New Criterion of Effective Control in International Law; Case Study of Gaza Conflict 2023-2024

During the Gaza-Israel conflict of 2023 (Al Aqsa storm Vs. Swords of Iron) several allegations and claims have been raised from both sides in order to defend their actions. Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine as Palestinian armed groups insist on their right to self-determination and right to resist on the one hand and Israel on its right to self-defence on the other hand. From the very first day of this armed conflict, Israel as one party claimed that while it has not had any effective control over Gaza since 2006, there is no ground to avoid this regime from its natural right to self-defence. With the emergence of disputes over the concepts of effective control and the possibility of resorting to self-defence, several questions are raised as follows: does an occupying power have the right to self-defence? What are the main criteria for effective control in international law? And does Israel have effective control over the Gaza Strip? The author tries to answer these questions based on the Analytical-descriptive method by using library documents. The results show that there is a doctrine and also a soft law about the new criterion of effective control which focuses on consequences of control rather than its material element, namely Occupation.