The Palestinian Institute for International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights at the Faculty of Law and Political Science at An-Najah National University organized a two-day training program titled “International Humanitarian Law and the Colonial Legacy in the Laws of War” on July 27–28, 2025.The program was conducted in collaboration with the Institute’s visiting professor, Professor Atta Hindi, and involved the participation of a group of students from various legal disciplines.

The program opened with welcoming remarks by Ms. Bisan Abatly, Coordinator of the Institute's Establishment Project, who emphasized the importance of the training in enriching students’ legal knowledge about the complex relationship between international humanitarian law and legal systems shaped by colonial contexts. She also stressed the value of focusing on such critical topics to develop students’ skills in deep, critical analysis of international law.

The training sessions, delivered by Professor Atta Hindi, covered five main themes. The first session provided general remarks on colonial and imperial legacies in the laws of war, followed by a discussion on the law governing the use of force (jus ad bellum). The third session focused on the applicable law during armed conflict, highlighting the frameworks of international humanitarian law. This was followed by a session exploring individual immunities for international crimes. The program concluded with an open discussion session, in which participants engaged in dialogue about the past, present, and future of international law, particularly international humanitarian law, with critical reflections on real-world and historical case studies illustrating the application of IHL in contexts of asymmetrical power relations, with particular focus on the Palestinian context as a case of ongoing colonization.

It should be mentioned that this training is part of a series of activities carried out by the Institute under the project for establishing the Palestinian Institute for International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, funded by the European Union.