Research and Development in Public Law

Research and Development in Public Law

The Protection of Private Property During Occupation from the Perspective of International Humanitarian Law with a Look at the Events of the Gaza War (2023-2025)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Seyed Fazlollah Mousavi 1
Alireza Rezakhani 2
Alireza Delavar 3
Sepideh Ahmadianfard 4
1 Professor, Department of Public Law, University of Tehran
2 LL.M in International Law, University of Tehran,
3 LL.M in Oil and Gas Law, University of Tehran
4 LL.M in International Law, University of Tehran
10.22034/jrpl.2025.2072273.1181
Abstract
According to some thinkers, private property, alongside liberty, is one of the foundational pillars in the formation of the first civilization of free humans. The protection of private property of civilians in occupied territories is a primary obligation of the occupying power under International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Utilizing a descriptive-analytical method and through library research and a comparative review of international instruments and the events of the Gaza War (2023–2025), this study analyzes the obligations arising from IHL concerning private property and the extent of Israel's compliance with these obligations. The findings indicate that the Four Geneva Conventions (1949) and The Hague Regulations (1907), alongside customary international law, impose three main obligations on the occupying power: the prohibition of destruction, the prohibition of permanent appropriation, and the prohibition of pillage of private property. These instruments permit the destruction or limited seizure of private property only in cases of "absolute military necessity," and even then, on a temporary and conditional basis. Widespread violations of private property in the occupied territories often overlap with other international crimes, including forcible transfer, persecution, and cruel and degrading treatment, and can be considered part of a broader policy of collective punishment or ethnic cleansing. The review of events in the Gaza War demonstrates that the Israeli military has breached these obligations through the widespread and deliberate destruction of residential areas, infrastructure, farms, movable and immovable property, and the organized pillaging of civilians' personal assets. These actions, which in many instances lacked military justification and were carried out for purposes such as collective punishment, ethnic cleansing, and the achievement of long-term political objectives, constitute not only grave breaches of IHL but also amount to prosecutable "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity" before the International Criminal Court (ICC). This study concludes that the systematic violation of the right to private property in Gaza has had devastating humanitarian and economic consequences and obliges the international community to ensure the accountability of the occupying power through legal mechanisms, including sanctions, criminal prosecution, and support for the documentation of violations.
Keywords
Occupation
Destruction
Gaza War
International Humanitarian Law
Pillage
Private Property
Confiscation
Subjects
  1. Abdi, A. and Solhchi, M. (2025). The International Humanitarian Rights of Children in War: A Legal Overview. Research and Development in Public Law, 1(2): 337-369. https://doi.org/10.22034/jrpl.2025.2042429.1113 . (in Persian)
  2. Ahmadinezhad, M., Aminalroaya, Y. & Mataji, M. (2020). Conceptual evolution of occupation from the point of view of international law, with emphasis on the situation in the Gaza Strip. Public Law Studies Quarterly, 50(3), 1263-1285. https://doi.org/10.22059/jplsq.2019.254005.1746 (in Persian)
  3. American Military Tribunal. The United States of America vs. Carl Krauch, et al. Case No. 57. 1948.
  4. American Military Tribunal. United States of America V. Wilhelm List et al (Hostage Trial). 11 T.W.C. 757. 1948
  5. Amnesty International (8 May 2025). Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians and Its Weaponisation of Aid in Gaza May Constitute Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes. https://www.amnesty.org.au/israels-forced-displacement-of-palestinians-and-its-weaponisation-of-aid-in-gaza-may-constitute-crimes-against-humanity-and-war-crimes/. Last Seen 26 May 2025.
  6. Badini, H. & Sheikh, J. (2010). From "Right of Property" to "Property Rights": A Comparative Review of the Evolution of the Notion of Property Rights. Comparative Law Review, 1(1), 1-22. https://doi:10.22059/jcl.2010.80783 (in Persian)
  7. Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex: Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land. 18 October 1907. (Hague Convention)
  8. Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. 12 August 1949. (Geneva Convention IV)
  9. Cuyckens, L (2017). Revisiting the Law of Occupation. Leiden: Brill.
  10. Dinstein, Y (2009). The International Law of Belligerent Occupation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  11. ECtHR (18 December 1996). Loizidou V. Turkey. Judgment. Application no. 15318/89.
  12. Fox, G (2010). Humanitarian Occupation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  13. Hassanjanzadeh, Z., Mashhadi, A. & Ghadir, M. (2024). The Nature and Concept of Pillaging Natural Resources during Armed Conflicts in International law. Public Law Studies Quarterly, (Online from 22 December 2025), 1-26. https://doi.com/10.22059/JPLSQ.2023.362502.3358 (in Persian)
  14. Henckaerts, J-M. & Doswald-Beck, L (2012). Customary International Humanitarian Law. Volume 1: Rules. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  15. A/HRC/44/60. 22 December 2020.
  16. A/HRC/56/26. 14 June 2024.
  17. Human Rights Watch (November 2024). “Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged” Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in Gaza. https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/11/14/israels-crimes-against-humanity-gaza. Last Seen 5 June 2025.
  18. The Prosecutor V. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud. Trial Judgment. ICC-01/12-01/18. 26 June 2024.
  19. The Prosecutor V. Germain Katanga. Judgment pursuant to article 74 of the Statute. ICC-01/04-01/07. 7 March 2014.
  20. The Prosecutor V. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. Judgment pursuant to Article 74 of the Statute. ICC-01/05-01/08. 21 March 2016.
  21. Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda). Judgement. 19 December 2005.
  22. Legal Consequences cf the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Advisory Opinion. 9 July 2004.
  23. Occupation. https://www.icrc.org/en/law-and-policy/occupation, Last Seen 13 April 2025.
  24. Rule 51: Public and Private Property in Occupied Territory. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule51. Last Seen 22 May 2025.
  25. Prosecutor V. Mladen Naletilic, Aka “Tuta” and Vinko Martinovic, Aka “Štela”. Judgement. IT-98-34-T. 31 March 2003.
  26. Prosecutor V. Tihomir Blaki. Judgement. IT-95-14-T. 3 March 2000.
  27. Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field. 24 April 1863. (Lieber Code)
  28. Katouzian, N. (2021). Property and ownership. Tehran: Mizan. (in Persian)
  29. Kolb, R. & Hyde, R (2008). An Introduction to the International Law of Armed Conflicts. Portland: Hart Publishing.
  30. Kretzmer, D (2002). The Occupation of Justice the Supreme Court of Israel and the Occupied Territories. New York: State University of New York.
  31. Lieblich, E & Benvenisti, E (2022). Occupation in international law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  32. Loucaides, L. G (2004). The Protection of the Right to Property in Occupied Territories. The International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 53(3): 677-690. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3663294.
  33. Mazzeschi, R.P (2021) International Human Rights Law: Theory and Practice. Cham: Springer.
  34. Melzer, N (2016). International Humanitarian Law: A Comprehensive Introduction. Geneva: International Committee of the Red Cross.
  35. Meron, Th (2017). The West Bank and International Humanitarian Law On the Eve of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Six-Day War. American Journal of International Law, 111 (2): 357–75. https://doi.org/10.1017/ajil.2017.10.
  36. Ministry of Defence (10 February 2011). The Joint Service Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict.
  37. Pendar, K. (2018). Legal Review of Private Property in the Interests of the Public. Journal of Civil & Legal Sciences (ghanonyar), 2(7), 365-385. https://sid.ir/paper/259701/en (in Persian)
  38. Project of an International Declaration concerning the Laws and Customs of War. 27 August 1874. (Declaration of Brussels)
  39. Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts. 8 June 1977. (Protocol II)
  40. Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court. 17 July 1998. (Rome Statue)
  41. Sassòli, M (2024). International Humanitarian Law: Rules, Controversies, and Solutions to Problems Arising in Warfare. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800886919.
  42. Solis, G.D. (2010). The Law of Armed Conflict: International Humanitarian Law in War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  43. Supreme Court of Israel. Ajuri v. IDF Commander in West Bank. HCJ 7019/02; HCJ 7015/023. September 2002.
  44. The Laws of War on Land. 9 September 1880. (Oxford Manual)
  45. S/1994/674. 27 May 1994.
  46. S/RES/666. 13 September 1990.
  47. Valavion, R. (2019). Presumption of ownership. Journal of Research and Development in Comparative Law, 2(4): 448-495. Doi: 22034/law.2019.239662. (in Persian)
  48. Verri, P. (2012). Dictionary of the International Law of Armed Conflict. Translated by Siamak Karam Zadeh & Katayoun Hosein Nezhad. Tehran: Iranian Red Crescent Society. (in Persian)
  49. Von Mises, L. (2022). Liberalism. Translate by Mehdi Tehran: Parseh. (in Persian)
  50. Ziaee Bigdeli, M.R. (2021). International Humanitarian Law. Tehran: Ganj Danesh. (in Persian)
Research and Development in Public Law
Volume 2, Issue 4 - Serial Number 4
February 2026
Pages 332-372