On a Sunday afternoon Nitsana Darshan Leitner, a lawyer at the Israel Law Center in Tel Aviv, outlined the challenges that Israel State of Israel would face from the United Nations over the next few weeks.
Her serene and calm demeanor hides the fierce opposition Israel is likely to face from the UN Human Rights Council [COI], which consists of three members. The UN Human Rights Council was given the authority to “investigate in Occupied Palestinian Territory (including East Jerusalem) all alleged violations of international human rights law and all alleged violations or abuses of International Human Rights Laws up to and including April 13, 2021.”
Although Israel has been subject to UN investigations in the past it is noteworthy that the present UN investigation is not a one-time affair and continues to examine Israel and the IDF. The investigation was not provided with an expiration date.
“The UN Human Rights Council investigation is not coming from the air,” explains Darshan-Leitner, who established Shurat HaDin in 2003. “It is connected to the activities of the International Court of Justice in The Hague.”
The Rome Statute, which established the ICC in 1998, established it. The court is empowered under the Rome Statute to prosecute people who have been found guilty of genocide crimes or crimes against mankind, as well as the crime of aggression. Israel initially supported the establishment of an international court. But, it was concerned that this court might be applied against Israel. https://journalrecord.com/tag/shurat-hadin-israel-law-center/ and the US as well as a number of other countries have neither signed nor ratified the statute and have no legal obligation to abide by the ICC’s decisions.
Fatou Bensouda the ICC prosecutor from The Hague announced in March 2021 that she would be initiating a war crime investigation against Israel, Hamas, and other nations.
A decision made by the International Court against Israel could have significant implications. A majority of European and Scandinavian countries are members of the court and are legally bound to follow the court’s rulings. If the ICC were to rule that IDF soldiers were guilty of war crimes and/or crimes against humanity, any Israeli serving in different IDF military operations and who happen to be in countries that have been deemed members of the court, like Canada, Australia and New Zealand – could be held indefinitely. The Jewish state as well as its banking industry may be hit with harsh economic sanctions.
Israel may also be subject to sanctions, weapons embargoes, and boycotts. El Al and other Israeli carriers may not be allowed to conduct business in some countries, for example.
Bensouda’s term as prosecutor ended in June 2021 and she was replaced by British barrister Karim Khan. Bensouda’s 14 investigations, eight of which were active, were handed over to the prosecutor who was appointed. Darshan Leitner told the Palestinians that he classified items on his court docket as “in the planning stage” which is means to indicate that the allegations aren’t enough urgent or worthy of consideration.
“This angered the Palestinian Authority,” says Darshan-Leitner. “They were unable to comprehend the reasons behind their incredible efforts to reach the prosecutor and open an investigation were blocked,” Darshan-Leitner said.
The PA asked for the establishment of a commission within the International Court of Justice in September 2021. This was to encourage Karim Khan’s decision to change his opinion about the ICC’s investigation of Israel.
Since then, says Darshan-Leitner The PA has continued to accuse Israel of committing war crimes as well as apartheid. The February report by Amnesty International inflicted blame on Israel for apartheid behavior as well as beyond the Green Line. The report stated that Israel “has established an institutionalized regime oppression of Palestinians” and also the report accused Israel of racial segregation since 1948.
Darshan Leitner asserts that Palestinian claims against Israel have focused at the International Criminal Court on two areas: IDF Military Operations and the issue Israeli Settlements. They claim to be war crimes.
Karim Khan the ICC prosecutor is pressured by Palestinians to prioritize Israel’s investigation under the “apartheid” claim. The claim was not investigated in the preliminary investigation Bensouda began. She says that “whatever moves the investigation is justifiable according to their view, and it doesn’t matter what it’s, or if its true.”
KARIM KHAN, new ICC prosecutor. (Credit: Michael Kooren/Reuters)
The latest attempt of the UN’s Palestinians in their attempt to convince the court at The Hague, is Navi Pillay, a trio of members UN commission of inquiry. It includes Miloon (India) and Chris Sidoti from Australia.
Darshan Leitner claims that Pillay Kothari, Sidoti and Kothari are all famous for their stances on Israel. “Pillay herself is accused of being apartheid in Israel and was the inspiration behind the antisemitic Durban conference. Others are not too far in the same direction.”
The 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC49) will be held at the office of HRC49 in Geneva from February 28 until April 1.
The main attraction of the session will be the report that the commission of inquiry is expected to publish on Operation Guardian of the Walls. This was the Israeli operation in Gaza in the month of May 2021 as a response to the missiles launched at Israel by Hamas. In Shurat Hadin , Israel will likely be accused of war crimes and apartheid as well in violations against humanity.
Darshan Leitner stated that, even though Israel will not cooperate with the commission of inquiry or become involved, Shurat haDin cannot ignore the accusations that will soon be made from the commission.
Darshan Leitner declares that there are two possible ways to counter the Pillay commission. “One is the substantive response that addresses the accusations of apartheid. The personal angle is based on the members’ lack of impartiality.
She says that her previous experience shows that Shurat haDin or anyone else are not capable of convincing those already anti- Israel to reconsider their views.
https://aish.com/authors/324072711/?aut_id=4898 proposes that Shurat HaDin could instead prove that all the members of the inquiry commission are biased towards Israel and also that the UN is prepared to sacrifice its fundamental values as fairness, fairness and sense of fairness to delegitimize Israel.
Darshan Leitner states, “We will launch a campaign that calls for the resignation of the entire COI members.” “We’re going to stage massive protests and file legal action against the COI. Its members and everyone else who is a part of this committee.”
Shurat HaDin will also show that the PA as opposed to Israel are the real people who violate human rights. “We will be examining their legislation and removing what we know about the discrimination against women, children, and the LGBTQ community, as well as their flawed legal system. Do you know that the PA law permits one to legally rape his wife? Marital rape is not an offense under their ‘advanced human-rights-friendly’ legislation.
“This is but one of the many examples of the UN’s champions for human rights they want to assist. While they claim Israel of apartheid, the United Nations promotes the rule of law with no elections in 15-years and that systematically infringes on its own human rights.
Darshan Leitner states that Shurat HaDin could also show the discrimination against minorities in Gaza and Palestine. Their numbers keep declining. Islamic extremists are increasing and are calling for mass murder of “infidels” and are even more violent than ISIS.
The Shurat HaDin leader believes that Israel committed a number of serious mistakes when it dealt with an earlier UNHRC inquiry commission, which was headed by South African jurist Richard Goldstone in 2009. Jerusalem refused collaboration with the Goldstone Commission after it found that the commission was biased in its agenda. But the final negative report caused great political tensions for Israel.
“While I fully agree that Israel was in the right to not cooperating with the vicious Goldstone witch hunting I’m not convinced that we dealt our cards very effectively. It’s not enough just to ignore the UNHRC or label them as prejudiced and racist. The government was required to supplement its decision with a well coordinated and active campaign to disseminate the government’s narrative and counterattack against the anti-Semitic UNHRC. She states, “We can act, speak up, and use legal recourse in situations where government’s hands are essentially tied.”
Darshan-Leitner is seeking to fill the gap this time. She outlines the current situation and states that the PA’s goal is to influence The Hague’s Chief Prosecutor. My goal is to dismantle the foundation of this commission and show how it is misguided and why apartheid assertions are not true and why they better fit for the PA. This will demonstrate that the commission is of no significance.
“If we don’t do this then the consequences will be negative. The prosecutor might be influenced and alter his mind. This could be a devastating and catastrophic event. This can’t happen.”