The ‘Day After’ in the oPt: Legal Parameters for a Changing Reality
This research project examines the application of international law, and international humanitarian law (IHL) in particular, to the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) in the wake of significant developments that have been unfolding in the Palestinian-Israeli context against the backdrop of a devastating military onslaught that has claimed many thousands of casualties, caused mass displacement, and reduced entire urban landscapes to ruins.
In the case of Gaza, these developments include plans to overhaul the legal, political, and administrative order and to establish new modes of governance. Elsewhere in the oPt, they involve an entrenchment of Israel’s annexationist policies and a concomitant escalation of its oppression and dispossession of Palestinians, in stark contrast to the International Court of Justice’s findings that Israel’s continued presence in the oPt is unlawful and must end as rapidly as possible.
The project explores how IHL continues to regulate this situation of prolonged occupation while engaging with intersecting issues of public international law, human rights law, and international criminal law arising during and in the aftermath of hostilities and from other forms of violence, oppression, and abuse. Among other issues, the project will address questions of law pertaining to temporary governance arrangements, the deployment of multinational forces, the persistence of acute humanitarian needs and reconstruction efforts, the exercise of authority by an unlawful occupant, and remedies for violations.
Legal Brief
Legal and Humanitarian Imperatives for the ‘Day After’ in Gaza
This publication outlines legal and humanitarian imperatives for the ‘Day After’ in Gaza, grounded mainly in IHL and IHRL.
Photo Credits:
Cover Photo: A Palestinian child walks through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025 (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi). All rights reserved.
Legal and Humanitarian Imperatives: Palestinians walk along the beachfront next to a temporary tent camp in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025 (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana). All Rights Reserved.