Charles Shamas
argues that that the current clashes are not a war, but rather a civilian uprising against an occupying power. Therefore, the most relevant aspect of international law is the Fourth Geneva Convention, which stipulates behavior in regard to Occupied Territories. Shamas says that Israel may want to define the current clashes as an armed conflict to give itself wider margins to employ lethal force. He argues that the Israelis are violating international law by reacting to Palestinian attacks with disproportionate force and that Israel's closures of the West Bank and Gaza amount to Collective Punishment of the entire Palestinian civilian population.

Yaron Ezrahi
argues that the current conflict has elements of a war, but is hard to define as such. He points out that because some Palestinians in civilian clothes are armed, and often mixed within the unarmed civilian population, it is often difficult to identify the combatants. This ambiguity then provides a cover for the Israelis to commit war crimes. "The difference between this and the first Intifada is that now it has become much more ambiguous as to whether the Israeli police are facing civilians," he says.

Eyal Benvenisti
argues that the current clashes meet the definition of war because technically Israeli's war of 1948-49 has never ended and that therefore the Geneva Conventions apply to the conflict. The most relevant, he says, is the Fourth Geneva Convention. He says that although Israel is not responsible for the acts of the Palestinian Authority toward its citizens, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel is responsible of its acts toward Palestinian civilians. In contrast to Shamas, Benvenisti argues that because closing Gaza and the West Bank is a security precaution, one cannot distinguish between Collective Punishment and security concerns. In contrast to Ratner, Benvenisti says the settlers are not combatants and that if they shoot to kill, they should be tried as murders, not for war crimes.

Mustafa Barghouthi
argues that the current clashes don't amount to war because wars are fought between two armies. Like Shamas, Barghouthi defines the conflict as a popular uprising against an Occupying Power. He argues that the Israelis are using disproportionate force against a lightly armed, mostly civilian population and he agrees with Shamas that the Israeli closures of Palestinian areas amount to Collective Punishment.