The Legality of the Israeli Buffer Zone in the Gaza Strip

Israel is reportedly considering establishing a security zone within the Gaza Strip, along the border, to prevent terrorist infiltration, invasion or launching of attacks on Israel, such as occurred in the October 7th massacre. It has been claimed that the Israeli buffer zone violates international law.

There are two main claims that are leveled against the buffer zone. It is asserted that Israeli demolition of homes is wanton destruction of property unjustified by military necessity. Furthermore, it has been argued that Israel is prohibited from establishing a defensive zone on territory of the Gaza Strip, and that any buffer must be established on Israeli territory. According to this view, the establishment of a buffer zone in Gazan consists of an illegal occupation of Gazan territory.

This paper will argue that Israel’s actions stem from clear military necessity and that as such they do not violate the prohibition against wanton destruction of property. In addition, states are entitled to hold enemy territory in the lawful exercise of their right to self-defense. This will be demonstrated most recently by the examples of the Turkish buffer zones in Syria and Iraq, which have been accepted as legal by leading Western states.