Warring parties have the right to issue a blockade against the coast that is the subject of a state of war, notes Ove Bring, professor emeritus of international law at Stockholm University.
The fact that the ships were stopped while they were still in international waters makes no difference, according to him.
Israel has the right to stop and board ships. But the boarding may only aim to investigate whether there are any military personnel present on the boat.
Right to blockade?
When it comes to civilians, as in the case of the convoy Global Sumud Flotilla which has been traveling towards Gaza for weeks to break the blockade but was stopped on Wednesday evening, there are rules for how they should be handled.
The important thing is that they are treated according to the standard of human rights. That they are not mistreated, not imprisoned on unclear grounds, but that they are allowed to go home, as it was handled last time. There is no objection to that, says Bring.
Said Mahmoudi, also professor emeritus of international law at Stockholm University, does not agree.
The core issue is whether Israel has the right to impose a blockade off the coast of Gaza, he says.
Mahmoudi interprets the current rules on navigation, as stated in the San Remo Manual from 1994, as the right to blockade only applies to warring states.
Since Israel does not claim that it is at war with another state, as Israel does not accept Palestine or Gaza as a state, there is no basis in international law for the right to establish such a blockade.
Moral obligation
Even if Israel could be argued to be at war with another state, with the argument that many countries in the world now recognize a Palestinian state, it would still, according to Mahmoudi, not give the military the right to apprehend the crew in international waters.
Then the ship is under the flag and jurisdiction of the registration plate. So other states do not have the right to intervene.
Although Ove Bring believes that Israel has the right to stop the convoy even in international waters, there are reasons to think that Israel needs to relate to other factors than just international law.
The purpose of these boats is to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza. Then one could say that there is a moral obligation for Israel to allow humanitarian transports, when we know how the Palestinian population suffers.
