CERL Advisory Council member Mary Ellen O’Connell joined June Grasso of Bloomberg Law to explain the international legal frameworks governing conflicts such as the Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine war. Under the principle of necessity, she asserts, Hamas did not have the legal right to attack Israelis, and Israel will be limited in how it can respond in defense of its citizens.

Mary Ellen O’Connell is the Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law and Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution—Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame. Read her bio here.

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