Automated persecution and racial discrimination: a new challenge for international criminal law?

This paper argues that, in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the legal requirements to establish the crime of persecution under the Rome Statute are met with regard to the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. This conclusion is supported by statements made by Israeli political and military leaders, together with evidence collected in recent years pointing to a pattern of racial discrimination. The analysis further highlights the growing and concerning use of AI decision-support systems as tools that may amplify the crime of persecution. In particular, these systems appear to increase the number of civilian targets identified, as well as the risk of false positives. Such technologies seem to have evolved from decision-support tools into systems that are, in practice, used with little or no meaningful human oversight during the joint targeting cycle. This development raises important questions regarding the responsibility of military and political superiors, along with the potential individual criminal liability of leaders of private companies that design and supply these AI systems. The paper concludes by considering the possibility of civil compensation before national courts for victims harmed through the use of AI in this conflict, while also acknowledging the legal and practical challenges involved in obtaining such remedies, alongside their potential benefits.