Monday, February 23, 2026

02/23 Links Pt1: The End of Anarchy; Where did it go so wrong for the International Criminal Court?; Keffiyeh-clad anti-Zionists to protest outside Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: The End of Anarchy
October 7 and the war that followed seem to have broken the spell. The Temple Mount status quo, for example, has thankfully been eroded. Jews had been prohibited from praying at their own holy site, over which the state of Israel has sovereignty, so as not to provoke Palestinian violence. This overt religious discrimination against Jews was indefensible. Now the “terrorist’s veto” has been withdrawn.

Also frozen in 1967 were land registrations in Judea and Samaria, in expectation of an eventual resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The result was that Israel is met with global opprobrium any time it seeks to enforce land-use regulations against Palestinian scofflaws. (There is no such disapproval expressed when illegally built Jewish housing is removed.) So Israel is planning to slowly resume registration to curb an anarchic state of affairs beyond the green line.

Most important, Israel and the U.S. are making the new “no reset” policy clear to Iran. President Trump has positioned U.S. assets in the region such that pretty much every option for an attack on Iran would be on the table. Trump has come closer to embracing full regime change over the past few months. Clearly, he does not want Iran to be able to revert to its prewar state.

Along those lines, he has been arguably even more hawkish than Benjamin Netanyahu’s government regarding Hezbollah. Iran’s Lebanese proxy has been brought to its knees by the IDF, and both Trump and Netanyahu want it to stay there. Iran doesn’t get to be its old self again. Now, apparently, we live in the age of consequences.

Same goes for Gaza. It would appear the days of unilateral Israeli disengagement are over. In the past, once a round of hostilities ceased, Israel would go back to its corner and wait for the next round. But the recent war ended with a deal, not a one-way Israeli concession. And that deal requires Hamas to disarm if the IDF is to retreat. Trump occasionally seems to waver on the definition of “disarm,” but he isn’t telling Israel to move off an inch of Gaza.

The old status quo, in which Israel’s antagonists were permitted to hit the reset button if they lost a war of their own making, meant Israel was essentially penalized for winning a defensive war. This set up a perverse incentive structure. It also created an atmosphere of anarchy in which the rules could be ignored at will.

The American-led world order lacked order. That is being remedied, and not a moment too soon.
Khaled Abu Toameh: Who Will Become the Biggest Beneficiary of the Billions of Dollars About To Be Invested in the Gaza Strip? The Terrorist Group Hamas
Although Hamas has expressed its willingness to hand over its government institutions to the NCAG [Palestinian National Committee for the Administration of Gaza], there are indications that the terror group seeks to control the new committee and turn it into a Hamas puppet.

The NCAG is already under pressure from the terror group to incorporate thousands of Hamas terrorists into a newly established Palestinian police force in the Gaza Strip. Hamas, in addition, is seeking to ensure that its civil servants be placed on the payroll of the NCAG.

"There is a prevailing sense within the committee and other parties that Hamas is determined, by all means, to keep its members within the new administrative framework overseeing the Gaza Strip." — Asharq al-Awsat, quoting "sources close to" NCAG, February 14, 2026.

What we are currently witnessing are direct and indirect efforts by Hamas to continue governing the Gaza Strip even after the establishment of Trump's "Board of Peace" and the NCAG.

Hamas... sees itself as an essential part of the post-war arrangements in the Gaza Strip. In the viewpoint of Hamas, the role of bodies such as the "Board of Peace" and NCAG should be limited only to paying salaries, funding reconstruction and ensuring the entry of aid supplies into the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the terror group will focus its efforts on rearming, regrouping, rebuilding its terror infrastructure, and planning more attacks on Israel.

Anyone who believes that the NCAG will be able to operate as an independent governing body in the Gaza Strip is abysmally uninformed. Its members will undoubtedly be at the mercy of Hamas and its masked thugs.

"The image promoted by some international parties that the committee is a means to remove Hamas from power seems far removed from reality. The facts on the ground indicate that Hamas still maintains military, organizational, and ideological control within Gaza, and that any new administrative body cannot operate independently of its will or outside its sphere of influence. Real power remains in the hands of those who possess weapons, organizational networks, and the capacity for sustained popular mobilization." — Mahdi Mubarak, Arab political analyst, rumonline.net, February 16, 2026

Hamas should have been asked to end its rule over the Gaza Strip and hand over all its weapons before, and not after, the formation of the NCAG. Since that has not happened, Hamas will become the largest beneficiary of the billions of dollars that are about to be invested in the Gaza Strip.


Where did it go so wrong for the International Criminal Court?
The reality is that regardless of how robust the statute’s procedural safeguards may or may not be on paper, they are all for naught if the structure in place is in the hands of questionable prosecutors with a political agenda and/or, to be generous, a questionable grasp of judicial procedures. This is further exacerbated if the checks and balances one would normally expect to be in play on the bench are absent because of questionable judges with little or no real judicial expertise or courtroom experience, themselves the result of vetting by unaccountable non-governmental organizations and approved by corrupt vote-trading.

Far from a shining example of judicial brilliance, the court has had prosecutors who appear to be unaware of the inconvenient concept of the presumption of innocence and willing to hide exculpatory evidence from both judges and the defense in trials described by the pro-ICC Economist as “bumbling,” “chaotic” and “near-farcical,” and by legal bloggers as “slapstick comedy.”

Prominent legal blogger and ICC enthusiast Professor Mark Kersten has observed that far from being independent, “The court demonstrated a bias towards both major Western powers as well as despots.” He has further noted that “a string of controversies and unnecessary failures always seemed to follow the ICC … Staff were wrongfully dismissed. Cases collapsed under weak evidence.” One of the ICC’s godfathers, legal scholar Professor William Schabas, even placed on record that the ICC has convicted people of crimes they never committed.

The ICC has well and truly fallen short of the claims made on its behalf. The result has been a fatally flawed court that has paid ineffectual lip service to the crime of aggression; prolonged conflict rather than deterred it; entrenched impunity for despots and its own European funders; afforded immunity to powerful states and funders; and, in serving as an instrument of European foreign policy, has engaged in racial profiling of black Africans on a continental scale.

It is a court that has flouted cornerstones of customary international law, such as the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations regarding immunity for Heads-of-State and the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Politicized ICC rulings have been dismissed by leading international law scholars, including Britain’s International Court of Justice candidate Professor Dapo Akande, as “extremely controversial,” “inconsistent,” “stunning,” “deeply misguided,” “very dangerous and unwise,” and “very poorly reasoned.”

When did it start to go wrong? The answer is from the very beginning.

Schabas, a key participant observer in the creation of the ICC, also candidly admitted that “[t]he final version of the Rome Statute [establishing the ICC] is not without serious flaws.”

These are the last words one would wish to hear about a body presented as a shining legal Camelot. Here we have the irreparable hole in the heart of the ICC since its establishment in 2002. The combination of legal evangelism, a seriously flawed statute and lackluster jurists has been fatal to this vision of international justice.
UKLFI: Natasha Hausdorff discusses misinformation and abuse of international law with Dan Diker at JCFA
In this episode of East to West, Natasha Hausdorff, English barrister and Legal Director of UKLFI Charitable Trust, joins Dr Dan Diker at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs to examine the growing misinformation and legal campaigns against Israel.

From debates shaped by NGO reporting and reports of UN bodies and rapporteurs to the genocide case at the ICJ, Hausdorff explains how false information and misused legal terminology are influencing media narratives, global opinion and diplomacy. The discussion explores how false accusations move in a vicious circle through civil society, international organisations, international courts and back into civil society, how this affects public discourse, and wider implications for democratic societies. Hausdorff concludes with a call for more plain speaking and the equal application of international law.




Hamas seen working to maintain control of Gaza via Trump-backed bodies
The IDF believes that at least 60 percent of Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza are still intact, though the percentage could be higher, as the army does not know how many it has not yet found.

An Israeli security official told The Times of Israel that Hamas was determined to keep both its AK-47 semi-automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, but stressed that Israel would not allow such a scenario under any circumstances.

The only weapons Israel will allow Palestinian forces to keep, said the official, are handguns, but only in the hands of a new Gazan police force and not Hamas.

Hamas is widely understood to fear that large anti-Hamas clans in Gaza will seek to take revenge after years of brutal repression should they hand over their rifles.

But it also wants to make sure it is ready to fight the IDF again, as it is convinced that Israel is going to reinvade Hamas-held areas, according to a message the group’s Gaza leadership has sent to its politburo in Qatar, The Times of Israel has learned.

To prepare for that fight, Haddad is believed to have reorganized Hamas’s top military council last week. He appointed new intelligence chiefs, regional commanders, and heads of weapons manufacturing and propaganda, The Times of Israel has learned.

Israel has been making the case to Trump that in order for his vision of Middle East peace to be unlocked — and perhaps for him to win a Nobel Peace Prize — Hamas must be disarmed, a source with knowledge of Israel’s thinking told The Times of Israel.

The only way that will happen, Israel has told the White House, according to the source, is for the IDF to go back into Gaza. Israel made the case that an operation would be much quicker and more aggressive than previous operations, as there are no more hostages in the Strip, and Israel can operate everywhere and at full strength.
Palestinians will obstruct Trump’s utopian Board of Peace vision for Gaza
Jonathan Sacerdoti responds to the Board of Peace meeting to announce plans for Gaza.




Israel removed from Jordanian parliament minutes, proposing MP calls Israel 'enemy of Jordanians'
The Jordanian Parliament voted unanimously to remove mentions of "Israel" from the minutes of a debate on Monday, Jordanian and Israeli media reported.

The parliament debate covered US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee's statements regarding the Israeli Security Cabinet's proposed West Bank administration reforms.

The call to remove mentions of Israel was submitted by MP Hail Ayash, who said that the name of the Jewish state "represents an enemy to every Jordanian."

Jordanian Parliament Speaker Mazen al-Qadi said Huckabee's comments, which allegedly justified Israel’s control over "Arab lands," violated international law and the United Nations charter. "These statements are a blatant provocation and a serious breach of state sovereignty," Qadi said.

The West Bank and Gaza Strip are Palestinian territories, Qadi stated, emphasizing that any claims rooted in [Jewish] religious narratives are "unacceptable and undermine prospects for a just, two-state solution," according to anti-Zionist outlet Roya News.

Roi Kais, the Arab affairs correspondent for Israel's public broadcaster KAN News, reacted to the incident.

This decision came "despite Jordan having signed a peace treaty with Israel 31 years ago," Kais wrote on X/Twitter.

"The proposal received the support of the head of the 'Islamic Action Front' parliamentary bloc, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan's parliament, Saleh al-Armouti, who described the decision as 'bestowing an honor upon the parliament,'" Kais added.

Armouti also stated that the decision "reflects a general parliamentary consensus around national issues," Kais cited.




Trump warns of 'very bad day' for Iran if no deal is made, defends top general
US President Donald Trump warned that "if we don’t make a deal, it will be a very bad day for that country and, very sadly, its people," in a Truth Social post on Monday.

In that same post, Trump denied the reports by Axios and The Wall Street Journal about Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine being against the war with Iran.

"Numerous stories from the Fake News Media have been circulating stating that General Daniel Caine, sometimes referred to as Razin, is against us going to War with Iran," Trump said, adding: "The story does not attribute this vast wealth of knowledge to anyone, and is 100% incorrect."

According to Trump, General Caine "would [not like] to see war in Iran, but if a decision is made on going against Iran at a military level, it is his opinion that it will be something easily won."

Trump pointed out that the general was among those charge of Operation Midnight Hammer, which saw the US attack Iran's nuclear facilities during the 12-day war in the summer of 2025.

"Caine is a great fighter, representing the most powerful army in the world...He only knows one thing, how to win, and, if he is told to do so, he will be leading the pack," Trump said.


Four Israelis arrested in plot to carry out terror attack against IDF soldiers in Karmiel
Four Arab Israeli citizens were arrested on suspicion of planning a terror attack targeting IDF soldiers in Karmiel, Israeli law enforcement authorities said on Monday.

In a joint statement by Israel Police and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), it was revealed that four suspects from northern Israel, including two minors, were suspected of having conspired to commit a shooting attack against IDF soldiers in Karmiel.

Some of the suspects had already been trained and prepared to carry out the attack, the police stated.

FOOTAGE FROM the arrest by Israel Police’s National Guard of four Israeli citizens planning a terrorist attack. Source: Police Spokesperson's Unit.

The suspects are expected to be indicted on Monday, once their questioning and the investigation are complete.

Police arrest illegal resident on suspicion of preparing explosive terror attack
Earlier this month, police also announced the arrest of an illegal resident from the West Bank on suspicion of preparing explosives and carrying out "additional terror activity" targeting IDF soldiers.

The terrorist had "extensive knowledge in preparing explosives and various weapons," N12 reported, and had been involved in other attacks against IDF soldiers operating in the area.


“The West Is Losing Its Moral Compass” | Columnist & Author Melanie Phillips
In this episode of "Here I Am," host Shai Davidai sits down with renowned British author, journalist, and broadcaster Melanie Phillips for a candid and thought-provoking conversation. Melanie shares her personal journey from growing up as a British Jew to relocating her center of gravity to Israel, discussing identity, belonging, and the challenges faced by Jews in Britain and the West. The discussion delves into the evolution of anti-Semitism, the shifting values of Western society, and the importance of truth and objectivity in journalism. Melanie also reflects on her career, her views on Israel, and the cultural crossroads facing the West today. The episode concludes with a lightning round, offering personal insights into Melanie’s life, beliefs, and hopes for the future.

Guest: Melanie Phillips

00:00:00 – Introduction: Meet Melanie Phillips
00:00:35 – Identity & Belonging: What Kind of Jew Are You?
00:01:21 – Choosing Israel: Moving Center of Gravity
00:05:16 – The Journey: From The Guardian to Today
00:10:44 – Double Standards in Media Coverage
00:14:10 – The Death of Objective Truth in Journalism
00:19:57 – Feelings vs. Facts: The Rise of Subjectivity
00:26:42 – Britain Then and Now: A Personal Reflection
00:31:57 – The British Jewish Experience Today
00:55:11 – Inflection Point: The West at a Crossroads




Keffiyeh-clad anti-Zionists to protest outside Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp
Anti-Israel groups have announced they will hold a protest outside the site of Buchenwald concentration camp on the anniversary of its liberation in April, in protest against a court decision last year upholding the site’s decision to prevent an activist wearing the Palestinian nationalist symbol from taking part in the event.

A newly formed organisation called “Keffiyehs in Buchenwald”, made up of a number of anti-Zionist groups, has announced that it intends to protest outside the Nazi camp on 11 April, the anniversary of the camp’s liberation, while wearing the scarves in question.

In August last year, a German state court upheld the memorial’s right to prevent the woman’s entry to the site while wearing the garment, describing how the memorial’s “interest in upholding the purpose of the institution”, outweighed her right to freedom of expression.

The court expressly noted that the woman’s declared aim was of “sending a political message against what she saw as the [memorial’s] one-sided support for the policies of the Israeli government””, and described how “It is unquestionable that [her presence] this would endanger the sense of security of many Jews, especially at this site.”

The court said the woman’s right to freedom of expression was outweighed in this case by the memorial’s “interest in upholding the purpose of the institution”.

Hundreds of thousands of Nazi prisoners passed through Buchenwald during its eight years of operation, including Jews, Roma, Communists, Poles, Soviet Prisoners of War and both mentally and physically disabled people. More than 50,000 people died there, of starvation, disease or direct Nazi executions.

Dr Felix Klein, Germany’s commissioner for combating antisemitism, described the intended protest as “a new low in the reversal of roles between victim and perpetrator.”

Last year, an internal document from staff at the memorial was leaked which described the keffiyeh as “closely associated with efforts to destroy the state of Israel”.


Four guilty of criminal damage during Gaza protest
Four people have been convicted of criminal damage at a Bradford business as part of a pro-Palestine protest.

Julian Gao, 21, Syed Najam Shah, 53, Daniel Jones, 30, and Ruby Hamill, 21, smashed roof tiles and windows with sledgehammers and crowbars at Teledyne UK Ltd, in Shipley, after accessing the property on 2 April 2024.

Bradford Crown Court was told Teledyne manufactured components of weapons which are used by the British Army and purchased by other countries, such as Israel and Ukraine.

The quartet, who staged a 14-hour protest on the roof of the premises and caused an estimated £570,000 worth of damage, will be sentenced on 17 April.

Prosecutor Gerald Hendron said the three men and one woman had put on red boiler suits and used an angle grinder to cut through a security fence at the site at 05:30 BST.

Police were called and the group, who were carrying flags, told them they were protesting at the site due to the conflict in Gaza.

The protest continued until 19:00 the same evening, when the four agreed to come down from the roof, and they were arrested.

Hamill, of Emu Road in London, did not attend court and was tried in her absence.

She, along with Gao, of Dalton Ellis Hall in Manchester, Shah of Reedley Road in Burnley and Jones, of Rossett Road in Liverpool, had all denied causing criminal damage and having articles with intent to destroy or damage property.

However, the jury found all four defendants guilty.

Judge Ahmed Nadim granted the three men in court bail until their sentencing hearing.

But he added: "The overwhelming likelihood is that each of you will be met with a sentence of imprisonment.

"You need to prepare yourself for that eventuality."




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