According to the IHL provisions, the State’s law enforcement agencies are considered to be protected civilian objects. Any military operations launched against law enforcement agencies are tantamount to targeting protected civilians, who may not be the object of attack under IHL. These civilian agencies can only be targeted if they join military forces.
In its 1996 Advisory Opinion, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) emphasises that parties to the conflict have a duty to distinguish between civilian and military targets, which may not be targeted. These involve any government institution that works towards enforcing the law, including the police agency.
In this context, the Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (Goldstone Report) stresses that Israel’s military attack on police headquarters was in violation of IHL as the “Gaza police were a civilian law-enforcement agency.”
