'October 7, 2023: Terrorism or National Liberation Movement?'

Starting in May, this series of four webinars is part of discharging the mandate of Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.

The webinars aim elevate the international legal discourse and direction by providing a regular platform of interaction with experts on themes that are relevant to understanding the current situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and its root-causes. 

The format of the webinar envisages a conversation between the Special Rapporteur, Dr Jeff Handmaker and various external speakers. These conversations will also allow for questions to be posed by online participants.

'October 7, 2023: Terrorism of National Liberation Movement?'

The first webinar in the series will discuss the Hamas movement, its history and development, to make sense of what the events  of 7 October 2024 were about.

Provisional speakers

• Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967
• Tareq Baconi, Institute of Palestine Studies
• Shahd Hammouri, University of Kent

Moderator - Jeff Handmaker, ISS

About the webinar series

Since 7 October 2023, Israel has embarked on its umpteenth military campaign against the occupied territory of the Gaza Strip, involving relentless bombardment of civilians and life-sustaining infrastructure, forcible displacement of 90% of the Palestinians in Gaza, mass starvation and prevention of vital humanitarian aid, including food, water, fuel and medical supplies. 

This offensive of unprecedented proportion follows the attacks against Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, who have been revolting against 75 years of settler-colonial dispossession, 56 years of military occupation of Palestinian territory and 16 years of an air, sea and land blockade of the Gaza Strip. 

The attacks by Hamas killed 1,139 Israeli soldiers, civilians and foreign nationals, and injured over 5,000 people. Meanwhile, since 7 October 2023, Israel’s unrelenting bombardment has killed over 26,000 Palestinians in Gaza, injured over 65,000, displaced 1.9 million and flattened entire neighbourhoods, including hospitals, churches, mosques, schools, shelters, WASH facilities and solar panels. 2.2 million Palestinians are at severe risk of starvation. All of these atrocities have been accompanied by genocidal statements by Israeli governmental and military high-ranking officials. 

These events have not only been met by States’ unwillingness to prevent human suffering, but the suspension of funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), along with competing narratives that lack legal authority. Meanwhile, several accountability efforts have been activated to hold the perpetrators of these horrific actions accountable, including at two of the apex courts in The Hague. The webinar series aims at elucidating these aspects from an international legal perspective.