New documents reveal the Board of Peace plans to grant itself sweeping immunity from prosecution from anything they do in Gaza. It's not clear if the immunity also covers international courts but it covers every member of the BOP and in their countries.
ISix lawyers specializing in US contracting law and international armed conflict reviewed the draft resolution for the Guardian.
If the resolution goes into force, they said, it is unclear how Board of Peace officials, soldiers, and contractors would be held accountable if there are shootings or accidents that affect Gaza residents, or even how the group might resolve routine disputes over business or land use there.
US-led reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan were often plagued by controversies of corruption or cases of civilian deaths or abuse at the hands of American contractors, including those working for Blackwater and KBR, who have since faced litigation in US courts. Any reconstruction effort in Gaza could face similar challenges.
"It looks like an attempt to exempt the board, and all of its personnel, from accountability for potential legal violations," said Emily Schaeffer Omer-Man, an expert in litigating international humanitarian law in Israeli, American and foreign courts.t also grants them the ability to take public land in Gaza, for free.