The Military Advocate General, Major Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi Opening Remarks

Honored guests, shalom, good morning and welcome to the fourth IDF Military Advocate General’s International Conference, on the Law of Armed Conflict.
I’m excited to see all of you here with us again, by the beautiful Herzliya beachfront. Everyone present in this room comprises an extraordinary collection of expertise and perspectives – coming from different states and continents, and from a wide array of organizations: militaries, governments, academia, civil society, and others.
There are over two hundred participants here, of them approximately one hundred international participants from thirty countries. Looking around the room, I’m glad we are able to host this conference again this year, after several years of a halt, due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is indeed my pleasure to renew this tradition, and I hope and believe that we are reinstating our biennial conference, to take place from now-on for years to come.
The Law of Armed Conflict is as relevant today as ever. We have been reminded of this, time and again: as evidenced by the war in Ukraine; the protracted armed conflicts between States and non-state armed groups; and numerous other incidents worldwide. Unfortunately, we’ve also seen that more recently, with terror organizations firing dozens of rockets at Israeli civilians on Passover, as well as just last week.
At the legal level, these constant frictions bring forward to centre stage, old and new questions pertaining to armed conflict. Some legal questions regard longstanding issues, for example ground operations, naval warfare, or the treatment of prisoners of war. In other instances, we are able to see how an ever-changing battlefield, raises queries about emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence, or developing fronts, such as in outer space.
Various armed conflicts in recent years, raise one of the most fascinating aspects of LOAC: the need to re-visit certain terms, that we, lawyers, have been using for decades, and that the meaning of which, once seemed obvious. Terms such as “attack”, or “destruction of property”, that did not require significant debate in the past, suddenly raise new dilemmas.
Our first panel today is going to deal precisely with these intriguing issues, and will hopefully inspire further research and legal dialogue.
Some say that one should live every day to its fullest. As legal advisers in the IDF, we sometimes feel that each day we live LOAC to its fullest.
As you all know, the IDF has been facing constant frictions with hostile actors around us. For me, and for all the officers of the Military Advocate General’s Corps, the ongoing challenge is to constantly examine how to implement the law in evolving situations, which are familiar, yet – in some respects – novel.
Indeed, thinking and practicing LOAC is our daily reality.
You’ll be hearing soon from Major General Tal Kelman, head of the IDF Strategic Directorate, about the operational threats the IDF is currently facing on each front. These different fronts invite diverse legal challenges.
In this context, I would like to speak briefly about the nature of the IDF’s legal-operational challenges, and mention some concrete examples:
One of the IDF’s major challenges, which it faces in multiple arenas – is terror organizations, which embed their military assets in densely populated civilian areas. Hezbollah, for example, hides tens of thousands of rockets across a great number of cities, towns and villages in southern Lebanon; and Hamas uses similar tactics in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, terror organizations also target their operations at civilians in Israel. The IDF faces terror groups having no commitment to obey LOAC, while the IDF itself is fully committed to the law. This leads to distinct challenges arising in various fields, including targeting, detentions, and cross-border rules-of-engagement, to mention but a few.
A second type of legal-operational challenges the IDF faces, is complex questions from the law of State-Responsibility. The triggering factor for many of these challenges, is Iran’s on-going funding, supporting and directing of terror organizations throughout the region. Another important factor, is the failure of the Government of Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah's constant activities from Lebanese territory.
We face a third challenge in Judea and Samaria, where the IDF practices the law of belligerent occupation. Officers under my command provide advice to all decisions made by the commanders within the area, on a wide range of issues, including operational questions, security infrastructure, environmental regulation, and civil administration. Addressing these issues often requires expertise in the complex law in the area, comprised of various historical layers, and is also challenged by the difficult security situation.
Fourth, the MAG Corps constantly contends with the dynamic nature of warfare. We face legal questions arising from ancient applications of LOAC, as well as new technologies and fields. Our officers need to identify the correct advice in every operational situation, and adapt often abstract principles to relevant, effective legal advice on a daily basis.
Finally, we are increasingly required to provide legal advice in the context of hostile actions carried out by Iran, directly against Israel. These threats appear in different ways, including the air, sea and cyber domains, across the region.
This type of direct threat posed by another state, occasionally triggers additional legal questions, both from the jus in bello and the jus ad bellum.
I have the privilege of commanding a unit that provides legal advice aimed to ensure that the IDF’s operations accord with international law. Certain aspects enable us to do this effectively. In particular, the nature of my position as heading both the military prosecution and its legal advisory system; as well as the MAG Corps’ independence, professionalism, and separation from the regular chain of command.
The unit operates as part of the Israeli legal system, led by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who has honoured us with her presence, and with her upcoming remarks today. As part of the Israeli legal system, we are of course also subject to oversight from the Supreme Court, as a law-abiding military, in a democratic state.
We provide this legal advice, operating shoulder to shoulder with the commanders, and working to help them achieve operational goals, within the confines of what the law permits.
In order to maintain the best performance of our duties, the Military Advocate General’s Corps is required to maintain a high professional standard, always seeking to improve our knowledge and capabilities. One of our ways to do so, is regular professional engagement with colleagues, both governmental and non-governmental, including all of you here.
The topics that will be presented in this conference, are aimed at furthering and broadening this dialogue. We aim to reflect a wide array of different opinions on issues which concern the militaries of the world daily, with various relevant stakeholders.
At this point, I would like to mention the tour we have scheduled for tomorrow. We’ll be taking you for a view in the field of our northern arena. Alongside the security challenges, the tour will also address the maritime delimitation agreement, concluded by Israel and Lebanon last year. You’ll be able to see how the agreement has been implemented on the ground, or should I say, in the sea.

I would like to add a few observations, regarding the law of armed conflict, as a framework made-up of several balances, and how this relates to the discussions we’re going to hear in the coming days.
The implementation and development of the law of armed conflict, is often described as a reflection of balance – a balance between military necessity, and humanitarian considerations. This description is true, but there are also several other tiers on which we can view the issue.
LOAC also reflects a relationship between states and non-state entities. While both states and non-state entities are involved in proposing ways of interpreting, and developing LOAC, States are those who legislate and implement the law. The panel we have later today regarding the identification of customary law, represents this complicated relationship well.
Moreover, the law of armed conflict reflects the balance between the history we have in mind when a norm is being formed, and the need to adapt that norm, to future situations, which we cannot fully anticipate.
It is our great privilege to host here today a legacy panel on the first additional protocol to the Geneva Conventions. This panel will be made up of some of the representatives who made history, almost 50 years ago, negotiating the protocol at the Diplomatic Conference.
On Wednesday, we are going to hold a panel on autonomy and Artificial Intelligence. This session will discuss the correct way of implementing existing law on developing technologies, and prospects for specific regulations in this field. This should enable a more contemporary look at this balance, between past and present.
The development of LOAC may also be a reflection of the balance between the ideals of a better world, on the one hand; and the phenomenon of war, which by definition leads to suffering and harm, on the other. This friction will be especially expressed in our panel on the natural environment in armed conflicts, also to take place on Wednesday.
Naturally, the development of the law also reflects the balance between attempts to concisely transcribe complicated ideas, and the way these ideas are implemented in the field. The practical workshop, in which we’ll discuss complex scenarios reality creates, will enable us to grapple with these questions.
And finally, of course, it must be remembered that the law of armed conflict is not a body of law alone. It interacts with other bodies of law, one of which – jus ad bellum – we’ll discuss in the conference’s final panel.
To conclude –
In the political and diplomatic context, we often refer to “the international community”.
I would like to talk about The International LOAC Community – the people sitting in this room today.
People who care about the integrity of the law, care about the rule of law; who know the importance of professional expertise to support decision-makers; People who speak many different languages, but share the universal language of LOAC; People who understand the constraints of reality, and the fact that states must defend themselves and their citizens, while still striving to minimize as much as possible human suffering in this reality.
In this community, it’s natural for there to be many different opinions, on various issues. I feel comfortable saying we’ll likely see that in action throughout the conference.
It’s these many angles of observation, that come together to create a whole, which is a rich system of balances and perspectives. That’s why I’m so glad you’re all here with us – representatives from diverse backgrounds and various states – and that we can have professional, rich and useful conversations together.
I wish all of us a successful and enriching conference, during the formal sessions, as well as in between them. Thank you, and have a pleasant stay in Israel.