Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: irony

Showing posts with label irony. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

No, Israel is not hamstrung to only using a "law enforcement" paradigm in Jenin under international law

Call the police!

Last week, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned the Jenin operation, saying that some of the methods and weapons used “are more generally associated with the conduct of hostilities in armed conflict, rather than law enforcement."

“The use of airstrikes is inconsistent with rules applicable to the conduct of law enforcement operations. In a context of occupation, the deaths resulting from such airstrikes may also amount to willful killings,” he said.

What Turk is saying, and what many "human rights" NGOs believe, is that an belligerent occupier must adhere strictly to human rights law which means that any activity done must be police-type law enforcement operations.

Nations at war, on the other hand, must adhere to international humanitarian law (IHL), which govern wars. The Geneva Conventions are the source for much of IHL.

Turk is wrong. When Israel faces an armed militant group, it not only can but should apply the laws of war. It is absurd to pretend that police actions are adequate to maintain the peace when an armed group has taken over a town. When there are civilians protesting, that calls for law enforcement; when there are heavily armed militants with machine guns and IEDs, that calls for the army and the laws of armed conflict.

The line between the two is not so clear. This was recognized in a 45-page article published in the International Review of the Red Cross in 2012, "Use of force during occupation: law enforcement and conduct of hostilities."

Once it becomes evident that the threat is emanating from a member of an organized armed group or a civilian taking a direct part in hostilities, such as by means of a vehicle-borne IED, then the conduct of hostilities framework would apply at law. In that situation, the use of force is not limited by law enforcement, although such norms would continue to govern the use of force against civilians who are not direct participants in hostilities. ... [T]he force permitted, at law, to counter an IED or suicide bomb by members of organized armed groups or a civilian taking a direct part in hostilities is governed by conduct of hostilities norms. For example, the soldier may be aware from information provided by aerial surveillance, human intelligence, other observation posts and checkpoints, or perhaps even the observation of certain tactics and procedures, that an attack is about to take place. That soldier does not have to wait until the attack is imminent, or the attacker is physically in close proximity and ready to set off explosives, before taking action to remove the threat. In addressing that threat, the soldier can use force governed by conduct of hostilities norms.

In reality, the situation in Jenin is even more tilted towards actual warfare because there is a law enforcement vacuum there. The PA police aren't going into Jenin. If Israel is the legal occupier, then it would be obligated to have forces in Jenin 24/7 - because law enforcement is the responsibility of the occupier!

Obviously, none of the people who insist that Israel is occupying Jenin want to see Israeli police or soldiers opening up police stations there and maintaining order for the civilian citizens. But if Israel is the occupier, that is exactly what Israel is obligated to do!

Which proves that Jenin, and Area A altogether, is not occupied under international law. It is a town with a law enforcement vacuum. By the time Israeli forces must enter, it has turned into a full blown military conflict with armed militias "defending" no one but themselves.

Even with this, Israel attempts to apply law enforcement paradigms as much as possible when going into towns are trying to arrest militants. This puts Israeli troops and police at extra risk.

I wrote a satirical thread, somewhat exaggerating the position of "human rights" groups that try to apply a strict law enforcement paradigm to Israel in the territories:

Here is how Amnesty and HRW insist that Israel go after terrorists:

1. Best to not do anything. They are probably innocent and it should be handled by the PA.

2. If absolutely necessary to stop an imminent act of resistance that will definitely kill Israeli civilians, do not enter the town with force. This scares some children and could damage roads or houses. Just send one policeman to arrest the suspect.

3. Give the suspect, and the entire town, advanced notice that Israel plans to arrest them. That way there are no surprises.

4. In the unlikely event that the suspect or other people decide to shoot or blow up the policeman, only then is he or she allowed to respond with gunfire.

5. When the suspect gives himself up voluntarily, do not frisk or handcuff him. These are painful procedures, and if the suspect is trans, it could be embarrassing, and it is a terrible thing to shame a Palestinian.

6. In the unlikely event that an entire battalion of heavily armed militants respond to the arrest by killing the Israeli policeman and dismembering him or her, send in another and try again. Use more polite words when requesting his surrender.

7. After several rounds of this with many Israeli policemen dead, then the IDF may enter with a single unarmed Jeep. Soldiers may wear helmets. Try again until successful.

8. Under no circumstances may a bulldozer be used. Under no circumstances may drones be used. Under no circumstances may anything beyond a pistol be used. These are all prohibited as potentially hurting innocent civilians.

9. Under no circumstances may the suspect be injured or killed. He is by definition a civilian since he is not wearing a uniform. Being aggressive is a violation of the Geneva Conventions and a bunch of other international laws that Amnesty has not read.

10. The assumption that a suspect is a civilian also applies to anyone who allegedly attacks Israelis in Israel itself. They must be peacefully arrested.

I hope this clears up the NGO ruling on how Israelis may defend themselves. In short - they may not.

Luckily, real international law is not as restrictive as the fairy tale versions pushed by Amnesty, HRW and the UN.

(Made a correction thanks to Irene)

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Diversity, Palestinian-style

On Thursday, Mahmoud Abbas convened a meeting of the PLO Executive Committee.

Besides his normal anti-Israel pronouncements, he called for the widest possible participation in Nakba Day activities, stressing to his people their right to "return" to an apartheid state rather than live under his rule.

The "widest participation" line is funny, because the PLO Executive Committee is entirely made up of older light-skinned men.

The youngest member, as far as I can tell, is 55 years old. All the rest are over 60, and most are in their 70s.

So a uniformly old white and male committee is telling all Palestinians what they should do.

As usual, the Palestinian "victimhood" status serves to negate their crimes against progressivism.

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Two stories the mainstream media will miss from Knesset's death penalty bill

A death penalty bill for terrorists passed a preliminary hearing in the Knesset today, and we can expect the normal outrage to ensue.

I don't think that such a bill would serve as a disincentive to terror - after all, terrorists expect to be killed during their attacks - but there are a couple of subplots to this story that are more important than the story itself.

One is that the chances that the bill actually passes is fairly low - and that is because the religious parties in the coalition are against the death penalty. As JPost writes:

Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has ruled that the death penalty violates Halacha. The Shas Party, which represents the Sephardi haredi (ultra-Orthodox) electorate, said it would support the bill only in its preliminary reading at this point, out of coalition obligations, but that it would follow Yosef’s ruling in the future, which is unlikely to change, according to Yishai Cohen, a reporter for the Kikar HaShabbat news site.

Supporters of the law, without Shas and UTJ but with Yisrael Beytenu, would likely have 52 votes. Assuming that Shas and UTJ abstain and the opposition parties oppose the bill, there would be 50 votes against it. This means that if either of the haredi parties, or even if any of the two factions that make up UTJ – the Lithuanian Degel Hatorah and the hassidic Agudat Yisrael – vote against the law, it would not have a majority in the Knesset.

The parties that are decried as the most extreme factions in Knesset may be the ones who block the bill. This violates the Western media narrative, where the extremists could never agree with the "progressives."

So they almost certainly will not report that.

Another story is the Palestinian reaction to the bill. See what Hussein al-Sheikh, Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the PLO, tweeted:

He calls all of the potential targets of the death penalty "freedom fighters."

Even though the bill is aimed only at murderers.

Most of the murderers in Israeli prison are members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad or other groups opposed to the PLO. But when given a choice, the leaders of the Palestinians always side with the terrorists against Israel.

Meaning, even the most moderate Palestinian leader is a de facto supporter of terrorism, and considers the most heinous murderers of Jewish children to be "freedom fighters."

Good luck finding a word of criticism against Al Sheikh or any Palestinian leader in the mainstream media. That is a story that must be silenced, at least until antisemitism is so normalized that the Palestinian position supporting terror becomes itself mainstream.

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Russian equestrians to bypass sports sanctions for 2024 Olympics - by competing as Palestinians

The Palestinian Authority is helping Russia bypass sanctions on their competing in sports.

It has given Palestinian citizenship to several of the top Russian equestrian team members, so they will have a chance to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics as Palestinians.

Eurodressage describes more:

Russian Olympic Grand Prix team rider Aleksandra Maksakova has declared for Palestine.

The 25-year old Dutch based Aleksandra Dmitriyevna Maksakova has been competing internationally for her native country Russia since 2017.

"Due to current political situation and the decision by international sport federations – including the FEI – to ban Russian athletes from international competitions, I was no longer allowed to take part in international dressage events due to my Russian nationality, even though I am a permanent resident in Lithuania," Aleksandra told Eurodressage. "Under those difficult circumstances, I had the great chance and honour to be authorised to compete for Palestine, thanks to the support of Palestinian sporting bodies, and in compliance with the FEI regulations."

Both (her husband) Egor and Aleksandra have now been declared for Palestine and are eligible again to compete at international horse shows, putting them back in the running for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

"I am looking forward to resuming international dressage competitions under the Palestinian flag," Aleksandra added.

Maksokova is the third Grand Prix rider to have declared for Palestine. The other two are Russian born Diana al Shaer (since 2018) and the German born Christian Brühe/Zimmermann (since 2011).

Palestinian Arabs have allied with the worst human rights abusers in the world from the 1930s to today.

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Elder Comix: Eyes on the prize

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Antisemite David Miller warns of the nefarious dangers of "hasbara"

David Miller, the crazed Jew-hater academic whose antisemitism got him fired from Bristol University, and whose slavish support for his Iranian paymasters and against freedom for women in Iran has turned off even his most ardent Leftist fans, has written an article about the dangers of "hasbara."

His venue is the Hezbollah newspaper Al Mayadeen.

As with everything else Jewish, Miller sees nothing but conspiracies - dark, sinister conspiracies by the evil Hasbarists, controlled by Israel, working in concert for nefarious aims.

The Zionist entity has a myriad of ways to target audiences outside occupied Palestine. One time-honored approach is to send settler colonists from Palestine to spread the word as “Schlichim” or “emissaries” in what is referred to incorrectly as the “diaspora”, a term which implies, falsely, that all Jews have some connection to Palestine.

Yeah, why should daily prayers yearning to return to Zion indicate that Jews have a connection to Israel?

Miller gives lots of bogus examples of this Israeli-controlled Hasbara Central, including Digitell, conferences in Israel for pro-Israel activists that I attended. No, I never followed any instructions from Digitell; we shared ideas and data. How awful!

If you read his screed closely, you can see how most Israeli hasbara initiatives fell apart after a short time. If they were so all powerful, why don't most of them exist anymore?

In reality, every pro-Israel activist does their own thing. We are not instructed by anyone what to write about. There is no Hasbara Central.

When analysis turns into conspiracy theory, you know that the accusation is simple Jew hatred.

But Miller's final paragraph is most amusing:

There is no point in engaging with Zionist trolls. They are not interested in rational or good-faith debates.

Translated, this means, "You cannot win arguments with Zionists. They have proven that I am an antisemite many times and I cannot defend myself. So I want to make sure that the modern antisemites like me don't try to engage in public debate, because invariably it makes us look like idiots."

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Arab scientists feud over camel urine as a miracle cure

A professor of physiology at the Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University in Egypt, Amal Kenawy, had advised people should drink camel urine, due to the many benefits it contains. Kenawy says that many scientific experiments have proven camel urine's benefits.

She's not the only one. A preacher in Kuwait made a video over the summer extolling not only the health benefits of camel urine, but its wonderful taste, when mixed with camel milk.

There are lots of articles in Arabic websites that extol the benefits of camel urine, to treat cancer and kidney stones and as a miracle cure for other diseases. One Iranian in 2020 said it cures COVID-19.

Finally, a Jordanian doctor weighs in, and says that drinking camel urine is not only ridiculous, it is dangerous.

In a post on Facebook Ali Al-Saudi, said: "These news messages [about the health benefits of camel urine] are myths that have no basis in science and are not supported by any research or studies, in fact they are exactly the opposite."

Al-Saudi warned of large quantities of toxins and urea in camel urine, which could kill humans and cause diseases.

He addressed Amal Kenawy, "Do not make the world laugh at us more."

The World Health Organization recommends against drinking camel urine.

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11/03 Links Pt1: Israelis Want Leaders Who Have a Vision for a Jewish and Zionist State; Melanie Phillips: Israel joins the West’s culture wars

From Ian:

With overwhelming victory, Netanyahu set to form strong, stable, legitimate, right-wing gov’t

Apparently in Israel, the fifth time is the charm. After repeated attempts by the opposition, by defectors from his own right-wing bloc, by the prosecution and the Supreme Court to prevent embattled former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from ruling, the electorate finally ended Israel’s protracted political deadlock by voting overwhelmingly in favor of Netanyahu and his natural—and loyal—right-wing allies.

With 87.6 percent of the paper ballots counted, Netanyahu’s bloc is likely to surge to as many as 65 seats in the 120-member Knesset. The number represents a stable parliamentary majority. By contrast, Israel’s left-wing collapsed to barely 45 seats—a massive 20-seat gap between the right-wing and left-wing blocs. Parties comprising the outgoing coalition secured only 50 Knesset mandates this time around, including an Arab party affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Even if the distribution of mandates shifts slightly as the final votes are counted, the results are clear: Netanyahu is returning to power for a third stretch as head of government, after a year in the opposition.

The vote was a national referendum on the fitness of Netanyahu—Israel’s longest-serving prime minister—as the man best suited for the top job. It was also a referendum on the tremendous damage caused cycle after election cycle by opposing parliamentarians who conspired to block the people’s choice from serving as prime minister.

In a major surprise, turnout was the highest in years. Many had said that Israelis were growing tired of going to the polls each year and might boycott the voting booths. On the contrary, Israelis embraced their hyper-democracy and voted overwhelmingly to return stability to the electoral system. And the voters proved once again that Israel is a traditional, center-right country.

Despite all the efforts to oust him, it is now clear that Netanyahu has not lost any support across five consecutive elections. And now, the right-wing government he is poised to assemble represents the most stable alignment he has ever secured. There is virtually zero chance that Netanyahu will attempt to move towards a so-called unity alignment with parties that have tried to prevent him from serving as premier. Doing so would bring a Trojan horse and the opposition directly into his cabinet. Stability depends on forming an alliance with parties that actually support Netanyahu’s candidacy.

Continuity expected on Bennett-Lapid policies on Lebanon, Turkey - analysis

The next government is likely to continue some of its predecessors’ key regional policies if Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu forms a coalition, as expected.

Netanyahu expressed sharp opposition to the Lebanon maritime demarcation agreement shortly before it was set to be signed, calling it “terms of surrender.”

However, when the deal was finalized last week, Netanyahu said he would “behave as [he] did with the Oslo Accords.” When Netanyahu became prime minister in 1996, he fulfilled the previous government’s commitment that Israel would mostly withdraw from Hebron, following negotiations in which he demanded the Palestinians pledge to stop terrorism.

Netanyahu’s attitude towards the Oslo Accords as prime minister can be summed up in a statement he made at the time: “If they give, they will get; if they don’t give, they will not get.” Netanyahu repeated this call for reciprocity several times in his autobiography published last month, and as such, is likely to be his approach to the Lebanon agreement, as well.

US President Joe Biden provided Prime Minister Yair Lapid with a letter of guarantees over the weekend that would likely limit Netanyahu’s ability to change the deal. The letter backs up the Lebanon agreement and states that the US is committed to supporting the IDF and strengthening its ability to defend Israel, including against threats to its ships and energy assets.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati told Reuters on Wednesday that the US guarantees protect the maritime boundary deal.

Melanie Phillips: Israel joins the West’s culture wars

With the result of its election this week, Israel has joined other Western countries in a notable current trend: A revolt by the public against the political establishment.

The Religious Zionist Party has now become the third-largest party in the Knesset. This is likely to mean cabinet posts for the rabble-rouser Itamar Ben-Gvir and the ultra-conservative Bezalel Smotrich in a new government led by the Likud Party’s Benjamin Netanyahu.

While their likely inclusion is due to Israel’s baroque political structure—some 90% of voters didn’t vote for them—the increase in support they received is significant.

Just as happened in Hungary, Italy, the U.S. and Sweden, the once-fringe Religious Zionist Party has come to power because a significant proportion of the public has become profoundly disillusioned with a political establishment that it felt was ignoring and betraying its interests and values.

Before the election, a number of mainstream conservative-minded Israeli voters said they would be voting for Ben-Gvir. So too did a surprising number of the secular young in Tel Aviv. For the latter, Ben-Gvir’s authenticity and directness made him an unlikely political rock star. In addition, among some conservatives, there was a weariness with Netanyahu.

Others who had previously voted for the Yamina Party’s Naftali Bennett felt a deep sense of betrayal when he tore up his previous promises and principles and formed a governing coalition with the left-of-center Yair Lapid that depended upon the Islamist Ra’am Party.

As this coalition staggered along, there was further disillusionment. Bennett and Lapid seemed to be groveling to the Biden administration, only for Israel to get kicked in the teeth in response.

Some recent EoZ memes

Things I tweeted over the past couple of months that were not posted here (to my recollection.)

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German Twitter censors EoZ tweet spoofing Nazi propaganda

Twitter's algorithms don't understand irony.

I recently re-posted on Twitter a poster of mine showing how there is little difference between classic antisemitism and modern anti-Zionism:

I then received a notice from Twitter:

Hello,

We have received a complaint regarding your account, @elderofziyon, for the following content:

Content ID: 1575269945289719813
Reported Content: WAY different. [media]
Reported Content URL: https://twitter.com/elderofziyon/status/1575269945289719813

In accordance with applicable law and our policies, Twitter is now withholding the reported content in Germany, specifically for sections of German law related to hate speech or unconstitutional content, §§ 86, 86a 130 StGB.

For more information on our Country Withheld Content policy, please see this page: https://support.twitter.com/articles/20169222.

Of course the poster on the left is Nazi-era antisemitic propaganda. That's the entire point. Dressing up antisemitism as "anti-Zionism" is trivial, and we've seen so-called anti-Zionists do it every day - often using the exact same sources that the Nazis did.

Similarly, right-wing antisemites get their new material from left wing "anti-Zionist" websites.

Antisemites and so-called "anti-Zionists" now live in a feedback loop where each supports and builds on the other's "discoveries" about how evil Jews/Israel are.

Twitter Germany should get its act together. And the world must realize that modern antisemitism is no different, and draws on the same hate, from the kind that murdered millions.

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Elder Comix: Be more sensitive!

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UAE doesn't issue a visa for the Mufti of Palestine - but may allow Israelis to enter freely

Anadolu Agency reports that the United Arab Emirates has not issued a visa to the mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein.

He was slated to attend a conference in the UAE and was to arrive on Sunday.

A Palestinian official told the agency that the Palestinian authorities have been working on this, saying that a solution is on its way.

Yet it is Wednesday and nothing has been reported about this being resolved yet.

The UAE has been frosty with the PLO for a while now, partially due to its support of Abbas rival Mohammed Dahlan.

Palestinian media is bitter, pointing out that Israelis have been welcomed with open arms to the UAE in recent months, even to the point of the deputy tourism minister of one of the emirates welcoming Israelis visiting a high tech expo without a visa, telling Ynet, "Bruchim Habaim" - "Welcome" in Hebrew. And it is possible that the lift on limitations of Israeli visitors to the UAE may become permanent.

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Irony alert: Terrorist groups upset at being the target of a suicide bomber

Times of Israel reports:

A suicide bomber killed a Hamas guard in southern Gaza early Thursday when forces tried to stop him from infiltrating into Egypt, members of the terror organization said, in what sources described as a rare attack against the Islamist group.
“Early this morning security forces stopped two people approaching the southern border (with Egypt),” an interior ministry spokesman in the Hamas-run territory said in a statement.
“One of them blew himself up,” it added.
Later a medical source confirmed a member of Hamas had died in the attack.
The source named the man as Nidal al-Jaafari, 28.

Here is the late Mr. Jaafari.

Notice that he is a member of the Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas' "militant wing." But he is also a guard - which means according to the Goldstone report and the PCHR, he is a civilian.

Hamas doesn't distinguish between civilians and their "militants." Yet the world keeps pretending that there is a distinction.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Rafah crossing is open now for the first time in four months, as Egypt is allowing Hajj pilgrims to leave. Practically no one has been reporting on the actual siege by Egypt on Gazans for four long months - months during which Israel allowed thousands to pass through its own Erez crossing.

More interesting is the reaction of other terror groups to this suicide bombing, apparently by a Salafist.

Islamic Jihad condemned the bombing in Rafah as "outside religion, culture and morality."

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine stressed that it is "against the use of weapons, abuse and assault" describing the suicide attack as a "dangerous violation."

Fatah called it a "terrorist act."

The Popular Struggle Front called this a "dark act that must be combatted"

Yes, the Islamists who innovated suicide bombings as suddenly aghast at the idea of becoming the victims of Islamist suicide bombings. It's so immoral!

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The Sodastream irony

If you put together everything that every "pro-Palestinian "activist has ever done for actual, real Palestinians....

If you tally all the specific things that Omar Barghouti and Max Blumenthal and Philip Weiss and Ali Abuminah and Greta Berlin and Ben White and every single member of Free Gaza, Mondoweiss, Electronic Intifada, the BDS Movement, Students for Justice in Palestine, the ISM and others have done to improve the daily lives of Palestinian Arabs over the past twenty years....

You would not approach what Sodastream does for Palestinian Arab families every single day.

Which of these hypocrites are trying to build a factory in Ramallah or Nablus or Jericho that employs 900 workers and pays them good wages? Who among them is working to increase Palestinian exports of goods and services to the huge Arab markets? Who among them is working to create a high-tech Palestinian hub where they could charge Arab nations for their remote services - industries that require little space and can pay well?

Who among them gives a damn about the Palestinians they claim to work on behalf of?

They don't.

To them, Palestinians are props for their anti-Israel stunts. They are nothing more than pawns. Any Arab that cannot be used as ammunition against Israel is ignored or derided as a collaborator. Any happy Arab employee who works in Mishor Adumin or Atarot Industrial Park is an enemy of their cause.

You know how many stories about BDS are in Arabic media? Practically none. Because Arabs aren't being helped one bit by the vitriolic campaign against an Israeli company that does more for Arabs than every "pro-Palestinian" activist combined.