ABSTRACT
In international law, the right of self-defense is recognized as an inherent right of states. However, this right is neither unlimited nor unconditional; rather, it is subject to specific requirements. Since its establishment, Israel has consistently invoked the claim that “Israel has the right to defend itself,” thereby abusing this right. By abuse of this right, we refer both to Israel’s invocation of self-defense despite being the aggressor, and to its failure to comply with the limits of the right even when a lawful basis for self-defense arguably exists. From this perspective, in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the 1967 Six-Day War, and the 2023 Gaza War, Israel’s discourse of self-defense can be observed either as a tool to mask its actions or as an abuse of the boundaries of legitimate self-defense. This raises further questions: what of the right of self-defense of other states, such as Egypt or Syria? Has no state ever acquired a right of self-defense against Israel? How should the Wars of Attrition and Yom Kippur be evaluated? Moreover, how should the ongoing occupation of Palestine and the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination be assessed in the context of self-defense? This study aims, through a factual analysis and from a comprehensive perspective, to demonstrate how Israel has abused the right of self-defense in the armed conflicts in which it has been involved since its inception. The study will first examine the abuse of self-defense in the 1948 and 1967 wars between Israel and the Arab states, as well as in the Wars of Attrition and Yom Kippur. It will then focus on Israeli-Palestinian relations in the context of self-determination. Finally, it will analyze Israel’s security- and terrorism-based discourse of self-defense in light of the reality of occupation and the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.