Iran’s parliament approves amendment declaring all Israelis “military”

The accepted wording states that “all Zionists living in the occupied territories,” as well as members of the US Central Command and the groups under their control, “are considered military personnel, whether armed or not.” In official Iranian rhetoric, the “occupied territories” refers to the entire territory of Israel, meaning the amendment applies to the entire Israeli population, including children and other civilians.

The proposal’s author, lawmaker Mehdi Kouchakzadeh, said the language should eliminate “legal ambiguity” when Iran retaliates. Parliament also decided to exclude from the category of protected civilian objects any property and infrastructure whose products or services are directly or indirectly used by Israel, CENTCOM or their associated entities. 128 deputies voted for this amendment, 35 were against, and two abstained.

For now, we are talking about amendments to the bill being considered article by article, and not about the law that has entered into force. The proposed rule contradicts the basic principle of international humanitarian law, according to which parties are obliged to distinguish between combatants and civilians, and civilians lose protection from attack only while they are directly involved in hostilities.