As the March 2025 Conference of the High Contracting Parties (HCP) to the Fourth Geneva Convention approaches, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association urges all HCPs to take decisive action against Israel’s illegal military court system, which serves as a tool of oppression, mass incarceration, and apartheid against the Palestinian people. 

Building on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s 2024 report on Israel’s military courts, as well as Addameer’s extensive documentation of Israel’s systematic use of arbitrary detention, unfair trials, and torture, it is evident that Israel’s military courts violate the fundamental principles of international law. 

Israel’s military courts operate exclusively for Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), while illegal Israeli settlers are subject to Israeli civil law—a clear manifestation of institutionalized racial discrimination and apartheid. Furthermore, these courts function as a mechanism of political repression, where Palestinians—including human rights defenders, political leaders, journalists, students, and even children—are routinely prosecuted under fabricated charges, coerced confessions, and without fair trial rights. 

Despite the Geneva Conventions explicitly prohibiting the Occupying Power from applying its own legal system to the occupied population, Israel continues to impose its military legal system on Palestinians. The High Contracting Parties must recognize this as a grave violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and take concrete steps to dismantle this unlawful system. 

The Illegality of Israel’s Military Courts 

Francesca Albanese’s report and Addameer’s analyses confirm that Israel’s military court system is: 

  • Illegally imposed on a protected population – Under Article 66 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, military courts may only be used in occupied territories under exceptional and temporary circumstances. The Occupying State, however, has institutionalized these courts for more than 57 years, making them a permanent system of control. 

  • A political tool to criminalize Palestinian resistance – Israel’s military orders criminalize basic rights, including freedom of expression, assembly, and political activism. 

  • A system that denies Palestinians the right to a fair trial – Military courts have a conviction rate of over 99%, rely on coerced confessions, deny access to legal counsel, and often sentence Palestinians in hearings lasting only minutes. 

  • A mechanism for mass arbitrary detention – Administrative detention allows Israel to imprison Palestinians indefinitely without charge or trial, based on secret evidence. 

  • Used to imprison Palestinian children – Each year, hundreds of Palestinian children as young as 12 years old are arrested, interrogated without legal representation, and subjected to psychological and physical abuse in military detention. 

  • A direct violation of the prohibition on apartheid and racial discrimination – Israeli settlers and Palestinians living under the same occupation are subjected to two separate legal systems, violating international law, including the Apartheid Convention. 

The Urgent Responsibilities of the High Contracting Parties 

As signatories to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the High Contracting Parties are legally obligated to take action against Israel’s grave breaches of the Convention. Addameer calls on the 2025 Conference to take the following actions: 

  • Declare Israel’s military court system illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention, affirming that it constitutes a grave breach of international law. 

  • Demand the immediate and unconditional release of all Palestinian prisoners, including those held under administrative detention, political prisoners, and children. 

  • Call for an immediate halt to Israel’s widespread and systematic arrest of Palestinians, which violates international humanitarian and human rights law. 

  • Ensure accountability for Israeli officials operating and enforcing this system, including by initiating legal action under universal jurisdiction. 

  • Condemn Israel’s use of torture, forced confessions, and other inhumane treatment in military detention, and demand immediate protections for all detainees. 

  • Pressure Israel to dismantle the military courts and comply with its obligations as an Occupying Power, ensuring that Palestinians are granted full due process rights under international law. 

Beyond Words: A Demand for Concrete Action 

Previous international efforts, including past conferences of the High Contracting Parties, have failed to dismantle this unlawful system. The time for statements of concern has long passed. Palestinians are being imprisoned, tortured, and denied their fundamental rights every day. 

If the Fourth Geneva Convention is to remain a meaningful framework for protecting civilians under occupation, this Conference must take concrete steps to end Israel’s illegal military courts, secure the release of Palestinian prisoners, and bring accountability for those responsible for these violations. 

Addameer calls on all High Contracting Parties to act decisively and fulfill their legal and moral obligations—Israel’s military court system must be dismantled, and Palestinian prisoners must be freed.