We, the undersigned scholars and practitioners write with grave concerns over the responsibility of businesses stemming from Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza. 

The International Court of Justice has found it plausible that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and has ordered Israel to take several measures, including ensuring unhindered access to humanitarian aid for a population now experiencing severe famine. In addition to the state’s responsibility, the International Criminal Court is currently investigating cases of individual responsibility for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and inciting, conspiring, or committing genocide. An open letter dated 3 April and signed by over 600 former justices and judges, lawyers, and legal academics in the United Kingdom (UK), details serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.  

We write now to explain what these allegations mean for businesses in light of the ongoing violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (refer to Annex 1). We note that the potential for legal liability in third countries remains a distinct possibility for those businesses actors that continue to operate in Israel’s unlawful settlements, or to supply Israel’s military or security apparatus.   

Business leaders who supply Israel with weapons, dual-use items, other goods necessary to the security apparatus, or financing used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes can incur individual and personal international criminal responsibility for complicity in those crimes. These same standards can be applied to business leaders who chose to remain in the unlawful settlements in the West Bank. Under international human rights law, a businesses entity that contributes to any of these crimes, or to any other breach of human rights, will incur a responsibility to remedy those breaches. As we further explain in the Annex, this means that many businesses that supply other goods or services, and that fail to adequately put pressure on Israel to cease its violations, will incur a responsibility to remediate human rights violations. 

The risk of liability for businesses and their managers heightens each day of their continued involvement in the conflict. Some business leaders will wish to brush aside any real fear of individual or collective responsibility. They may wish to believe that the likelihood of being held accountable is slim. As we explain in the Annex, this would be a fool’s choice: efforts at accountability in the aftermath of crimes like the ones Israel is credibly accused of committing tend to stretch for decades. There are cases presently being adjudicated against large multinationals in several jurisdictions for their involvement in similar fact-patterns involving conflict and international crimes.  

Given the severity of the crimes we are seeing, and the limited engagement of Western businesses with Hamas, we focus on business’s responsibility for Israel’s conduct alone. We would be remiss, however, if we did not mention that holding of hostages is a war crime. Additionally, we must note during the development of this letter, Israel and Iran have exchanged armed attacks (Israel is believed to have unlawfully bombed an Iranian consulate; Iran engaged in an unlawful retributory strike). Those attacks do not affect the legal analysis contained in this brief related to businesses’ responsibilities for Israel’s unlawful conduct in Gaza.  

Businesses cannot continue to ignore, deny, or delay their responsibility to respond appropriately to the grave allegations against Israel. They must stop supplying weapons, dual-use items, other goods necessary to the security apparatus, or financing; they must stop operating in Israel’s unlawful settlements in the West Bank, and they must undertake in good faith all reasonable actions aimed at exerting pressure on Israel to cease its unlawful conduct.