Monday, July 22, 2024

07/22 Links Pt1: J’accuse! How the International Court of Justice Has Condemned Itself; It's time to get rid of UNRWA and Guterres; Trump and the UN

From Ian:

Jacques Gauthier to Israel: ‘Never allow people to tell you you’re trespassers’
The United Nations has long referred to Judea and Samaria as “occupied” Palestinian land, and the global body’s principal judicial arm, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, issued a non-binding ruling last Friday declaring that “occupation” to be “unlawful.”

French-Canadian attorney and scholar Jacques Gauthier told JNS recently that the United Nations, countries, nonprofits and others that use the term “occupied territories” in this way misunderstand international law and legally recognized treaties.

“Never allow people to tell you that you’re trespassers. It’s your land,” Gauthier, who is not Jewish, told JNS. “It’s been given to you, in law.”

Gauthier, whose scholarly work focuses on the Jewish people’s legal rather than biblical claims to the modern State of Israel, thinks that the 1920 treaty that emerged from the conference in San Remo, Italy, ought to be as well known as the Balfour Declaration.

Great Britain didn’t control the region of Palestine at the time, and its Balfour Declaration was just that—a declaration, not an international legal document.

But the San Remo agreement, which incorporated the principles of the declaration from three years prior, had the legal imprimatur of international support.

The 1920 San Remo agreement “is the most momentous political event in the whole history of the Zionist movement,” Gauthier told JNS.

‘A good cause’

Montreal-born and educated in Paris until elementary school, Gauthier didn’t know much about Jews as a child. “My environment, my schooling, exposed me in a very limited way to the State of Israel or the issues that preoccupy me now,” he told JNS.
Under Trump, Soleimani was eliminated. Another 4 years will see Iran weak again
REGRETTABLY, DURING the Obama and Biden administrations, the Islamic Republic reinvigorated its cycle of fire and terror. It aligned with Russia in the conflict in Ukraine and played a crucial role in the terrorist attacks in Gaza against Israel, instigating actions from Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Popular Mobilization Forces. The Islamic Republic fears Trump’s possible return.

Trump knows that the Islamic Republic does not represent the people of Iran. They have only one popular, legitimate, and trustworthy representative and that is Prince Reza Pahlavi, who believes in friendship with Israel, the United States, and the West. Some of Trump’s advisers have met with the prince in Washington. Perhaps Trump and the CIA will support regime change in Tehran. Although the Islamic Republic has repeatedly called for Trump’s execution and death on television, this issue was not taken seriously during Biden’s tenure.

Rather, Biden paid attention to the mullahs’ superstitions. On May 2, 2022, during President Joe Biden’s speech at a reception celebrating eid al-fitr. he remarked, “I didn’t understand the concept of the ‘hidden imam’... so I sought guidance and enlisted the expertise of a distinguished Islamic studies professor to collaborate with me.” The hidden imam is a theological notion within Shia Islam and does not possess an external, tangible presence, being a construct tied to Shia religious history. [The hidden imam is believed to have been born but disappeared, and will remain hidden until he reappears to bring justice to the world at the end of time, a doctrine known as “the occultation.”] The Islamic caliphate regime claims to be sustaining the authority of the hidden imam until an alleged reappearance. Tragically, advocates of Khomeini, such as the terrorists of Fadā’iyān-e Islam, brutally targeted intellectuals like Ahmad Kasravi who dared to label this contemporary imam as counterfeit (March 11, 1946).

Trump might, with the help of the CIA, realize that the mullahs commit murder based on these superstitions – and not repeat Carter’s 1979 mistake in sanctifying a savage mullah as a divine representative on Earth.

The flawed cycle of Washington-Tehran relations after 1979 must change if the world in the 21st century seeks stability and peace.
Ruthie Blum: ‘If only we had known’
It’s the neighbors’ reactions that the network didn’t realize it was exposing as equally vile. What came across in the report was the mind frame of Gazans, even those not affiliated with Hamas. Take Abu Muhammad el Tahrawi, for instance.

El Tahrawi described Dr. Aljamal as “a pious man,” one who “leads the prayer, then goes back to his home. He didn’t mix with people, didn’t complain about other people, and no one complained about him. He was a man who minded his own business.”

Expressing surprise that Aljamal had been holding hostages in his home, el Tahrawi told CNN, “Had we known, had he told us, we would have taken safety precautions, hide or move [sic] to somewhere else.”

Wow. One might have expected him to say that if he and others in the community had been aware of hostages in their midst, they would have informed Israeli authorities or tried to help the innocent victims in some other way.

But, no. El Tahrawi was referring to the danger of being in the crossfire between Hamas and the Israeli heroes who swooped into Nuseirat and saved Kozlov, Jan, Ziv and Argamani.

Which brings us to Argamani’s jailers. According to CNN, “local people were reluctant to share many details about [the Abu Nar] family, but they did express surprise and concern that a hostage had been held in their midst.”

Calling Abu Nar “ordinary” and a “normal man,” Khalil al-Kahlot, a civil servant in Gaza, said, “He had young children at home. No one would expect him to hold a hostage like this, in homes and among people.”

Another neighbor, this one anonymous, added, “They are people in Hamas, but we did not know that. If we had known there was something there, no one would have stayed in the area.”

Again, not an ounce of sympathy for the hostages—only distress at not having been told in time to relocate. In this context, it’s worth reiterating what I wrote a mere four days before “Operation Arnon” in Nuseirat (renamed after National Counterterrorism Unit Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, who was killed while leading the mission):

“[I]t’s a fact that only terrorists captured and interrogated by the Israel Security Agency have provided information on the whereabouts of hostages. No Gazan ‘civilians’ have come forward to do so voluntarily. The argument that they fear Hamas repercussions simply doesn’t cut it anymore, however. Even in Nazi Germany there were citizens who risked their lives to do the conscionable thing. Yad Vashem created a special title for such gentiles—The Righteous Among the Nations—who protected Jews at great peril to themselves.”


The implications of Netanyahu’s address to Congress
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to address, for the fourth time, a joint session of the U.S. Congress. There is a strong possibility this will be the last such address for Israel’s longest-serving prime minister.

The address, set for Wednesday, comes amid one of the most challenging periods in the 76-year existence of the modern State of Israel, and for Netanyahu himself.

Netanyahu has been struggling to maintain his nation’s confidence as he guides Israel through a multifront war launched by Hamas in what was without question one of the worst security failings in Israel’s history. The Oct. 7 attack saw over 1,200 people brutally murdered, many in their homes, with thousands more injured and over 260 taken hostage.

The massacre exposed Israel’s military and intelligence agencies, and the government, as having ignored both long-term and immediate warning signs of a large-scale attack. It also exposed an inability to quickly react to the Hamas terrorist army once the border with Gaza was breached, and difficulty mobilizing hundreds of thousands of troops with sufficiently up-to-date equipment and battle plans. The Hamas attack was not merely a terror incident, it was a declaration of war.

Following the surprise Hamas success and Israel’s stunning failure, and with roughly 250 kidnapped Israelis, there was no choice but to respond with overwhelming force. The Iron Swords military campaign was launched.

Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, both Iranian terror proxies like Hamas, immediately joined in to attack Israel. Hezbollah has fired over 20,000 rockets, drones and anti-tank guided missiles at Israel since Oct. 8. These attacks have killed Israeli servicemen and civilians and caused significant property damage. Israel has evacuated tens of thousands of people from towns within five kilometers (three miles) of the Lebanese border.

The Houthis have fired ballistic and cruise missiles, and explosive-laden drones, at Israel from Yemen. A Houthi drone just last week exploded close to the Tel Aviv branch office of the U.S. Embassy, killing one Israeli and leaving several injured. The Houthis have attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea, with U.S. naval vessels patrolling the waters.

While the majority of Israel’s efforts have been focused on Hamas in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces has been extremely active in attacking Hezbollah by air. And for the first time, this weekend Israel attacked fuel storage depots and an oil refinery in Yemen, in response to the deadly Tel Aviv drone attack.

Back on April 13, Israel and a coalition of militaries, including that of the United States, intercepted over 300 drones, cruise and ballistic missiles fired at Israel by Iran. Several ballistic missiles were intercepted over Israeli airspace, with as many as four striking near a military airbase in the south. Israel responded with a symbolic strike within Iran, stopping short of escalating to a full-fledged war with the world’s leading state sponsor of terror.

The diplomatic battlefield
Since the war began, demonstrations against Israel have popped up in cities across the West, along with pro-Palestinian encampments on university campuses across North America. Antisemitic incidents have soared in the United States and Europe, while Jew-hatred has saturated social media.

While according to most polls, most Americans continue to support Israel, anti-Israel sentiment is clearly on the rise, particularly among the younger demographic. Bipartisan support for Israel continues to wane as progressive elements of the Democratic Party throw their support behind illiberal Palestinians as a liberal cause.

International bodies including the U.N. Security Council, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court continue to project that Israel is the primary source of evil in the Middle East, and possibly the world.

As all this has been happening, and as Netanyahu leads a military and diplomatic effort to defeat Israel’s attacking enemies and maintain international support, he is maligned the world over, both at home and abroad.

Members of the longstanding Democratic establishment—including Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and former Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton—have openly called for new elections to remove Netanyahu from power. And a continuous stream of “leaks” to the press from within the White House have also berated the prime minister.
Netanyahu heads to DC to ‘anchor bipartisan support’ for Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took off on Monday for Washington, where he will seek to solidify bipartisan support for the Jewish state on the backdrop of President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 election.

“I am leaving this for a very important trip to the United States at a time when Israel is fighting on seven fronts and when there is great political uncertainty in Washington,” said Netanyahu on the tarmac before boarding his flight.

“I will seek to anchor the bipartisan support that is so important for Israel. And I will tell my friends on both sides of the aisle that regardless of who the American people choose as their next president, Israel remains America’s indispensable and strong ally in the Middle East,” he added.

Netanyahu noted that he will meet with Biden at the White House, despite the U.S. president’s decision not to seek a second term in office and as the 81-year-old Democrat recovers from COVID-19.

“This will be an opportunity to thank him for the things he did for Israel in the war and during his long and distinguished career in public service, as senator, vice president and president,” said Netanyahu.

“It will also be an opportunity to discuss with him how to advance in the critical months ahead the goals that are important for both our countries: Achieving the release of all our hostages, defeating Hamas, confronting the terror axis of Iran and its proxies, and ensuring that all Israeli citizens return safely to their homes in the north and in the south,” continued the premier.

“In this time of war and uncertainty, it is important that Israel’s enemies know that America and Israel stand together—today, tomorrow, and always,” he added.

Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday that the two leaders will meet on Tuesday, ahead of the prime minister’s address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on July 24.


‘Let them go,’ not ‘bring them home’
In the wake of the Hamas hostage crisis, a central and often-heard rallying cry has emerged from the Israeli and Diaspora Jewish communities: “Bring them home.”

While this phrase is rooted in the profound desire to see our Jewish brothers and sisters safely returned, it inadvertently misplaces the onus of responsibility.

Instead, the call should be: “Let them go.” This nuanced difference is critical, as it rightly places the burden on Hamas, the terrorist organization that took the hostages, rather than on the Israeli government and the IDF.

The misplaced onus in ‘bring them home’
“Bring them home” implies that the primary responsibility for the safe return of the hostages lies with the IDF and the Israeli government. It suggests a proactive action on the part of these entities to physically bring the hostages back, which often translates to military operations or negotiations.

This framing can inadvertently place undue pressure and expectations on the Israeli authorities, potentially leading to decisions that could risk further loss of life or strategic disadvantage.

While the IDF and the government continue to do everything humanly possible to extract these innocent people, their efforts are either underappreciated or worse, criticized by far too many.

Moreover, this phrasing overlooks the root cause of the situation: the terrorist actions of Hamas. By focusing on “bringing” the hostages home, the narrative subtly shifts the burden of resolution onto the victims’ side, rather than squarely on the perpetrators.

This can create a misleading perception that the resolution of the issue is primarily a matter of Israeli capability and willingness, rather than an act of justice and humanity that should be demanded from Hamas.


Trump and the UN
Will a new Trump administration challenge the United Nations? Will it defund the U.N.?

The first Trump administration:
1. Defunded UNRWA.
2. Pulled out of the U.N. Human Rights Council.
3. Pulled out of negotiations on the Global Compact for Migration.
4. Pulled out of UNESCO.
5. Threatened to prosecute International Criminal Court (ICC) judges and prosecutors.
6. Planned withdrawal from and defunding of the World Health Organization.

All of these challenges to the U.N. were reversed by the Biden administration.

Former President Trump has said: “I have long felt the United Nations is an underperformer but has tremendous potential.”

He has decried the large contributions the U.S. makes to the U.N. as a bad deal. He lamented “the utter weakness and incompetence of the United Nations. The United Nations is not a friend of democracy; it’s not a friend to freedom; it’s not a friend even to the United States of America, where, as you know, it has its home; and it surely is not a friend to Israel.”

During his administration, Trump appointed Nikki Haley as ambassador to the United Nations. She was an assertive critic of the U.N.’s incompetence, corruption and anti-American and anti-Israel policies.

Trump also appointed John Bolton as National Security Advisor. Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations himself, was a fierce critic of the organization. During his time in the Trump administration, he threatened ICC judges and prosecutors with U.S. prosecution.

The U.N. has attempted to become a world government and is inherently imperialistic. It seeks to extend its authority over all nations and thus is the enemy of national sovereignty. It promotes supposedly universal values and suppresses nonconforming ideas.

The U.N. comprises 193 countries, most of which are totalitarian, not democratic. The representatives and personnel these countries send to the world body do not represent their people; they represent their authoritarian dictators.

The U.N. is instinctively anti-American as a result of Russia and China (America’s most powerful enemies) sitting on the Security Council, as well as the scores of Islamic and post-colonial, global south member countries that vote in blocs. These nations’ values differ markedly from liberal democracies such as the U.S. They block U.S. initiatives and promote programs that seek to weaken our power. By supporting the U.N., the U.S. is sponsoring its enemies to the tune of billions of dollars per year.
It's time to get rid of UNRWA and Guterres
THE EXISTENCE of the United Nations itself no longer appears to have positive or beneficial justification. For years, it has systematically disregarded the many human violations committed by China, Iran, Russia, Yemen, Egypt, Bangladesh, Uganda, Honduras, Pakistan, Turkey, Haiti, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Sudan and so many others – while focusing all its attention on the only democracy in the Middle East which has provided freedom, opportunity, and a high standard of living for its 10 million residents.

Is it possible that the UN is comprised of an assorted collection of Jew-haters loath to accept the existence of Israel as a fait accompli – chief among them being UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres? After all, he is determined to exonerate UNRWA and allow it to continue to exist. Gazan locals, who are highly vested in seeing the demise of Israel, cannot be expected to administer services free from political agendas while under the umbrella of the United Nations.

This organization is bereft of the goodness, compassion, generosity, and the altruism it claims to pursue. The UN is a highly prejudiced, politically biased, and intolerantly elitist mechanism, whose fixed agenda is out in the open for all to see.

The UN has disqualified itself by neglecting, on its own turf, the much-needed accountability it demands from Israel – while attempting to whitewash real transgressions and a complete disregard for the well-being of suffering innocents in other lands, who are each going through their own hell on earth.

Guterres is presiding over nothing more than a sham humanitarian organization that only champions those of their choosing, while offering no relief to others in desperate and deplorable situations.

While this perversion has a constituency that mutually benefits from the oppression it facilitates, everyone else who values truth, fair dealings, and righteous accountability should vocally reject a haughty, self-aggrandizing organization that clearly does not look out for its fellow man.

Undoubtedly, UNRWA will not be dismantled, but, to the extent that it continues to function under what was once a highly-regarded institution, no one should be taken in by these indispensable “angels of mercy” who, while performing their so-called “humane duties” remain wholly committed to the destruction of Israel.
Three bills to cut ties between Israel and UNWRA set to advance in Knesset
Three bills intended to cut ties between Israel and UNWRA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, passed their first reading in the Knesset plenum on Monday.

The bills are a response to claims that some members of UNWRA were also members of Hamas’s armed wing, with some even participating in the October 7 Hamas massacre, and that some of the agency’s infrastructure in Gaza is being used by the terrorist group.

The first bill, proposed by five MKs from the Likud and one from Shas, says simply that UNWRA may not “operate any institution, provide any service, or conduct any activity, whether directly or indirectly,” in Israel.

The second bill, proposed by six MKs from Yesh Atid, two from the Likud and one from National Unity, says that agency workers will not enjoy immunity or special rights that other UN workers enjoy in Israel, such as immunity from indictment and some tax cuts.

The third bill, proposed by Yisrael Beytenu’s six MKs, is to designate UNWRA as a terror organization and cut off all ties between Israel and the agency.

All three bills will now move to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to prepare them for their second and third reading.
The ICJ rejects international law
What a pleasant thrill to see the most commonplace prejudices confirmed by the august body of the International Court of Justice. The United Nations’ top court—so noted for its love for Israel—just reached the single most unsurprising ruling in history: That Israel is the illegal occupier of the territory of a non-existent Palestinian entity.

The ICJ, which appears indifferent to the encouragement and collaboration it offers to global antisemitism, had already decided a few months before that Israel might be guilty of a genocide that the ICJ invented out of whole cloth. It must have taken enormous pleasure in offering Hamas a new and generous gift. The Palestinian Authority, of course, declared the ICJ’s decision a historic turning point. If it was referring to the total self-abasement of the “international community,” it is quite correct.

“Occupation” is a remarkable word. In the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it means absolutely nothing. It is a buzzword that signals a self-granted if baseless moral superiority. By saying the magic world, one is suddenly a defender of the oppressed and dispossessed. You are in favor of self-determination, of course, though this elides the fact that, in this context, self-determination means Hamas’s “right” to determine itself on massacring civilians, taking hostages and digging tunnels beneath civilian areas—all with total impunity.

Indeed, the U.N.’s own Secretary-General António Guterres stood tall the day after Hamas’s genocidal attack on Oct. 7 to blame everything on “Palestinian suffering”—that is, the creation of the State of Israel.

That Israel’s existence is firmly based on international law means nothing to Guterres or anyone else in the “international community” because, despite their pious moaning, they do not believe in international law. For them, it is only a weapon they can use on behalf of Hamas—nothing more.

They justify this nihilism in a remarkable way: by saying things. Things like “colonialism,” “white supremacism,” “imperialism,” “apartheid” and so on. Of these defamations, “occupation” is the greatest of all.
ICJ risks its reputation
Readers who have kept with me this far may have been surprised to read a rather more opinionated piece than I would normally write. So it’s time to come clean: everything I have written so far is taken from the 36-page dissenting opinion of Julia Sebutinde, the court’s second most senior judge. Most of it is summarised or simplified, which is my excuse for not troubling the reader with quotation marks. To make it easier for readers to check the accuracy of my summary, I have tried to follow the structure of Sebutinde’s dissent.

Sebutinde, 70, comes from Uganda. Born in Entebbe, she was educated in Kampala and Edinburgh. She has served as a judge in Uganda and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Sebutinde was re-elected to the court in February for a second nine-year term. At the same time, she became the court’s vice-president.

As a judge, she is fiercely independent. The Ugandan government said in January that a ruling she had just given in a related case “does not represent the government of Uganda’s position” — which rather suggests that Uganda expected Sebutinde to put her country’s interests ahead of her judicial oath. She complained last Friday that her colleagues on the court had not given her enough time to “provide a comprehensive analysis of every aspect of the advisory opinion that I find objectionable”.

Given the approach taken by the General Assembly and other UN organs in recent years, it is remarkable to find a judge at the UN court with such a clear grasp of what international law can and cannot achieve.

I am not saying I necessarily agree with every word Sebutinde has written. International law is not an exact science and there are always competing views. But I don’t believe Sebutinde’s well-argued opinion should be dismissed merely because she dissented.

And she was not alone. Judges Tomka, Abraham and Aurescu were also “not convinced that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful nor that… Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as rapidly as possible”.

The three judges said:
There is no legal connection whatsoever between the assertion (which is correct per se) that the Palestinian people should be able to exercise its right to self-determination on the whole of the occupied Palestinian territory and the extension of the “illegality” of the occupation (which as such, as shown in this joint opinion, has no legal basis) to all various parts of this territory. In reality, this discrepancy only underscores the fundamental flaw that taints the entire reasoning…

It is regrettable that the [majority] opinion, instead of taking into account the legitimate rights and interests of all parties involved, chose to portray the facts in an incomplete and one-sided manner, drawing an implicit parallel between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the two situations on which the court has previously been asked to provide an opinion (Namibia and Chagos), from which it, however, radically differs…

We therefore express our concern that the current opinion will hardly serve the objective of achieving the “two-state solution”, thus allowing for the peaceful coexistence of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.

Others shared these judges’ concerns. Writing in the Telegraph yesterday, the barrister and campaigner Natasha Hausdorff said the court’s majority opinion was:
a further nail in the coffin of the standing of the court and an unsurprising continuation of the lawfare campaign against Israel through the politicisation of legal institutions.

It also trashes the political framework established in the 1990s by the Oslo accords and endorsed by the international community that seeks resolution through a bilateral negotiated final status agreement.

Indeed, by pursuing this pseudo-legal campaign at the International Court of Justice, the Palestinian Authority has engaged in a further flagrant violation of the very international agreement which created it in 1994. Agreements endorsed by the international community have been made meaningless.
‘A reward to Hamas’: International legal expert on the ICJ's latest ruling on Israel
Arsen Ostrovsky has spent his life moving. Born in Odesa, Ukraine, his family fled the Soviet Union when he was seven for Sydney, Australia, where he spent his formative years growing up and going to school. In 2012, he moved to Israel and built his life in the bustling metropolis of Tel Aviv.

Since making aliyah, a Hebrew term referring to Jews immigrating to Israel, Ostrovsky established himself as a prominent advocate for the Jewish State, becoming a regular commentator on international law, human rights and national security.

A year into the pandemic, Ostrovsky became the chief executive of the International Legal Forum (ILF), a pro-Israel network of four thousand lawyers across the globe that’s aimed at combating antisemitism. He rose to public prominence since the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, when Ostrovsky used his social media accounts to document what life in the Jewish State is like following the terrorist attack.

Ostrovsky visited Toronto in as part of a North American tour that will bring him to Ottawa and Washington, D.C., in the coming days to speak about the weaponization of legal bodies. He plans to meet with Jewish communities, lawmakers, and members of civil society advocating for the release of Israeli hostages and warning against the weaponization of international law against Israel, a phenomenon known as “lawfare.” Ostrovsky’s visit coincided with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on July 19 that Israeli communities in politically disputed territories are violating international law.

National Post spoke to Ostrovsky about his work as an international human rights lawyer, ILF’s mission and the politicization of international legal bodies. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

What is your reaction to the recent ICJ ruling? How significant is it?

Today’s opinion is so absurd, it quite frankly beggars belief.

The court’s opinion, which will only serve as a reward to Hamas over the October 7 massacre, is yet another utterly baseless and politically motivated decision of the court, masquerading as a legal opinion, that will only further erode the ICJ’s credibility and place it squarely as a tool of Palestinian lawfare.

Furthermore, albeit non-binding, this opinion, delivered by the Hezbollah-controlled Lebanese presiding judge, with a pre-existing deep-seated history of anti-Israel bias, is rooted in historical revision and denial of the Jewish people, their inalienable connection to their holy sites, including Jerusalem.

It will also only push peace further away, by removing any incentive for the Palestinian Authority to negotiate, and pour more fuel on worldwide antisemitism.
JCPA: J’accuse! How the International Court of Justice Has Condemned Itself
JCPA War Room Briefing featuring Natasha Hausdorff, Barrister and Legal Director at UK Lawyers for Israel Charitable Trust

Hosted by Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, Former Director of the Military Prosecution for Judea and Samaria




Elliott Abrams: Injustice, Israel, and the "International Court of Justice"
The Houthis’ attacks on civilian vessels in the Red Sea, which amount to a piratical war on global commerce, were not on the minds of the members of the International Court of Justice on Friday, which instead issued a nonbinding opinion on what it calls “the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem.” Unsurprisingly, the court deemed these policies and practices to be illegal, and urged the mass expulsion of Jews from the West Bank and parts of Jerusalem. The title itself reveals a premature conclusion that these long-disputed territories, not claimed by any other country, are “Palestinian.” Examining the text, which concludes with a call for the creation of a Palestinian state, Elliott Abrams writes:

What is so striking is that this entirely political judgment comes in what is supposed to be a legal document. Perhaps you believe that creating an “independent and sovereign” Palestinian state will “contribute to regional stability” and to Israeli security. I do not. . . . I think it will greatly endanger Israel and “regional stability,” and will be another launching pad for Iranian aggression. That’s my political judgment; the contrary is the political judgment of the judges of the International Court of Justice, and it should have no place whatsoever in what purports to be a legal opinion.
Israel’s Retaliation against the Houthis Sends a Message to the U.S., and to Its Arab Allies
The drone that struck a Tel Aviv high-rise on Thursday night is believed to have traveled over 2,000 kilometers, flying from Yemen over Egypt and then above the Mediterranean before veering eastward toward the Israeli coast. Since October, the Houthis have launched over 200 drones at Israel. Nor is this the first attempt to strike Tel Aviv, only the first successful one. Noah Rothman observes that the Houthis’ persistent attacks on Israel and on international shipping are largely the result of the U.S.-led coalition’s anemic response:
Had the Biden administration taken a more proactive and vigorous approach to neutralizing the Houthis’ capabilities, Israel would not be obliged to expand to Yemen the theater of operations in the war Hamas inaugurated on October 7. The prospects of a regional war grow larger by the day, not because Israel cannot “take the win,” as President Biden reportedly told Benjamin Netanyahu following a full-scale direct Iranian attack on the Jewish state, but because hostile foreign actors are killing its citizens. Jerusalem is obliged to defend them and the sovereignty of Israel’s borders.

Biden’s hesitancy was fueled by his apprehension over the prospect of a “wider war” in the Middle East. But his hesitancy is what is going to give him the war he so cravenly sought to avoid.

In this context, the nature of the Israeli response is significant: rather than follow the American strategy of striking isolated weapons depots and the like, IDF jets struck the port city of Hodeida—the sort of major target the U.S. has shied away from. The mission was likely the furthest-ever carried out by the Israel Air Force, hitting a site 200 kilometers further from Israel than Tehran. Yoel Guzansky and Ilan Zalayat comment:
The message that Israel sent was intended to reach the moderate Arab countries, the West, and especially the United States. . . . The message to the coalition countries is that “the containment” had failed and the Houthis must be hit harder. The Hodeida port is the lifeline of the Houthi economy and continued damage to it will make it extremely difficult for this economy, which is also facing significant American sanctions.
Call Me Back - with Dan Senor: Israel retaliates against the Houthis - with Ronen Bergman
A lot has happened over this past weekend, again.

President Biden has dropped out of the presidential race, endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris, who has been systematically locking up endorsements from most of her possible opponents. The ascendancy of V.P. Harris occurs at the exact time that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Washington in advance of his address before Congress on Wednesday. We will discuss all of these issues in our next episode later this week.

Also this weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to bring Israel back to the negotiating table this week for a hostages-for-ceasefire deal in Gaza, ahead of his departure to the U.S. This comes despite a letter from eight Likud MKs objecting to the possible deal.

Finally, and the topic of our conversation today - on Saturday at 3:30 AM Israel time, a drone packed with explosives flew into a building in Tel Aviv, a few blocks away from the American consulate, and caused a large explosion that claimed the life of an Israeli citizen. This drone flew more than 2000 km (about 1200 miles) all the way from Yemen, and was one of four drones sent by the Houthis. The other three were shot down by U.S. forces in the Red Sea.

Later on Saturday, Israel retaliated by attacking the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah, in Yemen. The targets of the attack were oil installations and refineries, the Ras Katib power plant, the HQ of the Yemen Economic Corporation, as well as the national security and military police buildings in the north of Hodeidah. The attack caused a complete power outage in all the neighborhoods in Hodeida district and disruptions in the communication network. This port was the main import access point for weapons into Yemen for the Houthis.

While this low intensity war with the Houthis has been ongoing since October 7th, we have not focused much of our attention to this third Iranian tentacle. Who are the Houthis? How did Iran turn this rebel group into its proxy? And what could we expect from this third front?

To make sense of all of this, we have Ronen Bergman of Yediot Ahranot and the New York Times Magazine. Ronen is a pulitzer-prize winning journalist.
Seth Frantzman: The Looming Hezbollah Deterrence Problem
Hezbollah has been attacking Israel openly for months. It chooses the place and time of attacks and increasingly uses the attacks to test its drones and other munitions. Each time Hezbollah launches drone attacks or barrages of rockets, it puts out statements which are then run by Iranian media, bragging about the Hezbollah claims. Hezbollah frequently claims to target Israeli bases and sensitive sites in northern Israel. This takes the form, for instance of targeting what Hezbollah believes are surveillance sites, or IDF bases.

Iran mobilised Hezbollah as part of a multi-front war on Israel after 7 October. For Tehran this war is not just about Gaza, but bringing the whole region of Iran-backed proxies into the conflict. This is a regional war. Iran mobilized Hezbollah on October 8 and the Houthis in Yemen several days later. It has also pushed Iraqi-based militias to attack Israel and attack US forces in Iraq and Syria. The fact that all these groups have carried out attacks shows that they do not fear Israel anymore. They are not deterred. This would not have been the case in years past. Hezbollah after the 2006 war did not carry out attacks on Israel, except in rare exceptions where Hezbollah claimed to be retaliating for Israeli actions. Now Hezbollah is the one taking the initiative. Israel trained for years for a possible conflict with Hezbollah but now the IDF finds itself on the defensive in the north. The unprecedented evacuation of the border also now leaves Israelis afraid to return. The message is disconcerting.

When the Houthis attacked Tel Aviv with a drone on July 19 one person was killed and ten wounded. Israel retaliated with a large attack on the port of Hodeidah in Yemen. This attack was supposed to send a message that if groups kill Israelis, they will suffer major consequences. However, Hezbollah continues to fire rockets and drones at Israel and the Houthis have vowed more attacks. They continue to not be deterred.

Iran’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani claimed this week in New York, where he was speaking at the UN and holding meetings, that if the war in Gaza ends, then Hezbollah may end its attacks. ‘Everyone knows the conflict in southern Lebanon is rooted in the Zionist crimes in Gaza. Over the past 9 months, due to the continuation of crimes and genocide, regional resistance fronts have become active against the Zionists. Therefore, whenever the Zionist crime in Gaza ends, it is obvious that it can be expected that the resistance will not take action in other areas. But as long as the crime and genocide of the Zionists in Gaza continues, it is the right of the resistance to act based on its interests’, Bagheri Kani claimed.

The largest problem for Israel is that Iran has succeeded in linking the Hezbollah front to Gaza. Israel chose not to respond strongly to Hezbollah because the IDF is tied down in Gaza. Therefore, Israel conducts precision and proportional responses to the Hezbollah attacks. However, this benefits Hezbollah more than Israel. Israel has always understood that its presence in the region is dependent on deterring stronger enemies. If Israel tries to go for a war of attrition it will lose in the long run, because Israel has more to lose. Israel is a powerful hi-tech economy. Lebanon is bankrupt. Every day that Israel wastes in a war of attrition with Hezbollah, benefits Hezbollah and Iran. Evacuating citizens for a year is not an answer. What happens the next time there is a flare-up in Gaza, will Israel send 100,000 people in northern Israel away from their homes every year or two when Hezbollah decides to attack?

Hezbollah is learning a lesson from this war. It has improved its drones and rockets. It has also watched how Israel responds. It can also read Israel’s media where commentators write about how a war with Hezbollah will be difficult. Hezbollah was allowed to grow too strong since 2006, much as Hamas also grew exponentially stronger and carried out the 7 October attack. Now Hezbollah has painted Israel into a corner. Hezbollah’s daily attacks became a ‘norm’ and if Israel strikes back harder it will be perceived as the aggressor. Israel has lost the initiative and the deterrence. It must get this back before the Gaza war ends. If Hezbollah is allowed to walk away having launched more than 5,000 attacks and having only lost around 300 of its members, it will feel it won. Then it will also be only a matter of time before another cycle of war begins with Hezbollah. This is how Iran got Israel to accept ‘managing’ the conflict in Gaza, until 7 October. It created rounds of war and made Israel get used to rocket fire. This is like slowly cooking a frog in ever-warming water. Israel is being slowly made to accept these attacks without an easy way out of this cycle.
'Head of the Octopus': After Hodeidah strike, Israel must look to Iran, fmr. maj.-gen says
Ziv continued, "I think that from the get-go, we took most of them down. This body has been fighting for years from caves. The strike on the port really hurts them, but they have nothing to lose. It didn't finish them off. It just made this front line more personal for them. What exactly will this lead to? Time will tell. It won't look like the North against Hezbollah. The story is they're in the process of expanding to other places while trying to harm freedom of navigation. If you want to influence the Houthis, it's not through direct attacks, but through Iran."

Later, Ziv also referred to Biden's withdrawal from the US presidential race.

"I think Biden will continue until January," he said. "In theory, the same policies should continue, but on the other hand, stepping down from the presidency reduces the pressure on him, and he can make more personal decisions. This is more about other matters than Israel. There are many things where he's a lame duck. Regarding Israel, I'm very concerned about what Netanyahu is going to do in Congress. He could show us what happens when you anger the President of the United States. We don't live according to the US election cycle. We need them in this half-year."

"What works there is really the staff working around him and his guidelines. His staff is strong enough, and his spirit is what always makes the decisions. The one working with us and greatly influencing him is, first and foremost, the Secretary of Defense. This person is in contact with our defense minister every two or three days, and the chief of staff there - in everything related to assistance and the like," he concluded.
UAE signals willingness to join postwar Gaza peacekeeping force
A senior Emirati official signaled this week that Abu Dhabi is prepared to contribute troops to a postwar peacekeeping force in Gaza, making the United Arab Emirates the first Arab country to publicly buy into the effort being quietly advanced by the Biden administration.

Lana Nusseibeh, who serves as special envoy of UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed, penned an op-ed in the Financial Times in which she called for the establishment of a “temporary international mission” in Gaza “that responds to the humanitarian crisis, establishes law and order, lays the groundwork for governance and paves the way to reuniting Gaza and the occupied West Bank under a single, legitimate Palestinian Authority.”

The United States has been looking to recruit countries for the effort, as it seeks to re-install the PA as the ruling authority in Gaza while recognizing that Ramallah needs time to reform and that a temporary security and governing force will be necessary to help fill the vacuum so that Hamas does not regain control.

But the Biden administration has had a hard time convincing Arab allies to come on board, as a key condition of theirs has been that the temporary peacekeeping force be part of a process leading to an eventual two-state solution — a framework Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to block.

Accordingly, Arab states have been reluctant to publicly express willingness to take part in the initiative, not wanting to be seen as betraying the Palestinian people.

Privately, though, the US has made some progress in getting countries on board. Last month, The Times of Israel revealed that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had recently been informing allies that the UAE and Egypt had agreed to take part in the initiative.
IDF partially evacuating Gaza humanitarian zone ahead of anti-terror op
The Israel Defense Forces on Monday issued an early warning for noncombatants to evacuate a part of a Gaza humanitarian zone in which Hamas terrorists have embedded themselves.

“Due to significant terrorist activity and rocket fire toward the State of Israel from the eastern part of the Humanitarian Area in the Gaza Strip, remaining in this area has become dangerous,” the IDF said in announcing that the borders of the Al-Mawasi zone will be adjusted to deal with the threat.

“The IDF is about to forcefully operate against the terrorist organizations and therefore calls on the remaining population left in the eastern neighborhoods of Khan Younis to temporarily evacuate to the adjusted Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi,” the IDF said.

This early warning for the civilian population to relocate away from the imminent combat zone is being communicated via SMS messages, phone calls and media broadcasts in Arabic.

“The IDF will continue to act against the Hamas terrorist organization, which uses the Gazan civilians as a human shield for its terrorist activities and infrastructure,” the IDF said.


Terror attack thwarted in southern Israel
Israeli security forces on Monday morning thwarted a stabbing in the southern town of Netiv Ha’asara, located in the northwest Negev along the border with the Gaza Strip.

Magen David Adom emergency medics treated a woman in her 60s at the scene for acute anxiety.

The terrorist was neutralized by the community’s rapid response team, according to the Israel Defense Forces, which confirmed that the attacker was a foreign national who arrived there from within Israeli territory and not from the Gaza Strip. Israeli media identified him as a Canadian citizen who had arrived at the community in a rented car.

He got out of the vehicle at the entrance to Moshav Netiv Ha’asara armed with a knife and attempted to stab a member of the local emergency team.

“The IDF is killing civilians in Gaza,” the terrorist reportedly yelled before being shot.

No security personnel were injured during the incident.

The assailant entered Israel on a tourist visa on Sunday, added the reports.

Canada’s Global Affairs Department told JNS on Monday night that Ottawa was “aware of an incident involving a Canadian citizen in Israel.

“Consular officials in Israel are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information and are providing consular assistance. Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed at this time,” the statement added.


Israeli forces foil Jordan Valley kidnapping plot
Security forces apprehended two members of a Palestinian terrorist cell from the Jericho area that planned to kidnap Israeli citizens, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said on Monday.

Muhammad Tariq, 19, and Amin Katash, 20, were arrested in the Aqabat Jaber camp—located some two miles from Jericho in the Jordan Valley—on charges of planning attacks against civilians and security forces.

The Palestinian Authority detained a third member of the terrorist squad, the Shin Bet statement said, adding that charges were filed against the suspects for “serious security offenses” including attempts to carry out shootings, kidnappings and membership in a terrorist organization.

The Shin Bet investigation found that Tariq and Katash established the terrorist cell, purchased weapons and recruited additional members. They also dug a hole near the home of one of the terrorists with the intention of hiding hostages there, the indictments allege.

The forces that arrested the squad also discovered a Carlo-type submachine gun, an explosive charge, radios, tactical vests and combat uniforms, according to Monday’s statement.

On Sunday, Israeli security forces announced that they had thwarted a large terrorist plot orchestrated by Hamas operatives in Turkey and involving a squad led by students from Birzeit University in Samaria.

The cell, operating under the name “Kutla Islamiya,” was in the advanced stages of planning a major attack when it was uncovered. Intelligence gathered by the Shin Bet indicates that the suspects were acting on directives from Hamas in Turkey, with the ultimate goal of establishing a foothold for Hamas operations against Israeli targets.

Last week, two Israeli civilians and two IDF soldiers on leave were lightly wounded when terrorists targeted their vehicle with an explosive device near the Jewish community of Hermesh in northwestern Samaria.
Police arrest Palestinian suspect over July 8 murder of Prison Service employee
A Palestinian suspect has been arrested over the murder of an Israel Prison Service employee earlier this month, authorities said on Monday.

According to police and the Shin Bet security agency, the suspect who allegedly murdered 40-year-old dog handler Yochai Avni on July 8 was detained just two days after the attack. However, the information was only cleared for publication on Monday.

Avni’s body was found following a fire in his home in the West Bank settlement of Givon Hahadasha, outside Jerusalem.

His colleagues at the prison where he was employed noticed his absence from work and turned up at his home to check on him. When they arrived, they saw smoke emerging from the home and called firefighters to the scene.

Police’s initial suspicions were of a “criminal incident,” since the body was found with stab wounds. Shortly thereafter, the Shin Bet joined the investigation, indicating suspicions it may have been terror-linked.

Two days later, on July 10, Ibrahim Mansour, from the West Bank Palestinian town of Bidu, was detained by members of police’s elite Gideonim unit over his alleged involvement in the attack.

Mansour’s remand has been extended until July 29, as police and the Shin Bet continue the investigation.


IDF confirms two hostages have died in Hamas captivity
The Israel Defense Forces on Monday confirmed the deaths of two Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza.

Alexander Dancyg, 76, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, while Yagev Buchshtab, 35, was taken from Kibbutz Nirim. Both were captured during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.

The circumstances of their deaths are being investigated, the IDF said, adding that their bodies are being held by the terror group.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a volunteer group focused on bringing the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza back to Israel, released a statement expressing their condolences to the Dancyg and Buchstab families.

Buchstab was kidnapped along with his wife, Rimon Buchshtab-Kirscht, who was freed in November after 50 days in captivity.

“Yagev Buchshtab was a humble and unassuming man who loved life in Kibbutz Nirim. A sound technician by profession, Yagev had a deep passion for music. From a young age, he played guitar and flute, later expanding to other instruments, some of which he built himself.

Together with his wife Rimon, Yagev cared for five dogs and five cats, several of which they had rescued and rehabilitated,” the forum said.

“Alex Dancyg was a historian, educator, and farmer. Born to Holocaust survivors, he became one of the founders of educational delegations to Poland. Alex worked at Yad Vashem for about 30 years, where he trained thousands of guides in Holocaust education,” the forum wrote.

“Hostages who were held captive with him reported that Alex spent his time in captivity giving history lectures to fellow captives. Alex was an avid reader with a passion for history and enjoyed various sports. Yesterday would have been his 76th birthday.”

Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan paid tribute to Dancyg in a statement.

“Alex’s essence embodied both in spirit and substance, his love for the land and thirst for knowledge. His vast library at his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz reflected his deep connection between his cherished Israeli and Jewish identity and his Polish birthplace,” Dayan said.

“Alex successfully integrated these perspectives into his teaching of the events of World War II in general, and of the Holocaust in particular. The news of his tragic death strengthens our commitment to ensure that Alex’s legacy and the stories he passionately preserved are never forgotten.”


'Scared to death': Almog Meir Jan describes 'sadist' captor in first interview
In his first interview since being rescued from Hamas captivity on June 8, Almog Meir Jan told Keshet 12 on Monday about the sadism of his captor, the conditions he was held in, and his message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Meir Jan was taken hostage by Hamas while attending the Nova music festival on October 7. His last call to his mother was at 7:45 a.m. “There are rockets from all directions, and we are being shot at. I don’t know what’s going on, but I will try to call you every half an hour. Ima, I love you.”

The IDF rescued Meir alongside Noa Argamani, Shlomi Lev, and Andrey Kozlov on June 8.

Describing the moment he was taken hostage, Meir Jan recalled how he was covered, put in a vehicle, and taken to the location where he met Lev and Kozlov.

“The first three days we didn’t even talk. For three days I didn’t know what they looked like because we were blindfolded,” Meir Jan told the interviewer.

The blindfold stayed on for three days, and was only removed when they went to the bathroom or when they ate, he explained. They even drank with the blindfolds on.

“Three days of being scared to death, we didn’t know what was happening.”

Meir Jan recounted his first night in captivity: “I didn’t cry the first night. I slept a lot. I didn’t want to be part of the situation, I wanted to disconnect. I just turned off entirely.”

He described that there were no mattresses on the floor, and aside from being blindfolded, the three men’s feet and hands were tied behind their backs.

After three days, their captors untied the hands and feet and retied them at the front, Meir Jan told the interviewer, leaving the blindfolds off this time.

They remained in this position, bound, for two and a half months.

“When there was the first hostage deal, we were still tied up,” Meir Jan said.


The Quad: SHOCKING: Massive Security Failures by Secret Service and IDF
The assassination attempt on President Trump has shaken the world to the core and thrown the once infallible Secret Service into crisis. Similarly, public trust in Israel's military and political leadership is eroding as investigations reveal the failures of the IDF since October 7th including a missed drone attack by Houthis. Join the Quad as we explore the serious lack of faith in institutions and the cultural ruptures that are being created because of it!

Also, an interview with Egyptian activist and author Dalia Ziada where she details how she was attacked on an American campus by extremists after fleeing Egypt!

And of course, Scumbags and Heroes!

Chapters
00:00 Division and Polarization in Western Democracies
13:12 The Lack of Faith in Institutions
18:27 Interview: Dalia Ziada
26:28 Scumbags: Marvel comics, rioting Haredim, Lidia Thorpe (Senator of Australia)
29:16 Heroes: Casablanca professor, Eyal Eshel (father of captive), unifying voices






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