[News] Verdict from the people: Why the Gaza Tribunal is about accountability, not symbolism

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Comments <https://english.palinfo.com/opinion_articles/>
Verdict from the people: Why the Gaza Tribunal is about accountability, not
symbolism
Ramzy Baroud <https://english.palinfo.com/authors/ramzy-baroud>

Thursday 6-November-2025

In the face of the international legal and political systems’ paralyzing
silence and utter failure to hold Israel accountable for its genocide in
Gaza, international civil society has refused to stand idly by. Instead, it
continues to forge a path, presenting essential working models for what
true justice in Palestine must look like.

The latest, and arguably most critical, expression of this global
conscience is the Gaza Tribunal. Its final session concluded in Istanbul on
Sunday, 26 October.

The Tribunal, launched in London in November 2024 and consciously modeled
on the historic Russell Tribunal, has a mission to activate global civil
society and provide a comprehensive ‘people’s record’ by rigorously
documenting Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.

Its activities involved earlier hearings in Sarajevo and consolidating
findings across three thematic chambers: International Law; International
Relations and World Order; and History, Ethics, and Philosophy. The
Istanbul session culminated with a Jury of Conscience issuing a powerful
moral judgment that accused Israel of systematic exterminatory violence.

These civil society-led tribunals are held specifically to fill the ethical
and legal void created by the international system’s failure to confront
war crimes carried out by powerful states that are, by all appearances,
practically immune from accountability.

In the case of Palestine, such initiatives are particularly critical. They
contribute to a well-recorded indictment of Israeli war crimes, and of
those who enable them through direct funding, the provision of weapons, or
the blocking of any punitive actions at international institutions.

Though mechanisms exist through the United Nations Security Council (UNSC),
the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the International Criminal
Court (ICC), the US government and other allies of Israel have consistently
succeeded in blocking or at best obstructing the legal paths that could
have stopped the war of extermination against Palestinians.

The Gaza Tribunal thus becomes a necessary platform for casting educated,
evidence-based judgment — the very judgment that should have been adopted
by the ICJ and enforced by the UNSC. Those behind these initiatives are
well-experienced international law experts, academics, and well-regarded
justice activists. They include renowned figures such as Dr Richard Falk,
former UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine, and professor emeritus of
international law at Princeton University, who served as the Tribunal’s
president.

In their ‘Final Findings and Moral Judgment’ statement, the panel of judges
condemned the Israeli genocide, referencing its “holistic nature,” its
“dehumanization of the people,” and its “sadistic character.”

Among other investigated crimes, the judges indicted and condemned Israel
for the crimes of starvation and famine, domicide (the deliberate
destruction of homes and shelter), ecocide (the systematic destruction of
the environment and ecosystems), reprocide (the destruction of conditions
for procreation and reproduction), and scholasticide (the systematic
destruction of educational facilities, personnel, and the collective memory
of a people).

The judges also condemned the killing of journalists, the very individuals
attempting to document and expose the genocide, along with their families.
“Silencing these journalists is instrumental to the concealment of the
genocide and more journalists have been killed than in any other conflict,”
the final statement starkly read.

The statement further condemned the prevalent use by Israel of torture,
sexual violence, forced disappearances, and gender-based violence in
detention, among a host of other egregious crimes.

Crucially, the final verdict directly assigned responsibility to powerful
actors. The Tribunal found that “Western governments, particularly the
United States and others,” have been complicit in the Israeli genocide and,
in some cases, actively colluded with it.

The scope of complicity and collusion was not limited to state actors. It
extended to media and academic institutions that, the Tribunal found,
actively justify the Israeli crimes, silence the Palestinian voice, and
provide wholesale condemnation of all Palestinians — a position entirely
consistent with Israel’s own narrative.

The powerful indictment of Israel is not merely symbolic. Its practical
value, however, depends entirely on our collective ability to leverage its
findings. We must use this evidence to advance the many legal cases lodged
against Israeli leaders, military officials, and individual soldiers.

The massive files, victim testimonies, expert analysis, and eyewitness
accounts constitute a treasure trove for those committed to seeing Israeli
war criminals punished for one of the worst crimes carried out against a
civilian population in modern history.

It is critical to recognize that much of the ongoing legal proceedings
concerning Gaza — at the ICJ, the ICC, and in various national courts —
have been pioneered and sustained by civil society. These efforts are led
by human rights groups, legal research organizations, and justice activists.

The Gaza Tribunal, therefore, is not an endpoint; it is a vital step on the
path to justice and accountability. It has consciously built upon the work
of past initiatives and now serves as a major, indispensable stepping stone
for future action.

Unlike divine judgment, human justice is neither guaranteed nor inevitable;
it is a fierce process. Its attainment rests entirely on the determination
of those who fight for it and aspire to achieve it.

Friends of Palestine, globally, are unwavering in their resolve to shatter
Israeli immunity once and for all. The Gaza Tribunal is a powerful weapon
in their arsenal. Its success hinges on our unyielding faith in the
process, and our ironclad determination to follow through.

*-Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine
Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His forthcoming book, ‘Before the
Flood,’ will be published by Seven Stories Press. His other books include
‘Our Vision for Liberation’, ‘My Father was a Freedom Fighter’ and ‘The
Last Earth’. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center
for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA).*
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