22,000 people who are missing. Are they dead? We don’t know. I want to see the end of the war, the end of the massive killing, the end of massive destruction, the end of displacement and starvation.
How do you look legally at the Hamas October 7 attack?
[Sourani marks a silence, then replies] There is here something obscene happening. You can starve and you can kill the Palestinians. You can do whatever you want with them. Everyone speaks about the last three Israelis hostages released and how pale and unhealthy they were, while the Gazans are starving by official policy practice. This is racist. You cannot be selective when it comes to human beings.
What do you expect from the International Criminal Court (ICC)?
We will continue to do our best like we have from day one. We want the rule of law. If not, we will have the law of the jungle. I hope that Gaza won’t be the graveyard of international law. I’m aware of the pressure, the political and security threats against the prosecutor and the judges, and the executive orders [from the US president] against the ICC.
What do you expect from Europe?
In the name of freedom, Europe stood up for Ukraine against Russia’s aggression. It stood up for Ukraine’s right of resistance. Europe sent arms and supported Ukraine’s army and its economy. It imposed seven waves of sanctions. It asked the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court to intervene. In our case, Europe didn’t do anything. How can Europe be so selective and politicize international law? We are not slaves. Israel is stripping us of our dignity and justice.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of “intense fighting” to resume if hostages are not released in the coming days. Do you fear a new Nakba?
There won’t be another Nakba. They can delete us all, but there won’t be a new Nakba. This will not happen. The Israelis will try to make a new Nakba, but Palestinians won’t be good victims. They are pushing us to have nothing to lose. This degree of deep injustice is bringing evil. They will pay for it. Despite all this, I’m optimistic, because I’m on the right side of history. I have a just and fair cause. We are the stones of the valley. We have been there forever and we will continue to be there forever. And tomorrow will be ours. The whole history leads to that conclusion.
Raji Sourani is a lawyer, founder and director of the Palestine Center for Human Rights. He fled Gaza after his two-storey home was blown up by a bomb on October 22, 2023. He has received many honours, including the Right Livelihood Award (2013). In 2022, he was appointed as an Arbitrator at the International Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands. Since 2015, Sourani has led the Palestinian legal team representing victims at the International Criminal Court (ICC). In 2024, he joined South Africa’s legal team in the Genocide Case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
