ANKARA

Penny Green, a law professor at Queen Mary University and participant in the Gaza Court's final session in Istanbul, said the initiative seeks to compile testimonies and mobilize global public opinion on Israel’s alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Green explained that while the court lacks legal authority, its purpose is to build a comprehensive archive of evidence through witness statements, journalist accounts, and expert contributions.

She underlined that the court does not debate whether the events in Gaza and the West Bank constitute genocide, as participants already accept and recognize them as such.

Green added that substantial documentation from Palestinian NGOs and genocide researchers supports these conclusions.

Highlighting the initiative’s broader mission, Green said it aims to stir global civil society, noting that millions have already protested worldwide against Israel’s crimes of genocide, colonialism, and apartheid.

She characterized the Istanbul session as part of this nonviolent global resistance.

Green also criticized the international legal system’s failure to prevent or prosecute genocide, not only in Gaza but also in places like Myanmar and Sudan.

She pointed out that this failure has triggered a rise in civil society movements across Western countries, including Europe, the US, and Australia.

Backing efforts like the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aimed to break the blockade on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, Green stressed the importance of solidarity initiatives.

As a scholar from Tasmania, a region with its own history of settler colonialism and genocide against Indigenous populations, Green said Australians, particularly anti-racist activists, see parallels between the Palestinian struggle and the fight of Aboriginal communities against settler-colonial structures.