There cannot possibly be peace when all we have is continued retaliation by both sides. Hamas and Benjamin Netanyahu are both obstacles to a solution. So are many others, including Biden.
ICJ Orders Israel to Stop its Operations in Rafah
On May 24, NBC reported ICJ Ordered Israel to Stop its Operations in Rafah
The International Court of Justice on Friday ordered Israel to immediately halt its military assault on Rafah, the city in southern Gaza where more than 1 million people had sought refuge in dire conditions.
The top United Nations court cited an “immediate risk” to Palestinians, noting that more than 800,000 people had been forced to flee Rafah since Israeli forces began ground operations in an area that had once been declared a safe zone.
Judge Nawaf Salam, president of the ICJ, said Israel had failed to sufficiently address and dispel concerns raised by its offensive, all while the “catastrophic” living conditions of Palestinians in the strip had deteriorated further.
Friday’s ruling comes just days after the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor applied for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and others over alleged war crimes.
The ICC can charge people with war crimes and other related charges. It is separate from the ICJ, which considers cases between states and has no real power to enforce its rulings. Russia, for example, ignored an order in 2022 to halt its war in Ukraine.
Predictable Results
Israel ignored the order, of course. The results were predictable.
Israel struck an alleged safe zone setting encampments on fire and killing at least 45.
‘Tragic Mistake’
The Wall Street Journal reports Netanyahu Says Killing of Civilians in Israeli Strike Was ‘Tragic Mistake’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel called the deaths of civilians in an airstrike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah a “tragic mistake,” pledging an investigation as international condemnation mounted against the attack that Palestinian officials said killed dozens.
Israeli and Egyptian officials also held urgent talks on Monday after a rare cross-border clash between the two countries’ forces left an Egyptian officer dead, as they tried to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the airstrike, which took place Sunday night, was an “outrage.” European Union foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the Israeli attacks in Rafah on X and wrote that they must stop immediately.
Meanwhile, the shooting incident with Egyptian forces on the border threatened to deepen Egypt’s rift with Israel over its military offensive. Egypt threatened to downgrade its diplomatic ties with Israel after the Israeli military seized control of the Gazan side of the border crossing to halt what it says is the smuggling of arms and funds across the border. Egypt has also said it would join South Africa’s court case charging Israel with genocide.
The Egyptian Armed Forces said Monday’s shooting led to “the martyrdom of a security agent” who Egyptian officials confirmed was on their side of the border. People familiar with the incident said Egyptians opened fire first and the Israelis responded, and that no Israelis were killed.
Now Come the Tanks
Yesterday, the WSJ reported Israeli Tanks Close In on Central Rafah as Global Uproar Grows
Israeli tanks advanced farther into Rafah on Tuesday, according to witnesses, as the Israeli military said it was expanding operations in the southern Gaza city amid growing international condemnation.
The tanks passed near the Al-Awda mosque, a central Rafah landmark, Palestinians in the city told The Wall Street Journal.
The airstrike hasn’t resulted in any policy changes for the Biden administration, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday, as he reiterated what Biden has described as a “red line” with Israel. “We don’t want to see a major ground operation” in Rafah, Kirby said. “We haven’t seen that at this point.”
Nearly one million people have fled Rafah since the Israeli military ordered an evacuation of the eastern part of the city on May 6, but the city’s mayor estimates that around 500,000 remain as they struggle to find another place to take shelter.
The strike on Sunday caused huge explosions in a tent encampment where Palestinian civilians were sheltering, witnesses said. Palestinian authorities said it led to the deaths of at least 45 civilians and wounded others, including women and children.
Video from Reuters showed people trying to extinguish a fire in the dark of night while screaming could be heard in the background, and families standing amid the rubble the following day.
Red Line BS
Am I the only one tired of this red line BS? Biden is playing this out of both sides of his ass.
Israel ordered 1.5 million people to evacuate Rafah then struck a safe zone where they were told to go.
This we call a ‘Tragic Mistake’. But don’t worry, an investigation will sweep everything under the rug as if it never happened.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s just another minor incident (except to those killed or injured) because 36,000 have been killed in similar incidents, mostly on purpose.
What is the Best Way to Help Israel?
International Law Ends
Eurointelligence comments on When International Law Ends.
The ICJ ordered Israel to stop its operations in Rafah, and yet, two days later the IDF continued with targeted strikes that caused a deadly incident in a crowded tent camp where people were burned alive. There was predictable outrage inside and outside Israel, but outrage alone won’t change anything.
European governments, as ever, are wasting time, and are mostly focused on discussions with each other. They are coming up with minimal consensus measures. Last week, three European states unilaterally announced that they would recognise the Palestinian state. But without a firm commitment to a two-state solution, these assurances remain empty gestures. Instead, they fueled an extremist response from the Israeli government.
Instead of taking sides in this conflict, the EU and the US would better off to distinguish between extremism and the legitimate rights of both people. By taking the air out of extremism, we strengthen the moderate factions in both communities and and start diplomacy towards a two-state solution now, not later after the conflict.
Fundamental Rights
Eurointelligence comments “The fundamental rights of a Palestinian child should be regarded the same as the ones of a Israeli child. If we cannot adhere to this principle, what is the point of all our talk and gestures?“
Who is Recognizing Fundamental Rights?
The answer is no on. Heck, there is not even a discussion of rights other than Israel’s right to defend itself no matter how many Palestinians it kills in the process.
Netanyahu is a huge part of the problem. The rights he proposes, also part of Trump’s proposal, are so one-sided no Palestinian could accept.
Trump Releases Mideast Peace Plan That Strongly Favors Israel
On January 28, 2020, the New York Times wrote Trump Releases Mideast Peace Plan That Strongly Favors Israel
One-State Solution
The huge problem with Trump’s proposal was that it was outrageously one sided.
“Path to a Dignified National Life”
Large portions of the West Bank would become Israel. Palestine would have no right of self-determination and no territorial rights.
Trump and Netanyahu promised a “path to a dignified national life“, whatever the hell that means.
Red LInes
For more discussion of Biden’s alleged red lines, please see What is the Best Way to Help Israel and Ukraine?
Also see my March 10 post Are Biden’s Red Lines to Netanyahu Really Yellow or Green?
The answer, in case you have not been following the recent news, is green.
What Should the US Do?
The EU and the US need to recognize the fundamental rights of a Palestinian child are the same as that of a Israeli child, because until we do, there will never be peace.
Meanwhile, providing weapons to Israel as it crosses red lines many times is a clear message that one side has more rights than the other.
Finally, the US is $34 trillion in debt. We cannot afford these wars and should not be involved in this mess even if we could.