TEHRAN - As the “Right to Resist” International People’s Tribunal on Palestine delivered its landmark verdict in Barcelona—finding Israel, the United States, key European states, and other actors guilty of genocide, ecocide, forced starvation, and systematic violations of international law—one of the most compelling expert voices was that of Dr. Omar Nashabeh.

A criminologist and human rights researcher, Nashabeh holds a PhD in Criminal Justice and has spent decades examining structural violence, prison systems, and state accountability across the region. 

His work spans academia, investigative journalism, and human-rights advocacy, including years on the editorial board of Al-Akhbar. At the Tribunal, he served as an expert witness for the prosecution, presenting detailed evidence on Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s environment and infrastructure—an analysis that helped shape the Tribunal’s conclusion that the assault constitutes not only genocide but also ecocide. In an exclusive interview with the Tehran Times, Dr. Nashabeh reflects on the findings, the legal foundations, and the global significance of the verdict.

The following is the text of the interview:

As a member of the "Right to Resist" International People's Tribunal on Palestine, could you explain why this tribunal was established at this particular moment and what gaps in international justice it seeks to fill?

The Israelis have been committing genocide, ecocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes since 2023—adding to a much longer list of violations over the past 80 years, including occupation, apartheid, and indiscriminate killings since the establishment of the Israeli entity in 1948.

Throughout all these decades, Israel has escaped accountability. This has created a global atmosphere of impunity, where Israeli authorities consistently get away with the crimes they perpetrate.

Today, these crimes have escalated dramatically, leading to the killing of more than 100,000 people and the near-total destruction of Gaza—destruction that the entire world has seen, covered by mainstream media. Everyone witnessed children dying of starvation, hospitals being bombed, and basic international laws being openly violated.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, but they were never enforced—not even by European states that are signatories to the Rome Statute. The International Court of Justice issued three orders demanding Israel allow food into Gaza and stop the bloodshed. Israel simply ignored them.

Since international tribunals and mechanisms for justice have proven incapable of stopping Israeli massacres or holding Israel accountable, we felt there was a need for a democratic, people-driven process. That is why the People’s Tribunal was established: to create a platform where ordinary people can act, present evidence, and issue a verdict based on documented facts rather than political manipulation.

The Tribunal allowed us to show evidence, produce supporting documents, and create a factual record in case anyone later questions what happened. This was not political rhetoric—it was an opportunity to expose the perpetrator through clear proof.

As for myself, I served as a witness for the prosecution, not as a judge. The judges and jurors are required to be unbiased. I, however, made my position clear and submitted evidence demonstrating that Israel is committing not only genocide but also ecocide. I even suggested adopting the term “metacide”—the complete destruction of nature and any sign of human life in Gaza.

Ultimately, the Tribunal also became a moment of international solidarity—an opportunity for free people around the world to stand with the Palestinian people.

A report by a human rights organization found that Israel’s bombardment generated CO2 emissions greater than the combined emissions of six countries. 

You have emphasized that Palestinians have an internationally recognized right to resist occupation. How does this tribunal legally define resistance and how does it distinguish legitimate resistance from what Israel labels as terrorism?

The definition of resistance, and the right to resist, is guaranteed under international law. One of the leading documents that legitimizes all forms of resistance to foreign occupation is the United Nations Charter.

In Chapter 7, the UN Charter states that every member of the United Nations—such as Lebanon, a founding member, and Palestine, recognized under international law—has the right, if subjected to occupation or attack, to defend itself and fight for liberation. Nothing in the Charter can obstruct or limit this right.

This right is also affirmed in United Nations resolutions, which recognize the right of peoples to resist colonialism and foreign domination. Decolonization occurred globally after the Second World War, when the international community supported the right of peoples to self-determination and independence.

Following the war, key international instruments were adopted, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. These frameworks reinforced a global direction against colonialism, affirming that peoples have the right to independent and democratic nations.

Consequently, after the Second World War, peoples had the legal right to resist occupation and colonial domination, and many nations achieved independence. This right is protected under international law and ensures freedom from occupation and colonialism.

Importantly, this framework exists in international law and is not specific to the People’s Tribunal. When the Tribunal emphasizes that people have the right to resist, it is not merely an opinion—it is a principle firmly grounded in international law.

You presented expert testimony on patterns of violence and structural oppression against Palestinians. Can you elaborate on the central thesis of your testimony and why you considered these patterns evidence of systematic crimes?

My presentation before the Tribunal focused on one specific angle of Israeli crimes: ecocide, meaning crimes against nature and the ecological system. I highlighted this because you cannot have a complete genocide without an ecocide.

In cases where genocide does not eliminate all the people, those who survive can return to their land, rebuild, and continue their community. Therefore, to make genocide “effective,” the perpetrators must also destroy the environment that sustains life. This is precisely what Israel has done in Gaza: destroying nature, polluting the aquifer, contaminating the air, generating unprecedented volumes of rubble, and collapsing sewage and waste management systems to make the environment unlivable.

This destruction serves a strategic goal—eliminating the future of the Palestinian people by destroying the environment they depend upon. Genocide is not only about killing people or targeting hospitals and children; it also includes long-term, irreversible destruction of the land that allows life to regenerate.

The legal definition of ecocide refers to widespread, long-term, and severe destruction of the environment. While ecocide is not yet recognized as an independent crime in international law, the Geneva Conventions explicitly prohibit unnecessary environmental destruction. Israel has gone far beyond that, carrying out massive, long-term, and widespread damage.

I presented satellite imagery showing areas in Gaza before and after Israeli bombardment. These images demonstrate total devastation—no trees, no greenery, no sign of life. This raises a fundamental question: How can people ever return to these areas?

Environmental destruction on this scale also impacts the entire region. One report by a human rights organization found that Israel’s bombardment generated CO2 emissions greater than the combined emissions of six countries. Air, water, and soil contamination—through toxicity, chemicals, and explosive residue—has created conditions incompatible with human life.

Israel used more than 180,000 tons of weapons in one of the most densely populated areas on earth, home to 2.3 million people. The scale of bombing turned everything into rubble. Our focus on environmental destruction underscores that Israel’s objective is not only to target Palestinians directly but also to ensure that Gaza remains uninhabitable.

Even the idea promoted by some Israeli and American leaders—such as building a "Riviera" in Gaza—is impossible now. The aquifer is polluted, the soil is contaminated, and the land is deeply scarred. Life cannot simply be rebuilt on poisoned ground.

Today, nearly half of Gaza’s 360 square kilometers is fully occupied by Israel with no human presence. The remaining population is squeezed into an even smaller, devastated area with minimal resources. Despite claims of a “ceasefire,” the suffering is ongoing and worsening: tens of thousands wounded, hundreds of thousands homeless, families living in tents as rain and cold set in. Their suffering is immeasurable.

Israel has also used chemical agents, and the most alarming fact is that we still don’t fully know the types of weapons deployed in Gaza. Neither UNEP, WHO, nor the ICRC have complete information.

Given Israel’s advanced military, chemical, and biological capabilities, I fear they may have used unconventional weapons with long-term effects. This suspicion is reinforced by the openly stated Israeli intent to inflict maximum pain and destruction.

We know they used white phosphorus, an incendiary weapon. While not illegal per se, it is illegal to use it against civilians or civilian areas. Israel deployed white phosphorus on agricultural land and civilian neighborhoods in southern Lebanon and Gaza, causing severe environmental damage and widespread fires that destroy vegetation.

Israel’s current conduct of warfare differs sharply from previous conflicts. During the 2006 war, for instance—where I was present in southern Lebanon—the destruction was extensive but not genocidal.

What we see now is deliberate erasure: flattening entire villages and neighborhoods, “finishing the job,” as Israeli and American officials themselves have phrased it. Their intent and method point to a systematic strategy aimed at eliminating both the Palestinian people and the environment that sustains them.

This statement by Imam Khomeini that the United States is the “Great Evil” is tragically accurate.

How do you assess the role of Western governments in obstructing accountability mechanisms? Does this tribunal plan to confront or expose states' complicity?

I was asked this exact question by the jurors. My answer referred to the reports by Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Rapporteur. She produced two very important reports.

The first report exposed multinational companies, including Microsoft and many other large corporations worldwide, that are complicit in the genocide. Her second report revealed 63 nations that are involved in providing Israel with economic and financial support, weapons, and fuel for the war.

Israel is not acting alone; it has partners, and these partners are complicit in the crimes. Albanese faced sanctions and risks for exposing them. She may be targeted further by the U.S. or Israel for revealing this global complicity.

The Tribunal itself raises awareness, maintains a historical record, and mobilizes free people around the world. I was invited to Beirut to participate. Although I usually do not travel, I felt it was a duty to attend the People’s Tribunal against Israel, which continues committing these crimes.

While I was there, I received tragic news: a close friend and elected municipal official in Hula, Lebanon—Hussein al-Ahsan—was killed in his car. His son had been killed previously. This friend was not a fighter; he was a municipal official arranging schools and local services. This is just one example showing that the Israeli attacks are relentless.

Israel is not stopping; on the contrary, threats against Lebanon and other countries, possibly including Iran, continue daily. These threats include bombing and killing, emboldened by full U.S. support. The Americans act in concert with Israel, forming what I would call a “demonic entity,” to borrow the words of Imam Khomeini.

In the 1980s, many dismissed Imam Khomeini’s statement that the United States is the “Great Evil.” Today, the statement is tragically accurate. President Trump’s claim that he “owns Gaza” is a shocking example. How can anyone claim ownership of another country, especially one where hospitals are bombed, children undergo surgery without anesthesia, and infants die in incubators? He even proposed building a Riviera with casinos and hotels on this land.

This is not exaggeration—it is evil and demonic reality. Live streams on television show the full scale: children screaming for food and medicine, mothers lying beside the bodies of their babies, entire neighborhoods destroyed. This is the largest massacre of modern times, carried out with direct support from the United States.

Imam Khomeini’s words about America are now more credible than ever. This is not political propaganda; it is an accurate realization. Whether one supports Khomeini or not, the evidence of U.S. and Israeli complicity is concrete and undeniable.

At least 21 Lebanese citizens with no political affiliations have been seized, transferred to detention or torture centers, and effectively disappeared.

In your work with the Tribunal, what testimonies or documented incidents have been the most shocking or revealing in illustrating the scale of Israeli violations in Gaza and the West Bank?

I think the numbers are the most shocking part. But equally compelling is the evidence of destruction shown through satellite imagery. Pictures carry visual elements that are incredibly powerful in any tribunal. When you show satellite images of areas before and after Israeli attacks, the scale of total destruction is shocking.

However, no matter how powerful the evidence on environmental destruction is, it cannot compare to witness statements detailing rape, torture, and total degradation of human value inflicted by Israel.

These violations have been ongoing in Gaza, in prisons, and in concentration and torture centers that were explicitly created since 2023. People have been tortured, raped, and killed systematically.

For me, the most horrifying accounts are those published by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. Witness statements from victims of rape and torture represent the worst nightmare imaginable, revealing the full scope of human suffering inflicted on the Palestinian people.

If there is any final message you would like to share—something that perhaps we have not covered—I would like to give you the space to add it.

What I want to emphasize is that many Lebanese and Palestinian civilians have been kidnapped by Israel during the ceasefire, after it, and even before it. Israel continues to deny the ICRC access to them. We do not know whether they are alive, what their health conditions are, or how they are being treated.

These are human beings, and they deserve to be treated as such. Yet Israel persists in dehumanizing us.

Among the Lebanese detainees are fathers, mothers, and young people with families waiting anxiously for any news. Their relatives are living in unbearable uncertainty, and Israel is withholding even the most basic information.

Based on the data I have gathered, at least 21 Lebanese citizens have been taken—many of whom are ordinary civilians with no connection whatsoever to armed groups or political organizations. They include fishermen, shepherds, and agricultural workers who were seized, transferred to detention or torture centers, and effectively disappeared.

No one is asking about them. They have been abandoned—forgotten by the world. Even the Lebanese government has failed to take meaningful action.

This is not just a humanitarian issue; it is a profound moral disgrace. Their disappearance is an additional crime, and the silence surrounding their fate is an additional wound to the very idea of human dignity. Their families deserve answers. Their suffering deserves recognition. And the world must not look away.