"This framing is misleading and dangerously euphemistic. Israeli officials are not facilitating the voluntary departure of Palestinians from the occupied Gaza Strip but are forcibly displacing Palestinians—a practice that constitutes ethnic cleansing and is explicitly condemned under international law."
April 3, 2025
To the Reuters and CBC newsroom,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding this Reuters-sourced article CBC published on April 2, 2025 titled: “Israeli troops seize more land in Gaza as mass evacuations of Palestinians continue.”
There is a section in the article titled “Israel plans to facilitate voluntary departure” that makes space for Israeli leaders to claim they plan to facilitate the voluntary departure of Palestinians from the occupied Gaza Strip.
This framing is misleading and dangerously euphemistic. Israeli officials are not facilitating the voluntary departure of Palestinians from the occupied Gaza Strip but are forcibly displacing Palestinians—a practice that constitutes ethnic cleansing and is explicitly condemned under international law. Specifically, Article 7(1)(d) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) classifies deportation or forcible transfer of a population as a crime against humanity. In this sense, Israel’s plans to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from the occupied Gaza Strip are crimes condemned under international law:
Although Israel has not ratified the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) because Palestine acceded to the Rome Statute in 2015, making it a state party to the ICC. As a result, Israeli officials can still be prosecuted for war crimes under Article 7(1)(d) of the Rome Statute, which prohibits the forcible transfer of a population.
Furthermore, Israel’s plans, if implemented, would constitute another war crime, as the Israeli officials are calling for the forced expulsion of Palestinians to make way for Israeli settlements on Palestinian territories—again in direct violation of international law. Specifically, Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) explicitly prohibits an occupying power (Israel) from transferring its civilian population into occupied territory (West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza—even after the 2005 withdrawal):
Mainstream media that portray Israel’s intention to ethnically cleanse Palestinians as a mere “voluntary departure” risk becoming a mouthpiece for Israeli propaganda—dangerously normalizing violations of international humanitarian law.
Reuters, and by extension CBC, have a responsibility to ensure that its reporting does not contribute to the normalization of war crimes and crimes against humanity. At a minimum, the article should have clearly stated that Israel’s plan constitutes ethnic cleansing, a grave breach of international law.
Secondly, the article notes that “hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since the resumption of the strikes, and Israel has also cut off aid to the enclave,” yet fails to contextualize the practice of blockade legally. Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war, a practice condemned under international humanitarian law, specifically, article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which mandates that an occupying power is legally obligated to ensure that the civilian population has access to food and medical supplies.
Furthermore, blocking aid from entering, Israel is committing yet another war crime—collective punishment—in violation of article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which explicitly criminalizes the intentional use of starvation as a method of warfare.
The article should have explicitly mentioned that Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war amounts to collective punishment, which is a war crime under international law.
I’ve previously been in touch with Brian Moss from Reuters and the editors at CBC. I hope this letter contributes to a continued, constructive dialogue in the name of fair and responsible reporting.
I await your response.
Lynn Naji
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East