The events in Israel and Palestine are shocking.

On the barrage of rockets indiscriminately targeting civilians, the horrific mass killing and abduction of innocent women and men, including seniors and children, international law is unequivocal: these are crimes. Under international law, those subjected to long-standing oppression have an absolute right to stand against their subjugation, but they still have responsibilities concerning the means and methods of action. Killing innocent civilians is illegal.

We are not just observers who can limit ourselves to registering shock, however. We have a duty, as many Palestinians and Israelis are asking, to analyze the situation and identify paths to prevent further bloodshed. Human rights organizations in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel and others, including myself and the special rapporteurs who preceded me, have pointed to this risk for decades now, insisting that the root causes be addressed once and for all. The brutal and unlawful status quo has been a recipe for more insecurity for all.