International Law and Lies about Israel
by Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, President of Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center
(YouTube transcript - Share this video. Stand with the truth)
They say Israel is violating International Law. They accuse us of genocide, land theft, and starving civilians. None of these claims are valid under International Law. Allow me to break down 5 of the biggest legal lies being spread right now and what the law actually says. Here is what they don’t tell you:
Lie #1 - Israel Seizing Land in Gaza Is a War Crime
Under International Law including the laws of armed conflict it is not illegal for a state to seize or occupy territory during a war if it’s done in self-defence. Israel did not invade Gaza out of aggression. It responded to an unprovoked massacre by Hamas on October 7. Also, Gaza is not a sovereign state and there is no land theft under International Law when there is no recognized sovereignty. (Gaza, Judea and Samaria were designated to the Jewish state, Eretz-Israel, by the League of Nations.)
Lie #2 - Israel Blocks Red Cross from Visiting Hamas Prisoners is a War Crime
Prisoner of war status applies only to uniformed combatants fighting on behalf of a state and following the laws of war. Hamas is a non-state terror group whose fighters don’t wear uniforms, deliberately target civilians, and commit war crimes. Therefore, Israel is under no obligation to allow Red Cross visits to captured terrorists. This is in line with the third Geneva Convention, Article 4. (Neither has Hamas allowed, nor is the Red Cross really eager to visit Jewish hostages taken by terrorists. No protests! If Israel wanted to commit genocide, the war would have been over Oct 8.)
Lie #3 - Israel is Committing Genocide
The Genocide Convention defined genocide as the intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Israel has no intent to destroy the Palestinian people, only to destroy Hamas, a terror organisation that brutally governs Gaza. If Israel wanted to destroy (so-called) Palestinian people then why is the army warning them to evacuate before it conducts air strikes? Civilian deaths in warfare especially when Hamas embeds himself in hospitals and homes do not meet the legal standards of genocide. (There has been NO condemnation of Egypt for not allowing civilians to leave the war zone in Gaza!)
Lie # 4 - Israel is Using Starvation as a Weapon
This is one of the most dangerous lies. According to International Law and the Rome Statutes, starvation of civilians is illegal only when food and humanitarian aid are deliberately withheld. But the facts matter. Israel through COGAT has facilitated hundreds of aid trucks daily and according to data from international agencies the minimum caloric threshold is being met. The real issue is that Hamas hijacked this aid and attacks the crossings. But the question is why the same people who accuse Israel for starving Palestinians are not asking why Hamas is stealing aid? (Not a single country has provided food, water and electricity to the enemies during a war. Only Israel must?)
Lie #5 - Israel is Targeting Hospitals and Schools Illegally
International Law protects hospitals and schools unless they are being used for military purposes. When Hamas turns hospitals into command centres and schools into rocket factories, they lose their protection and become a military target. According to International Law, Israel issues warnings, allows evacuations, and makes surgical strikes. That’s precisely what international humanitarian law requires. Israel is fighting a war for survival. And it’s doing so while upholding the law. But the legal battlefield is just as important. If we don’t fight back against these lies they become weapons. (Many so-called humanitarian organisations, including UNRWA and UNHCR, remained silent and allowed Hamas to use hospitals and schools as weapon storages and entrances to terror tunnels. Civilians are used as a human shields.)
Zionism is the Jewish National Independence Movement
Support SHAMRAK report
Food for Thought: by Steven Shamrak
Many experts, organisations, and political commentators know facts well, they are not stupid, but often derive pre and post wrong conclusions. For example: The Anti-Defamation League report that blamed Israel is now the driving force behind anti-Semitism in the US. In fact, anti-Semitism is the driving force behind orchestrated anger at Israel in the US and Europe. The protests against the war in Gaza are just the opportunity the Jew-haters use to 'express' themselves.
Iranian Opposition Rejects Nuclear Deal
As nuclear talks between the US and Iran resume in Oman, Prince Reza Pahlavi and leading Iranian opposition figures remain firmly opposed to any agreement that legitimizes the Islamic Republic. Prince Reza Pahlavi has made his position clear: “Peace in the Middle East is impossible as long as the Islamic Republic is in power.”
Moving Gazans Southward and Beyond
Israel’s plan to expand the IDF ground operation in the Gaza Strip includes the large-scale conquest of the Gaza Strip, with Israeli forces capturing and holding territory long-term, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told members of the Security Cabinet. The plan includes the long-term conquest of territory in Gaza, and moving Gazans out - Israel is working to sign deal with third-party countries to accept Gaza refugees.
"Judea and Samaria" not ‘West Bank’
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican, signed legislation to prohibit the state’s agencies from using the term “West Bank.” The bill is considered to be the first time that a US state has required its documents to call the area that Israel captured (freed) from Jordan (occupation) in the 1967 Six-Day War by the biblical names of "Judea and Samaria".
No Respect for Life and Even Trees
The US ambassador Mike Huckabee tweeted to denounce the calls on Arabic media encouraging arson against Israel. "'Israelis live every day with constant threats from uncivilized savages like Hamas seeking to murder civilians & destroying even the trees". A massive wildfire broke out on Wednesday in Israel, forcing evacuations and road closures as thousands gathered across the Jewish state for Memorial Day observances. Several individuals from Eastern Jerusalem have been arrested by Israeli police on suspicion of attempting to ignite fires in the area. Calls for arson have been rampant on Arab social media platforms. (No condemnation from 'tree loving' anti-Semites. Fake Palestinians burn the land they falsely claim as their own. Because, they have no respect for the Jewish land!)
The IDF struck a gathering of an extremist group in Syria that was reportedly preparing to continue attacks against the Druze population in the town of As-Suweida in Syria’s Damascus Governorate. "Israel will not allow harm to come to the Druze community in Syria, out of a deep commitment to our Druze brothers in Israel, who are tied by family and historical bonds to their Druze brothers in Syria," Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced. The Druze spiritual leader in Israel Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif said the eyes and hearts of the community in Israel are in the Druze victims in Syria. "I call on Israel, the Jews around the world and the international community to act now, immediately, to prevent a massacre. Israel must not stand by in the face of events unfolding as we speak."
Eurovision to Allow Palestinian Flags
The European Broadcasting Authority changed its policy this week to allow all “legally permitted” flags to be flown in the audience at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, opening the door for spectators to display the Palestinian flag after it was previously banned from the event.
Lebanon Warned Hamas
After several Lebanese and so-called Palestinians were detained on suspicion of firing rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel, the Lebanese Higher Defense Council, Lebanon's top military body, warned the Hamas group Friday that it would face the "harshest measures" if it carried out any attacks from Lebanon.
Another Jewish Contribution to Humanity
Scientists of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered a surprising mechanism - ‘switchboard’ - bacteria use to regulate when they become infectious. The findings raise the possibility of preventing infections by keeping bacteria in a harmless state. One of the most striking implications of the research is that this system may not be unique to a single bacterial species. (Still there is no appreciation from the anti-Semitic international political and press elite. What is the contribution of the fake Palestinians to humanity?)
The UN Chief - Mad Dog still Barking
The United Nations Security Council, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (a well-known anti-Semite) issued a stark warning about the deteriorating prospects for a negotiated peace between Israel and Palestinian Arabs, stating that the vision of a two-state solution is edging dangerously close to collapse. (The idea of two-state solution can't deteriorate. It was 'dead on arrival' from the start! But the chief of 'Ugly Nazi' is still pushing it through.)
Quotes of the Week:
“A real deal that works is one that removes Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. Dismantle all the infrastructure of Iran’s nuclear program. That is a deal we can live with. A bad deal is worse than no deal." - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - He also said that Iran must not be allowed to enrich uranium. President Trump has repeatedly threatened that the US could potentially unleash airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear program should negotiations fail. And they will.
Regime Change will Bring Peace
by Israel National News
Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi responded to the US and Iran's renewal of talks for a nuclear deal: "These nuclear talks will not bring peace to the Middle East," Pahlavi said in a statement. "This regime does not negotiate in good faith. It uses diplomacy as a tactic - to buy time, ease pressure, and tighten its grip on power."
"However well intentioned, these nuclear talks will throw a lifeline to a crumbling dictatorship and prolong its export of terror and chaos. The Islamic Republic is at its weakest point in 46 years. Its leadership is fractured. Its economy is in free fall. Its people are rising. In just the past few weeks, protests have erupted again across the country. Change is already happening. This is not the time to rescue a dying regime."
He added, "I urge the United States and its allies in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy to stand with the people of Iran. Make a deal with the people of Iran, not a deal with the extremists in Tehran." (Two years ago, Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi visited Israel. The message is the same.)
SINAI OPTION – the Road to Permanent Peace
Who are the Fake Palestinians?
Arab-Israel Conflict – Forgotten Facts