On April 13, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched extensive missile and drone strikes against Israel in response to that country's terrorist attack of April 1 against the Islamic Republic's diplomatic premises in the Syrian capital of Damascus.[1] The Commander of the IRGC said the operation was more successful than expected.[2]

In a letter to the UN Security Council on April 14, in response to Israel's request "to convene a meeting of the Security Council immediately to unequivocally condemn Iran for these grave violations and immediately act to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization," Iran wrote: "This action was in the exercise of Iran's inherent right to self-defence as outlined in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, and in response to the Israeli recurring military aggressions, particularly its armed attack on 1st April 2024 against the Iranian diplomatic premises in the defiance of Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations."

Iran said that had the Security Council fulfilled its responsibility to act against Israel's act of aggression against the Iranian Embassy in Syria, it would have pre-empted Iran having to take this measure.

"Regrettably, the United Nations Security Council has failed in its duty to maintain international peace and security, allowing the Israeli regime to transgress red lines and violate the fundamental principles of international law. Such violations have exacerbated tensions in the region and threatened regional and international peace and security," Iran wrote.

Article 51 of the UN Charter states: "Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security."

The fact is that Israel, as the U.S. enforcer in the region, has played a role of making impunity acceptable and normal. As is occurring today, the Zionists refuse to submit to UN resolutions which permitted Israel's founding in the first place and ever since then, they ignore the legally binding rulings and measures of the International Court of Justice, as well as international humanitarian law and laws of war. And so too, the U.S., the UK, Canada, France, Germany and others refuse to stop supporting Israel's claim that it has the right of self-defence even though, as an occupying power, no such right exists.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, the U.S., Canada and other countries are trying to build a case that the Resistance is comprised of extremists who are therefore legitimate military targets. On the basis of this declaration, they target hospitals, homes, journalists, aid workers, universities, mosques and anything that moves, claiming Hamas is using civilians as human shields. According to them, the laws of war and humanitarian law do not apply because the targets are extremists; everyone else is collateral damage. Simultaneously, the political police, governments and state forces in the countries which support Israel are engaged in a concerted campaign to identify and punish "extremists" and "hate-mongers" and "foreign agents" within their own societies and bodies politic -- labels they use to isolate, accuse and punish those who do not agree with what they call their values, which includes supporting the Israeli crimes against the Palestinians in the name of Israel's right to self-defence.

In this vein, Canada's cardboard cut-out Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, issued a statement on April 13 right on cue, "on the attacks by the Iranian regime against Israel." He said:

"Canada unequivocally condemns Iran's airborne attacks against Israel. We stand with Israel. After supporting Hamas' brutal October 7 attack, the Iranian regime's latest actions will further destabilize the region and make lasting peace more difficult.

"These attacks demonstrate yet again the Iranian regime's disregard for peace and stability in the region. We support Israel's right to defend itself and its people from these attacks."

This is another craven attempt to divide the world into pro and con an Israel that is self-servingly portrayed as a besieged country which commits no crimes, obeys humanitarian law, is only engaged in legitimate self-defence, legitimately fighting a criminal extremist terrorist resistance which must be eliminated at all costs as a condition for peace in the Middle East. Such attempts to get support for Israel and isolate the Palestinian resistance have decisively failed to divert attention from the crimes of genocide being committed by the Israeli Zionists against the Palestinian people and from the fact that the resistance is the solution and a ceasefire must be implemented now.

Despite such a well coordinated multi-state promoted effort, the U.S./Israeli genocide and impunity for it has not stopped the valiant Palestinian resistance and has angered the peoples of the world, who refuse to accept such impunity and are demanding accountability. It has brought to the fore the need for new international relations with mechanisms of accountability in the hands of the majority.

Israel's attempt to use its attack on the Iranian consulate, killing those it calls extremists, to provoke Iran into not acting intelligently has now failed. Its hope of diverting attention from its genocide against the Palestinians by turning world public opinion against Iran by blaming it for launching World War III, are bound to fail also as the Palestinians stand firm, the world stands as one with them and various countries opposing what Israel is doing refuse to be bullied.

Should Israel now invade Rafah, the entire world will rise against it.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that the Biden administration is very active in doing everything within its power to save Israel and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, of which Israel's Plan A is the total removal of the Palestinians from Gaza. The U.S. arming and funding of Israel, including the latest shipment of more bombs and fighter jets, makes it guilty of genocide, as is also the case of countries like Canada which continue to facilitate Israel's crimes in myriad ways.

The Biden administration has been sending billions of dollars of weapons to Israel on a regular basis. The latest includes more than 1,800 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, which are designed to wipe out human populations as they level entire city blocks. The U.S. is also sending 500 MK-82 500-pound bombs and another 25 F-35 fighter jets, bringing the Israeli fleet to 75 jets. These are the planes carrying out the unending bombardments in Gaza of hospitals, schools, residential areas and more. There are also plans to send 50 F-15 fighter jets.

Despite the open flouting of international humanitarian law and many war crimes by Israel, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller continues to insist, "We have not found them to be in violation of international humanitarian law, either when it comes to the conduct of the war or when it comes to the provision of humanitarian assistance." Meanwhile Canadian banks invest heavily in the arms producers whose weapons are sent to Israel. Canada protects the real estate companies that continue to sell Palestinian land to Israeli settlers and Canadian government officials and media provide all-sided disinformation and moral support to the Zionists while attacking the Canadians who participate in the Palestinian resistance movement at every turn, under all kinds of fraudulent pretexts said to be legal.

What is called western democracy and the western democratic institutions have never been so discredited within their own countries and worldwide. Everything that is taking place once again reveals the need for institutional state structures which empower the people and end the scourges of impunity and wars of aggression and occupation. Unfolding events also reveal that it is not weapons, assassinations and provocations that determine the outcome of any war. The Palestinians and their supporters worldwide have once again made clear it is the people and their organized resistance which persist and will prevail.

Ceasefire Now!
Long Live the Palestinian Resistance!
The Resistance Will Prevail!

Notes

1. Iran said its April 13 strategic and military missile and drone strikes against military targets in Israel were retaliation for the latest Israeli crime of bombing the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria on April 1. The consulate is part of the Iranian Embassy which is Iranian sovereign territory. By making a consular building the target of attack, the Zionist action threatened all countries worldwide by telling them their impunity stops at nothing, Iran pointed out. At least 13 people were killed, including a leading Iranian General Mohamad Reza Zahedi, senior commander Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, five other officials and six Syrian citizens.

Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, strongly condemned the attack and killings. He brought out that Israel is desperate and engaging in such actions because they are being defeated in Gaza. Syria also denounced the action as a brutal violation of that country's sovereignty. Both the U.S. and Israel have bombed Syria in the name of stopping terrorism, but their acts of state terrorism are clear for all to see. It is reported that the Israeli fighter jet that bombed the Iranian consulate was an F-35, one of 75 jets the U.S. has now provided Israel.

2. The statement of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) issued after the operation, code-named " True Promise," said:

"In response to the Zionist regime's numerous crimes, including the attack on the consular section of Iran's Embassy in Damascus and the martyrdom of a number of our country's commanders and military advisors in Syria, the IRGC's Aerospace Division launched tens of missiles and drones against certain targets inside the occupied territories."

In a subsequent statement, the IRGC said the retaliation came after 10 days of "silence and neglect" on the part of international organizations, especially the United Nations Security Council, to condemn the Israeli aggression or punish the regime in line with Article 7 of the UN Charter. Iran then resorted to the retaliatory strikes, the IRGC added, "using its strategic intelligence capabilities, missiles, and drones" to attack "targets of the Zionist terrorist army in the occupied territories, successfully hitting and destroying them."

The statement also warned the United States that "any support or participation in harming Iran's interests will result in a decisive and regrettable response by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic."

"Furthermore, America is held responsible for the evil actions of the Zionist regime, and if this child-killing regime is not restrained in the region, it will bear the consequences," it noted.

The Corps concluded the statement by cautioning third countries against letting their soil or airspace be used for attacks against the Islamic Republic.

Iran's "Operation True Promise" a Game Changer

– Hilary LeBlanc –

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri explained after the operation code-named "True Promise" was ended that Iran has no intention of continuing the operation against Israel. The operation has been concluded, he said.

Prior to resorting to this retaliatory mission, for 10 days Iran made efforts to get the UN Security Council to condemn the targeting of its embassy in Damascus to no avail due to U.S. interference. So too, it tried to get the U.S. to make sure Israel implemented a ceasefire in Gaza, also to no avail. Now, with this mission completed, the Major General made it clear that while Iran is capable of carrying out a large operation against Israel, it opted for a more restricted and limited one to hit Israeli resources that had been used for the airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria which killed senior Iranian military commanders.

While Israeli and Western media claim Israel scored victory on April 13 because it brought down most of the missiles and drones, analysts point out that Israel's Iron Dome defence system, aided by U.S. and British airpower, brought down a barrage of old and slow missiles and inexpensive drones which served as decoys, while Iran's ballistic missiles reached their intended targets, an airbase in the south of the country used to launch the airstrike against the Iranian consulate in Damascus which killed the senior Iranian military leaders, as well as an intelligence gathering centre in the north used to bomb Gaza.

Describing the complexity of the operation, Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), pointed out that Israel's air and missile defence systems, including anti-ballistic and cruise missile defences, and air defences that are anti-drone or anti-manned aircraft, were deployed in abundance over Israel. They ranged from the Iron Dome air defence system that deals with short-range projectiles to David's Sling and Arrow systems and even the contributions by the U.S. to the Israeli regime in recent days in the field of air defence. "With the support of the United States, a multi-layered defence of the Zionist regime had been formed from Iraqi airspace to Jordan and even parts of Syria and occupied Palestine," he added. "Various aircraft, including the F-15, F-16 and F-35, which are highly advanced, Gulfstream aircraft, and refuelers that helped the enemy warbirds' continuous flight, had created a dense and multilayered air defence from the moment the [Iranian missiles and drones] entered Iraqi airspace to mid-Jordan," Salami noted. "Anti-aircraft and missile defence accompanied by the most advanced systems was in front of us, and it was difficult to pass through this very complex, multi-layered, and advanced system," he said.

Referring to the ballistic missiles that hit their intended targets, Salami pointed out that it was very complicated to pass through Israeli airspace and then strike with extremely high precision the intended targets. " Moreover the integrated capabilities of the United States and the Zionist regime in the field of electronic warfare could have decisive effects on the tools used on the battlefield ... Our information on all of the hits is not complete yet but on that part of the hits that we have accurate, documented and field-related reports show that this operation has been carried out with a success that exceeded the expectation," he said.

Analysts point out that the old missiles and inexpensive drones Israel shot down cost a few million dollars against the $1.3 billion spent by Israel, the U.S. and Britain to bring these decoys down, with the added consequence that Israel's air defences are now thoroughly weakened.

The Major General said that Iran has entered a new phase in its confrontation with Israel. Serious analysts concur. They point out that with this intelligent limited strategic response, Iran has changed its policy from one of "strategic patience" to serving notice to the U.S., Israel and the Gulf Arab states, as well as Israel's accomplices, such as the UK, Canada, France, Germany and others, that Iran is more than capable of holding them in check. In other words, the direct hits emanating directly from Iran, without the participation of any other resistance forces such as Hamas, Hezbollah, introduced new elements that change the hitherto existing power relations in the region in a significant way which favours the resistance forces. Iran's immediate aim is to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the provision of humanitarian aide to the Palestinians forced into starvation by the Zionists and their U.S. partners. It has no intention of diverting from this aim despite the war hysteria on the part of Israel and its partners in crime.

Operation "True Promise" is a game changer which will affect the U.S. unconditional support for Israel, as well as shake the confidence of the Gulf Arab States that they have U.S. backing no matter what. It also provides convincing evidence that Iran has the capabilities to surpass not only Israel's ability to defend itself but also that of the U.S., UK and regional partners which, with the exception of Jordan, did not permit their airspace or territories to be used to stop Iran's retaliatory measures about which they were informed ahead of time.

The U.S. has also made it clear it does not want any escalation and it is distancing itself from protecting other countries. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after the operation: "The United States condemns Iran's attack on Israel in the strongest terms. While we do not seek escalation, we will continue to support Israel's defence, and as the President made clear, we will defend U.S. personnel. I will be consulting with allies and partners in the region and around the world in the hours and days ahead." U.S. President Joe Biden is reported to have told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in no uncertain terms to stop any plans to retaliate.

Meanwhile, even more Israelis, who got a small horrifying taste of what the people of Gaza have been subjected to for 191 days of Israeli bombardment since October 7, 2023 are expected to flee Israel because they know Israel cannot protect them. According to data from the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority, already nearly half a million Israelis have left the country since October 7. Israel's economy also continues to suffer the repercussions of its war with Gaza. It goes without saying that both foreign and domestic tourism in Israel are at a standstill. Tourism accounts directly for 2.8 per cent of Israel's GDP. The combined total of direct and indirect tourism jobs is estimated at 230,000, representing just over six per cent of total employment. The consequences of disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea, reduced investments and serious disruptions to the work force as a result of large numbers of Israelis recruited into the armed forces are also significant and unsustainable.

The time is now to step up support for the Resistance Movement in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the entire world.

Ceasefire Now! End the Occupation Now!

World Central Kitchen -- A Version of White Helmets

– Nick Lin –

On April 2, an assault by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) wantonly killed six food aid workers in Gaza working for an organization called World Central Kitchen (WCK) and their Palestinian driver. Among those killed were three British nationals who were identified as being part of the British military special services, and one person with dual Canadian and U.S. citizenship, a former member of the U.S. military who served in Afghanistan.

Founder of World Central Kitchen, celebrity chef José Andrés, told Reuters that the Israeli assault, had "systematically, car by car" targeted them. Condemnation and profound sorrow were expressed by people like U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian government officials and others who declare that Israel has the "right to self-defence." It is noteworthy that these same people have never decried the deaths of more than 34,000 Palestinians, including more than 9,500 women, over 14,500 children, 140 journalists and media workers, at least 484 medical personal and the more than 200 aid workers working for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and other aid agencies trying to save the Palestinian people from starvation imposed on them by Israel.

Unnamed "defence sources" privy to the details of the attack told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz the killing "stemmed from poor discipline among field commanders, not a lack of coordination between the army and aid organizations." An Israeli intelligence source told the newspaper that the army's southern command "know exactly what the cause of the attack was – in Gaza, everyone does as he pleases." Official regrets were expressed by the Israeli government who admitted it was a result of "friendly fire."

What is very fishy about the humanitarian credentials of World Central Kitchen is that José Andrés is known to have criticized a minister from Spain, Ione Belarra Urteaga, on October 16, 2023 when she had expressed horror at Israel's bombardment and massacres of Palestinians in Gaza which even one week into Israel's current assault on Gaza had already killed thousands of Palestinians, the majority of whom were women and children. Andrés expressed outrage at the minister, justified the genocide by claiming that Israel was defending its citizens, and demanded that she be fired for standing up against Israel's barbarity.

In other words, the motives of this Spanish-American celebrity chef and his World Central Kitchen were clearly not to save the lives of the Palestinian people. This suspicion is further confirmed by the composition of the people killed and the fact that it is acknowledged as a "friendly fire" inadvertent accident.

Ali Abunimah of the Electronic Intifada pointed out that the Israeli military helped WCK build a jetty out of the rubble of people's homes, destroyed by the Israeli military despite the fact that there may still have been bodies in the rubble. He quoted a New York Times article which states: "The Israeli military helped WCK's operation, providing security and coordination, according to an Israeli official who requested anonymity to speak about a sensitive matter. Every step was carried out with the permission of the U.S. military." The NYT article goes on to say: "The arrival of the ship, which had sailed from Cyprus after the aid was inspected there, was a milestone in a venture that Western officials hope will play a part in easing the enclave's food deprivation. The operation is being described as a pilot project for the broader opening of a maritime corridor to supply the territory."

There are also close ties between WCK and the White House. President Biden personally called Andrés to offer his condolences and support for those killed by Israel. Last February, Andrés, as Co-chair of the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, participated in a promotional video alongside Doug Emhoff, the husband of vice-president Kamala Harris. The Electronic Intifada journalist also points out that the WCK charity has gone from nothing three years ago to raising half a billion dollars in 2022. All this comes as the efforts to dismantle and destroy UNRWA escalate.

It is clear from the facts that WCK is being used in a fraudulent effort on the part of Israel, the U.S., Canada, the UK and others to claim that Israel is humanitarian and is feeding civilians, or to claim that they themselves are doing the same. It is also used to divert attention from attempts to destroy UNRWA. Such attempts are themselves part of global neo-liberal efforts to destroy the UN Convention on Refugees, not only to pass off the slaughter of Palestinians as the new normal, but also to permit countries like Britain and Canada to violate their obligations under the convention in their treatment of refugees, called "illegal migrants," and, ultimately, to justify the egregious violations of international refugee law on the southern U.S. border.

It is highly likely that World Central Kitchen is another version of the White Helmets, an outfit which calls itself a civil defence organization made up of volunteers who "help communities prepare for, respond to and recover from attacks." The White Helmets was founded by a former British army intelligence officer and private military contractor with ties to the UK government. Since 2014 it has operated in "rebel-held" areas of Syria in violation of Syrian sovereignty. It is suspected of being behind many atrocities subsequently blamed on the Syrian government by its enemies. White Helmets receives funding from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and other like-minded governments.

This "friendly fire" incident constitutes yet more evidence that not only is the IDF in disarray but that the tears of the likes of the Biden administration and government of Canada are part of a concerted propaganda fraud to pass off Israel as humanitarian while they have a plan to demolish UN humanitarian agencies such as UNRWA and dismantle UN Conventions which protect refugees and victims of aggression and war.

On the Ground

Day 191 of Israel's Genocidal Assault on Gaza

April 14 marks the 191st day of Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza that began on October 7, 2023. In just over six months, at least 34,194 Palestinians have been slaughtered and more than 76,371 injured with thousands more missing and presumed dead under the rubble. At least 9,500 women have been slaughtered and more than 14,500 children have been slaughtered and 17,000 are currently unaccompanied or separated from their parents. Of the children injured, 1,000 have lost one or both of their legs. Out of Gaza's total population of 2.3 million people, 1.9 million Palestinians have been internally displaced (83 per cent).

Sixty-two per cent of all homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, there has been $18.5 billion in damage to public infrastructure, and 26 million tonnes of debris have been left by the destruction. Eighty per cent of commercial facilities have been destroyed. Eighty per cent of school buildings have been destroyed. Out of the 35 hospitals in Gaza before Israel began its genocidal assault, only 11 remain partially functioning.

Nearly the whole population faces starvation, with the situation especially bad in the north. Lack of fresh water is also a serious problem, with 83 per cent of groundwater wells rendered inoperable.

As of the end of the holy month of Ramadan, 267 places of worship have been destroyed.

In the West Bank, Israel has slaughtered at least 465 people, including more than 118 children. It has injured more than 4,750 people there.

On April 7, Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees stated on Instagram:

"No words can do justice to the horrors that people in Gaza are living in since the war began six months ago.

"The lives of 2 million people were turned upside down, often overnight. Many lost the most precious: their loved ones. Everything is in short supply except for grieving hearts.

"This war broke all the superlatives with the highest number of children killed, aid workers, journalists and medical teams and unprecedented attacks and destruction of hospitals and United Nations buildings in blatant disregard of International Humanitarian Law.

"All lines -- including the red lines -- were crossed. This war is made far worse through technologies misused by humans to harm other humans; en masse.

"It is made worse by the famine born from an Israeli imposed siege, one would think it's from a different era. As a result, a man-made famine is eating up bodies of babies and young children.

"Meanwhile, attacks continue against UNRWA, the largest humanitarian organization, with the aim to dismantle it and deny the refugee status to millions of Palestinians.

"Amid political debates and failed diplomacy, between well-polished talking points and statements, the hellhole in Gaza is deepening by the day.

"The calls are very clear:

- Civilians -- wherever they are -- must be protected. Every civilian life lost is a tragedy.

- All hostages in Gaza must be released.

- A ceasefire must be implemented now.

- Israel must open more land crossings and lift all restrictions on the work of UNRWA without further delay.

"This is now a race against time to restore our humanity."

Truce Negotiations

Sources within the Palestinian Resistance revealed to Al Mayadeen detailed points of the mediators' proposal presented to the Hamas Movement at a meeting in Cairo on April 8, clarifying the movement's position on it as well.

First stage: This revolves around the gradual return of displaced civilians to the northern Gaza Strip, with no specified numbers mentioned. This phase additionally involves the implementation of temporary housing arrangements in the northern region, overseen by a United Nations team to ensure the safe return of the displaced individuals. Five hundred aid trucks will be delivered daily, with a portion allocated to the northern region, including tents and caravans. In addition, efforts will be made to rehabilitate hospitals, health centres, and bakeries, while restoring infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity, sanitation, and communication networks. Furthermore, equipment for debris removal will be allowed entry.

The Israeli proposal that its forces relocate themselves to "outside densely populated areas" to locations designated by Israel was rejected by Hamas, deeming the term "outside densely populated areas" as vague, which would grant Israel the authority to control these areas and establish a buffer zone. However, Hamas agreed to the presence of the occupation forces at the border, on the condition that a complete withdrawal is eventually carried out. Hamas proposed that Israeli forces be stationed at the Netzarim junction as part of the first stage. However, they emphasized that at the end of this stage, all forces must withdraw outside the borders.

The proposal also includes the release of 40 Israeli captives, including women, children, and the elderly, in exchange for the release of 900 Palestinian prisoners, including 100 with life sentences. However, both the resistance movement and Israel respectively had objections to the details of how this would be implemented

Second stage: This would see the release of all Israeli captives and a return to "sustainable calm." Hamas considered the term "sustainable calm" unclear and emphasized that the second stage did not include any information regarding a ceasefire or a complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces. The second stage also did not specify the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released

Third stage: This would deal with exchange of the remains of Palestinians and Israelis. The sources revealed that the agreement is fully guaranteed by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.

The Hamas delegation emphasized the necessity of achieving an agreement that fully halts aggression, ensures the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, and allows displaced people to return freely to their areas and places of residence, as well as provides relief to the Palestinian people and initiates the reconstruction of what was destroyed by the Israeli occupation.

Hamas added that a prisoner exchange deal must be concluded, whereby Palestinian detainees are released in exchange for Israeli captives held by the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip.

The movement reiterated its commitment, along with all Palestinian forces and factions, to achieve national objectives and establish a fully sovereign Palestinian state with al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital, in affirmation of the right of return and self-determination.

Israel's Criminal Attacks on Gaza Hospitals

Al-Shifa Hospital, April 1, 2024, following seige by Israeli military.

The World Health Organization (WHO) led a multi-agency mission which accessed Al-Shifa Hospital in north Gaza on April 5 to conduct a preliminary assessment of the extent of destruction and identify needs to guide future efforts to restore the facility. Al-Shifa was besieged by the Israeli military for two-weeks, from March 18 to April 1, with many doctors executed and the buildings left in ruins. The Zionists, attempting to terrorize families, killed young children in front of their parents, forced people to leave then slaughtered them in what were called "safe" zones. More than 65 families were forced to leave the area around the hospital complex, then subjected to rape and killing.

Al-Shifa Hospital -- once the largest and most important referral hospital in Gaza -- is now an empty shell after the latest siege. The hospital's emergency department, surgical, and maternity wards are extensively damaged due to explosives and fire. At least 115 beds in what once was the emergency department have been burnt and 14 incubators in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit destroyed, among other assets. An indepth assessment by a team of engineers is needed to determine if these buildings are safe for future use. The hospital's oxygen plant has been destroyed. WHO staff witnessed at least five bodies lying partially covered on the ground, exposed to the heat. The team reported a pungent smell of decomposing bodies engulfing the hospital compound.

A further report on Reliefweb, provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated:

"Members of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitorfield team were present inside Al-Shifa Medical Complex during the Israeli army’s attack and its aftermath. About a week after the end of the military operation, during the recovery of dozens of victims’ remains, Euro-Med Monitor documented horrific scenes of body parts strewn on the ground as well as human remains inside a large pit dug by Israeli forces in the courtyard of one of Al-Shifa’s hospitals.

"According to ongoing Euro-Med Monitor investigations, which include dozens of testimonies documented during and after Israel’s operation, the Israeli army committed many serious crimes against every Palestinian in the vicinity, including the murder and execution of hundreds of civilians. The fate of dozens of missing individuals is still unknown today."

Al-Shifa Hospital and surrounding neighbourhood, April 1, 2024

On the same day, another WHO-led mission bound for Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals in northern Gaza to deliver medical supplies, fuel and to deploy emergency medical teams and support referral of critical patients, encountered unnecessary delays, including the detention of the driver of a supply truck that was part of the convoy. He was detained for over an hour at a location out of view of the mission team. Between mid-October and the end of March, over half of all WHO missions have been denied, delayed, impeded or postponed.

The WHO notes that of the 36 main hospitals that used to serve over 2 million Gazans, only 10 remain somewhat functional, with severe limitations on the types of services they can deliver. The proposed military incursion into Rafah by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) can only result in further reduction of access to health care and would have unimaginable health consequences, the WHO points out, adding that the systematic dismantling of health care must end.

The WHO again repeated its calls for the protection of patients, health and humanitarian workers, health infrastructure, and civilians. Hospitals must not be militarized, misused, or attacked, it said.

In Gaza's southern city of Khan Yunis on March 24, the IDF attacked Al-Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals, laying siege to both facilities with a large force of troops and vehicles, as warplanes bombarded the city. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the many thousands seeking refuge in the hospitals were in extreme danger, as were their workers.

Drones with loudspeakers demanded that all those present leave the hospital without their clothes, while troops launched smoke bombs to force people out. At the same time aerial bombardments and artillery shelling relentlessly targeted the area and Khan Yunis.

These crimes are noted and condemned by the Palestinian resistance and the world's people.

Israeli Media Exposes Author of "Hamas Rape" Story as a Fraud

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on March 24 that Israeli ministry officials are publicly disassociating themselves from lawyer Cochav Elkayam-Levy who had fabricated and "spread false stories about Hamas atrocities" revealing that the lawyer had sought to collect millions of dollars in donations for a so-called "civilian commission" of which she is the only member.

On February 29, Canada's Foreign Minister announced $1 million for "victims of sexual violence by Hamas." According to the report carried by CTV News, "Ottawa has not said which groups will receive the $1 million, nor when. Canada is also offering RCMP support for investigations, though it's unclear whether Israeli officials have made any specific request."

Yedioth Ahronoth reported further about Elkayam-Levy, who is the head of the Deborah Institute and a lecturer in the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University. She was among the first to spread false claims that Hamas had carried out systematic rape during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. She also created a "civilian commission" to investigate alleged Hamas atrocities. While the commission's name suggests it was a government-established body, it consisted only of Elkayam-Levy herself. She then solicited millions of dollars in donations for the fake commission, claiming a budget of $8 million, including $1.5 million for administrative fees, was needed.

The critical report from Yedioth Ahronoth comes just days after Elkayam-Levy was given the Israel Prize for her efforts to "raise awareness" about alleged Hamas atrocities on October 7, 2023.

United Nations

UN Security Council Passes Resolution for Immediate Gaza Ceasefire

On March 25, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza for the remainder of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, that ended on April 9, and the urgent expansion of humanitarian aid deliveries. The resolution was supported by 14 members of the Security Council. The United States withheld its veto and abstained. This resolution came after 171 days of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza and prior attempts to pass a resolution that were undermined, outright vetoed or made unacceptable to other countries by the U.S. Despite the resolution having passed, the U.S. saw to it that it could not be enforced, while Israel simply carried on its slaughter in Gaza and Ramadan ended.

Text of UN Security Council Resolution 2728 (2024)

"The Security Council,

"Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

"Recalling all of its relevant resolutions on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question,

"Reiterating its demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and in this regard deploring all attacks against civilians and civilian objects, as well as all violence and hostilities against civilians, and all acts of terrorism, and recalling that the taking of hostages is prohibited under international law,

"Expressing deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,

"Acknowledging the ongoing diplomatic efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, aimed at reaching a cessation of hostilities, releasing the hostages and increasing the provision and distribution of humanitarian aid,

"1. Demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire, and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access to address their medical and other humanitarian needs, and further demands that the parties comply with their obligations under international law in relation to all persons they detain;

"2. Emphasizes the urgent need to expand the flow of humanitarian assistance to and reinforce the protection of civilians in the entire Gaza Strip and reiterates its demand for the lifting of all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale, in line with international humanitarian law as well as resolutions 2712 (2023) and 2720 (2023);

"3. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter."

The Russian Federation sought to have the resolution read "permanent immediate ceasefire," as it had in a prior draft, but this amendment was vetoed by the U.S.

Israel's Response

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially cancelled a high-level delegation's planned visit to Washington, DC to discuss the planned invasion of Rafah. He accused the U.S. of "retreating" from a "principled position" by allowing the vote to pass without conditioning the ceasefire on the release of hostages. After continued U.S. insistence, Netanyahu agreed to send a delegation at a date not yet determined. A video consultation on Rafah was held April 1 by U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken with their Israeli counterparts.

"This withdrawal hurts both the war effort and the effort to release the hostages, because it gives (the Palestinian Resistance movement) Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to accept a ceasefire without the release of our hostages," the statement said, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

As concerns those held captive in Gaza, what was left unsaid is that Israel's refusal to negotiate a permanent ceasefire is the reason why there are still Israeli captives being held. Moreover, the all-out bombardment of Gaza for nearly six months, not to mention the enactment of the "Hannibal Directive" permitting Israel's military to shoot its own citizens on October 7, 2023, have resulted in Israel killing many of those Netanyahu claims he wants to rescue. This is to say nothing about the thousands of Palestinian men, women and children unjustly detained by Israel since October 7 and over many years, whose freedom the Palestinian people and resistance are fighting for.

U.S. Response

The White House said in a statement that the U.S. abstention "does not represent a shift in our policy [...] but because the final text does not have the language that we think is essential, like a condemnation of Hamas, we could not support it."

Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, declared at a press conference that the resolution was not binding.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield explained the U.S. abstention by saying, "We are getting closer to a deal for an immediate ceasefire with the release of all hostages. But we are not there yet." She made a ceasefire and humanitarian aid conditional on "the release of all hostages." She made a permanent ceasefire conditional on Israel and the U.S. achieving their common aim of eliminating the Palestinian resistance.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also qualified the implementation of the resolution with U.S. "conditions" that are not embodied in the resolution tying aid distribution to release of hostages. Despite the criminal role of the U.S., guilty of genocide for its military, financial and economic backing of the Israeli occupation and Gaza slaughter, he tried to give the appearance of U.S. support for humanitarian aid. He said, "This resolution further explicitly recognizes the painstaking, non-stop negotiations being conducted by the Governments of Egypt, Israel, Qatar, and the United States to achieve such a release in the context of a ceasefire, which would also create space to surge more lifesaving humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians, and to build something more enduring."

White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby, like advisor Sullivan, bluntly dismissed the resolution and once again said that Israel has carte blanche from the U.S. to carry out its genocide. He also indicated the U.S. would not uphold its obligations to stop arms shipments and financial aid to Israel. He said, "It is a non-binding resolution. So there's no impact at all on Israel and Israel's ability to continue to go after Hamas." In response to a reporter's question, he affirmed that, "Of course we still have Israel's back. [...] We are still providing tools capabilities, weapons systems, so that Israel can defend itself."

Response by Hamas

Hamas welcomed the UN Security Council resolution and affirmed its "readiness to engage in an immediate prisoner exchange process that leads to the release of prisoners on both sides."

Basem Naim, a senior official in Hamas' political bureau, told Al Jazeera, "It is the role of the international community to oblige Israel and to end this double standard."

Husam Badran, another member of the political bureau said Hamas is exercising resistance while undertaking political and negotiating work to reach a clear and specific goal related to the needs of the Palestinian people in general and the Gazans in particular. Badran said the position of the Hamas negotiating delegation is firm given the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their resistance on the ground. The Hamas official said an end to Israel's hostilities in the Gaza Strip, the delivery of humanitarian aid and the return of the displaced are the priorities of the resistance movement. The official said Hamas' proposal is based on a clear reconstruction plan and is not limited to the release of prisoners as promoted by the occupying forces.

China Explains Why March 22 U.S.-Drafted Resolution Was Not Passed

The U.S. had tabled a prior resolution which was voted on and did not pass on March 22.

China's Ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, explained, "A comparison of the two drafts shows the differences. The current [March 25] draft is unequivocal and correct in its direction, demanding an immediate ceasefire, while the previous one [of March 22] was evasive and ambiguous. The current draft demands an unconditional ceasefire, while the previous one set preconditions for a ceasefire. The current draft reflects the general expectations of the international community and enjoys the collective support of the Arab states, while the previous one was jointly rejected by the Arab states. The differences between the two drafts boils down to whether there should be an immediate and unconditional ceasefire or whether the collective punishment of the people in Gaza should be allowed to continue. On this issue, China, like most members of the international community, has been very clear from the very outset. Whether we voted against it last Friday [March 22], or in favour of it today, our vote has been based on our consistent position and proposition."

UN Human Rights Council Passes Four Resolutions in Support of Palestinian People

The UN Human Rights Council adopted four resolutions during its regular 55th session on April 5 that condemn Israel's current war on Gaza as well as other longstanding crimes of the occupation. The Human Rights Council has 47 members. Unlike the Security Council, the Human Rights Council has no permanent seats, nor do any big powers wield a veto. Thus, while the U.S. voted against all four resolutions, it was not able to block their adoption.

Resolution A/HRC/55/L.30

Among other things, it calls on Israel to end its occupation of territory occupied since 1967 including East Jerusalem; immediately lift the blockade and all forms of collective punishment; implement an immediate ceasefire and let in emergency humanitarian aid and assistance, and the restoration of basic necessities. It calls on all states to: take immediate action to end the continued forcible transfer of Palestinians within or from Gaza; provide emergency assistance to the UN Relief Works Agency and ensure that it has the sufficient and stable funding to fulfill its mandate. It was passed with 28 votes in favour, six against and 13 abstentions

Resolution A/HRC/55/L.13

It calls on Israel, "the occupying power, to immediately end its occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and to reverse and redress any impediments to the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Palestine, and reaffirms its support for the solution of two States, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace and security." It reminds UN member states of the obligation to neither recognize nor provide assistance "with regard to the serious breaches of peremptory norms of international law by Israel," and they must also cooperate in ending and reversing the illegal policies and practices of Israel. All states are also urged to adopt measures to assist the Palestinian people to realize their right to self-determination and render assistance to the UN in doing the same. Forty-two countries voted in favour of this resolution; two against and three abstained.

Resolution A/HRC/55/L.14

This concerns human rights in the Occupied Syrian Golan. It demands that Israel comply with prior resolutions on the matter and that it immediately cease all settlement-related plans and activities in the occupied Syrian Golan. The resolution also stated that "all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken or to be taken by Israel that seek to alter the character and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan are null and void." It calls on the UN Secretary-General to disseminate the resolution as broadly as possible to governments, UN bodies and agencies, as well as international organizations, and report on this matter to the Human Rights Council at its 58th session (in March 2025).

Resolution A/HRC/55/L.28

This resolution concerns Israel's illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. It calls on Israel to comply with international law and cease all its actions that alter "the character, status and demographic composition of the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan, and to end without delay its occupation of the territories occupied since 1967." All states are urged not to take any actions that recognize or aid Israel in these activities. It calls on the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, to report on the settlers and their groups "that have engaged in or continue to engage in acts of terror, violence or intimidation against Palestinian civilians and the actions taken by Israel and by third states." The High Commissioner for Human Rights is to report on the implementation of the resolution at the 59th session of the Human Rights Council. Thirty-six countries voted in favour of the resolution, three were opposed and eight abstained.

These resolutions of the Human Rights Council show that when the U.S. is not able to wield its veto, the will of the majority of UN member states to hold Israel to account prevails. However, it once again raises the fundamental need to reform the UN, so that such resolutions are effective in actually stopping Israel from flouting international law and ending its brutal genocidal crimes.

Report of UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

There are "reasonable grounds" to believe that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories said on March 26. Francesca Albanese was speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where she presented her latest report, entitled Anatomy of a Genocide, during an interactive dialogue with UN member states. "For over 76 years, this process has oppressed the Palestinians as a people in every way imaginable, crushing their inalienable right to self-determination demographically, economically, territorially, culturally and politically," she said. "The genocide in Gaza is the most extreme stage of a long-standing settler colonial process of erasure of the native Palestinians," she added. "I implore member states to abide by their obligations which start with imposing an arms embargo and sanctions on Israel, and so ensure that the future does not continue to repeat itself," she concluded.

At the time Albanese addressed the Human Rights Council, she reported that 32,333 Palestinians had been killed since October 7, 2023 by Israel, including more than 13,000 children. Over 12,000 were presumed dead under the rubble and 74,694 wounded, many with life-changing injuries. Seventy per cent of residential areas had been destroyed. Eighty per cent of the entire population had been forcibly displaced. Thousands of families had lost loved ones or been wiped out entirely. Many could not bury and mourn their relatives and were forced instead to leave their bodies decomposing in homes, in the street or under the rubble. Thousands of Palestinians had been detained and systematically subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment. Two million had been forced into hunger and starvation. "The incalculable collective trauma will be experienced for generations to come," the Special Rapporteur said.

The vehement anti-Palestinian discourse which portrays the entire Palestinian people in Gaza as enemies to be eradicated and forcibly removed has been pervasive across all segments of Israeli society, Albanese said. "Calls for violent annihilation from Israeli high-ranking officials with command authority aimed at soldiers on duty on the ground serve as compelling evidence of explicit and public encouragement to commit genocide," she said.

One of the key findings of Albanese's report is that Israel's executive and military leadership and soldiers have intentionally distorted foundational rules of international humanitarian law -- distinction, proportionality and precaution -- in an attempt to legitimize genocidal violence against the Palestinian people. "By deliberately redefining the categories of human shields, evacuation orders, safe zones, collateral damage and medical protection, Israel has used their protective functions as 'humanitarian camouflage' to conceal its genocidal campaign," she said.

"For over 70 years, this process has suffocated the Palestinians as a people -- demographically, culturally, economically and politically -- crushing their inalienable right to self-determination in an attempt to displace them and expropriate and control their lands," she said. "The ongoing Nakba must be stopped and remedied once and for all." Albanese said her report was a call to the world to ensure that Israel and third states adhere to their non-derogable obligations under the Genocide Convention, to prevent further loss of life, help survivors rebuild their lives, and ensure full accountability under both individual criminal and state responsibility.

International Court of Justice

Court Again Issues Measures for Israel to End Genocide in Gaza Strip

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on March 28 issued new provisional measures calling on Israel to immediately provide aid to Gaza and ensure "with immediate effect that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group" under the Genocide Convention.

South Africa, which documented Israeli genocide in its case presented to the ICJ in December, had called for new measures given Israel's refusal to follow those previously issued by the court.

The ICJ measures state that Israel, "in view of the worsening conditions of life faced by Palestinians in Gaza, in particular the spread of famine and starvation," shall take "all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full cooperation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians throughout Gaza."

The measures outline that the necessary aid includes food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care. They also call on Israel to "increase the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary." The Zionists are also called on not to prevent, "through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance."

Israel is to submit a report to the ICJ on all measures within one month.

As was the case previously, which the need for new measures make clear, the ICJ has no enforcement power and the Zionists are stepping up their impunity and brutality, with full U.S. backing. The resistance in Palestine and support worldwide, which is decisive, also persists without let up.

Colombia and Ireland Join South Africa in Case Against Israel's Genocide in Gaza

Palestine solidarity action in Bogota, Colombia, March 3, 2024.

News reports inform that Colombia and Ireland have joined the case South Africa brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on December 29, 2023. Colombia and Ireland are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention and therefore have the right to intervene in this process. Both can present information concerning violations of the Genocide Convention but they are not entitled to make any requests of the court for additional provisional measures. It is the duty of all States Parties to the Convention, including the U.S. and Canada, to promote and ensure, by all means available to them, respect for its provisions and to prevent its violation by any other state.

Colombia's "Declaration of Intervention," sets forth the norms of the Convention that are at issue in the case. Colombia is convinced that the international community must act and support the right of the Palestinian people to exist, which is threatened by Israel's actions and that in the present circumstances, this is tantamount to defending the validity of international law and the Convention against Genocide, one of the great legal and moral conquests of humanity. Colombia decided that the best way to hold Israel accountable was to join with South Africa's case.

At the political level, the government of Colombia said it wishes to support South Africa's courageous action in taking Israel to the International Court of Justice for the genocide it is committing in Gaza.

The Irish government has also decided to intervene in South Africa's case charging Israel with genocide. The Irish cabinet will begin to frame a "Declaration of Intervention" to be submitted in the next few months.

Speaking of current conditions, Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said on March 28 of Israel's refusal to allow sufficient food into Gaza: "It is criminal. It is absolutely a scandal that children are malnourished, that half a population is facing famine and others in terms of food insecurity. There is no need for this."

Ireland also recently signed the "Hague Convention on International Cooperation" in the investigation and prosecution of the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other international crimes. The Convention provides for international co-operation mechanisms to strengthen the fight against the most serious international crimes.

Nicaragua Takes Germany to World Court

On April 9, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded two days of hearings on Nicaragua's request for provisional measures to compel Germany to fulfill its obligations with respect to humanitarian law and its participation in the ongoing "plausible genocide" by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the occupied territories, as per the Court's earlier ruling.

The provisional measures requested of the Court by Nicaragua are:

1) Germany must immediately suspend its aid to Israel, in particular its military assistance, export and authorization of export of military equipment and war weapons, in so far as this aid is used or could be used to commit or to facilitate serious violations of the Genocide Convention, international humanitarian law or other peremptory norms of general international law;

2) Germany must immediately ensure that military equipment, war weapons, and other equipment used for military purposes already delivered by Germany and German entities to Israel are not used to commit or to facilitate serious violations of the Genocide Convention, international humanitarian law or other peremptory norms of general international law; and

3) Germany must resume its support and financing of UNRWA in respect of its operations in Gaza.

The Federal Republic of Germany presented its response and asked the court:

1) to reject the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by the Republic of Nicaragua; and

2) to drop the case entirely.

The significance of Nicaragua's case is discussed by Abdel Ghany Sayed in an article entitled "The juridical breakthrough in Nicaragua's case against Germany at the World Court," published by the independent media organization Madamasr.com, founded in Egypt.

The article points out that in its application, Nicaragua accuses Germany of breaching its obligations to prevent genocide and war crimes, as well as facilitating and participating in these crimes. The scope of the claim against Germany is broad, addressing not only its role in acts committed in Gaza falling under the Genocide Convention but also encompassing war crimes committed in all of Palestine's occupied territories, according to the Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocol I.

Nicaragua's claim is that Germany's provision of 'political, financial and military support to Israel,' with knowledge of the crimes being committed, especially through the use of German military equipment, constitutes a crime.

Nicaragua identified two legal grounds that criminalize Germany's actions. First, it cites the Genocide Convention of 1948, accusing Germany of breaching its obligations under the convention by providing political, financial and military support to Israel. Besides providing weapons to Israel, Nicaragua also accuses Germany of effectively facilitating genocide by halting funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Nicaragua views the cessation of funding to UNRWA, which plays a crucial role in relief efforts and documenting the situation on the ground, as a higher level of complicity in the crimes committed. The second legal basis that sets Nicaragua's case apart from South Africa's is international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its Additional Protocol I of 1977, making its claim broader in scope compared to South Africa's, as it pertains to the commission of numerous war crimes in all occupied Palestinian territories since 1967, not just genocide in Gaza.

The article explains that normally, a state cannot be compelled to appear before the ICJ unless a dispute between two or more states is presented to the court with the states' consent. Knowing that Israel would never give its consent, South Africa's lawsuit put to use a specific legal provision that grants the ICJ jurisdiction without the parties' consent as long as the dispute relates to the Genocide Convention (Article 9 of the Genocide Convention). Because of this strategic move, South Africa was forced to narrow its claim against Israel to involve only the accusation of genocide.

In contrast, Nicaragua's application is predicated on the fact that both Nicaragua and Germany signed a declaration recognizing the jurisdiction of the court "as compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement" (Article 36 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice). Germany lodged this declaration in 2008, rendering the ICJ's jurisdiction compulsory toward it without requiring its prior consent. Israel and the United States have not made such a declaration, as they fear being subject to the ICJ's jurisdiction, which is precisely why Nicaragua filed its claim against Germany rather than the United States.

Nicaragua's request to the ICJ addresses a critical matter, claiming that Germany's political, financial and military support of Israel constitutes a breach of its obligations to ensure respect for international humanitarian law (common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions) and customary rules which dictate that states "may not encourage violations of international humanitarian law by parties to an armed conflict. They must exert their influence, to the degree possible, to stop violations of international humanitarian law." (par. 17, 18 of Nicaragua's application; Rule 144, International Committee of the Red Cross' International Humanitarian Law Databases).

The significance of Nicaragua's request lies in its potential to set a legal precedent that would deter countries from supporting military operations involving serious international crimes. The case could lead to the unprecedented enforcement of states' obligations to refrain from actions such as engaging in arms trade and exports to countries committing serious international crimes. In the case of the current war, this deterrent extends not only to countries backing Israel's actions in Gaza since October 2023 but also in the occupied territories since 1967.

The Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas issued a statement hailing Nicaragua's action before the ICJ and called on the countries of the world "to follow the lead of Nicaragua, South Africa, and other countries that have refused to turn a blind eye to the crime committed by the Zionist occupation entity in Gaza, with clear support from Western governments." Hamas also called on the ICJ to issue "firm decisions that would lead to the cessation of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, despite its previous decisions, which the Zionist enemy has disregarded, like all international decisions, agreements, and laws."

Nicaragua's Case

Nicaragua argued that German officials at the highest level "have recognized that the situation in Gaza raises doubts about the respect of elementary rules of international law and that these questions need to be addressed," and "Yet, while we speak, the export of German weapons and military equipment to Israel likely to be used to commit these grave violations of international law is continuing."

In his opening statement, the Nicaraguan Ambassador to the Netherlands Carlos Argüello explained that "Serious breaches of international humanitarian law including genocide are taking place in Palestine," and are "being committed openly. [...] When a situation of this nature occurs or is in danger of occurring, the obligations for all states are clear ... not only states must not abet the situation by aiding or assisting the perpetrator, but they must use their best efforts ... to prevent their breaches." The ambassador said, "Germany has violated these obligations imposed on all states."

With regard to the ICJ's January 26 ruling that it is plausible that Israel may be committing acts of genocide in Gaza, Germany had an obligation to stop abetting Israel. "The obligation to prevent genocide arises once it becomes clear that genocide is being committed," said Ambassador Argüello. Germany, however, "continues to this day to provide military assistance to Israel."

Argüello added, "Germany cannot but be aware that the munitions, the military equipment, and the war weapons it is supplying" to Israel are supporting the genocide in Gaza. He argued, "The fact is that the assurance of supplies and replacement of armaments is crucial to Israel's pursuit of the attacks in Gaza."

"[Germany] is responsible to the extent that these breaches have made possible or facilitated these grave violations of general international legal norms directed at the Palestinian people, not only in the Gaza Strip but also in the occupied territories and in Israel itself.... It is this that justifies both Nicaragua's application addressed at Germany and also the request for provisional measures," said French lawyer Alain Pellet, who also represented Nicaragua before the ICJ.

With respect to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Nicaragua argued that Germany's decision to suspend funds to the UNRWA was also aiding and abetting genocide against the Palestinian people.

Article 3 under the UN's Genocide Convention outlines "complicity in genocide" as a punishable act. "Germany was aware and continues to be aware of the risk of the weapons they are furnishing could be used by Israel to commit genocide against the Palestinians," Pellet said. "It is extremely urgent that Germany suspend its aid they are supplying to Israel to this end. This aid and assistance are straight from the definition of 'complicity' set out in Article 3," he added.

Germany's Argument

Demonstration in Berlin, Germany in support of Palestine and in opposition to Israel's genocide,
March 16, 2024. Actions have been taking place despite attempts to criminalize them.

The newspaper The Guardian summed up Germany's argument as follows: "Germany has said Israel's security is at 'the core' of its foreign policy because of the history of the Holocaust, but it denied accusations that it is aiding genocide in Gaza by arming Israel." Germany's legal representatives told the court: "Our history is the reason why Israel's security has been at the core of Germany's foreign policy." In 2008, then Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke about "Germany's special historical responsibility for Israel's security" as part of Germany's "raison d'état." Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated this point in his speech to the German Bundestag on October 12, 2023: "Our own history, our responsibility deriving from the Holocaust, makes it our permanent duty to stand up for the existence and security of the State of Israel. This responsibility guides us."

Regarding weapons, Germany responded to Nicaragua's case saying, "Where Germany has provided support to Israel, including in a form of export of arms and other military equipment, the quality and purposes of these supplies have been grossly distorted by Nicaragua." As concerns humanitarian aid, it says: "Germany continues to provide humanitarian support [in Gaza] every single day."

Germany argued it cannot be guilty of breaching its obligations under International Humanitarian Law or the ICJ's earlier ruling of plausible Israeli genocide because Germany supports a two-state solution, and the right of Palestinians to self-determination, to be exercised in the territories that came under occupation in 1967. It argued too that Germany is the largest individual donor of humanitarian assistance, with 203.55 million euros in 2023 and 50.95 million euros in 2024 so far, implemented not only via UNRWA but also organizations like the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Food Program, the International Red Cross (ICRC) and the German Red Cross. Germany has increased its support threefold since October 2023, it claims.

In its opening statement to the court Germany said: “The bulk of Nicaragua's Application and Request to the ICJ assesses Israel's conduct and alleged violations of international law by Israel. But this is not a case brought against Israel. Nicaragua has initiated proceedings against Germany. Germany firmly rejects Nicaragua's accusations: they have no basis in fact or law. They are dependent on an assessment of conduct by Israel, not a party to these proceedings.”

Where Germany has provided support to Israel, including in the form of exports of arms and other military equipment, it claims that "the quantity and purposes of these supplies have been grossly distorted by Nicaragua. [...] Germany only supplies arms on the basis of detailed scrutiny, a scrutiny that not only respects, but in fact far exceeds the requirements of international law. [...] Germany's supply of arms and other military equipment to Israel is subject to a continuous evaluation of the situation on the ground."

In its concluding statement, Germany reiterated: "We stand by Israel's right to security and to self-defence, while insisting upon its limits being scrupulously respected."

Challenges

In his article about Nicaragua’s case, Abdel Ghany Sayed lays out a number of challenges it faces. He said the ICJ could summarily reject Nicaragua's request on the basis that Israel has not accepted the court's jurisdiction in this dispute and that Israel's alleged behaviour involving Germany has not yet been judicially determined as genocide.

He said the court could also summarily reject Nicaragua's request on the grounds that it cannot adjudicate Israel's conduct in the context of the Geneva Conventions' war crimes, and thus cannot determine whether Germany's support breaches the Geneva Conventions.

Finally, he said Nicaragua's demand for Germany to resume its financial support to the UNRWA was a contentious one, and that “[w]hile it may be permissible to consider the campaign undertaken by Germany and other countries, including the United States, against the UNRWA as part of an organized effort to support Israel's crimes in Gaza, the legal obligation to prevent and penalize genocide and war crimes does not inherently entail providing financial support to any organization or entity.”

Matters of Concern to Movement to Defend Palestine and Stop Israel

Canadian Government Condemned for Its Disregard for Palestinian Lives

– Diane Johnston –

During a press conference on April 2 marking Samar Alkhdour's sixth sit-in protest outside the riding office of Immigration Minister Marc Miller, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement explained that the "Alkhdour family is one of many cases where Palestinian families have lost their loved ones because of the discriminatory measures of our government." She added that many people in Canada "are desperately attempting to reach their families and get them to safety. We are here to demand justice from the Canadian government for not acting fast enough and to demand that they act before any other families here are in the same situation."

In 2017, the plan was for Samar, her husband, her severely handicapped daughter Jana, and their two other children to leave Gaza for the U.S., so that she could pursue a master's degree. However, that did not work out because the Israeli authorities denied her husband's request to leave. Samar nonetheless decided to exit Gaza with two of her children and leave Jana in her father's care.

In 2018, Samar's husband was allowed to leave, but because ambulance transportation could not be secured between Gaza and Egypt, Jana was forced to stay behind with a family member.

In 2019 Samar, her husband and their two other children moved to Quebec and began the process of reuniting with Jana. However, two months before Samar got the green light from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for her daughter to join them, Jana died. Samar says that the IRCC ignored her repeated demands to bring Jana to Canada before it was too late, years -- not just months -- before the genocide started. She said, "All that negligence and inaction has been covered under the title of 'normal processing times in Canada.'"

She requested that the federal government "expand and expedite the Gaza program." As of April 2, not one person has been able to exit Gaza through the program. "If you did it for Ukraine, you can do it for Gaza," she stated, "and don't tell me it's complicated. We're not talking about a relationship here, we're talking about a genocide. She concluded by demanding that the federal government "act promptly for a ceasefire, because this is the father and mother of all crimes that we are witnessing."

Nazar Saaty, an immigration and criminal lawyer, provided a context of how Canada has dealt with crises in the past. He spoke of how the Canadian government had treated Chinese immigrants over a hundred years ago and of how the country refused to welcome Jewish people fleeing Nazi persecution. "This is what Canada is built upon," he said. "And after the horrors of the Holocaust, Canada signed the 1951 Convention on Refugees and is supposed to enact it. And yet we've seen conflict after conflict. Canada has failed. But then you saw a sharp contrast with the way the Ukrainian war was handled." The Ukrainians, he said, "were given expedited process, some ... had their tickets paid for, ... their fees waived. Some ... had tuition at the same level as Canadian citizens..., employers getting subsidies to hire them. They were treated in a manner very befitting of how a refugee should be treated and yet you haven't seen that experience mirrored with other refugees and you have to ask yourself why. I can only honestly think of an implicit, biased and structural racism within the Canadian immigration system."

"All we're asking is that the same courtesy be extended to the Palestinian people and other refugees fleeing from conflict zones. ... Canada is doing absolutely nothing. This isn't even a half measure. There is a cap of 1,000 people from Gaza. That's it!"

Saaty requested that the cap be removed, that the process be expedited and that the discriminatory policies within the application process be removed. He noted that for the Ukrainians, there was no cap and that over 900,000 applications had been accepted. As for the request for an expedited process, he explained, "It is unacceptable that people are languishing and dying of malnutrition and lack of medical care, being bombarded." As for the request that the discriminatory policies contained in the application be removed, he remarked that "essentially these application forms tell people to disclose a plethora of personal information" never seen in any other applications, such as "pictures of scars, ... what people were doing since they were sixteen. They want all their social media information ... all their What's App information, every single application they've ever used. And to add insult to injury, what they say is that this information may and will probably be shared with Israeli and Egyptian intelligence. And within the forms it says that by signing ... you are basically releasing Canada from any responsibility ... which is completely unacceptable.... The Canadian government is volunteering very sensitive personal information to foreign intelligence agencies."

Saaty also noted that since Samar's daughter Jana had cerebral palsy, "there was no reason for the Canadian government to have postponed and delayed the application for so long, and yet her case is not the only one. There are many more out there, not just Gazans, not just Palestinians, from every country you can imagine. People are waiting ... and they are given the same template response over and over again: "We are processing your application. These are the wait times." That is not a justifiable reason. These people, when they are fleeing war and they leave their families behind, their families can be subject to persecution by the same authorities they're fleeing.... There needs to be an awakening as far as how these applications are processed. The status quo cannot continue. ... We demand ... that the special measures for Gaza be completely overhauled, updated, facilitated."

The government's response, he added, "has been like this for decades. This is our system. We need to change it. There needs to be a major overhaul of the entire immigration system in Canada."

A member of the Montreal Chapter of Independent Jewish Voices said that "Jana, like others, died as a result of a racist, ableist and inhumane border policy of the Canadian government as well as the diplomatic cover, arms, technology that has been provided to Israel since the beginning of the genocide.

"Those of us who have been working in migrant justice over the years know that people who Canada refuses at the border are also people who have been displaced by Canadian policies, namely mining companies over the years and here we also see the support for Israeli apartheid." He also noted that "between 1933 and 1945 Canada accepted less than 5,000 Jewish refugees, the least of any among all Western industrial countries." He added, "In classic Canadian style, though, the government did not have a law that exclusively barred Jewish refugees, but instead created insurmountable bureaucratic barriers and political considerations, including the 'red scare' that Jewish migrants would bring socialism, communism, etc. So here's where we see lots of rhyming today, with a government that dragged its feet to implement the so-called special measures to facilitate safety for Palestinians." Of the federal government's temporary program for some Gazans, he said: "We should be clear this is anti-Palestinian racism couched in bureaucratic doublespeak," ending his intervention with "Long Live Palestine!"

(Sources: You Tube, CBC News)

Conservative Networking Conference Hosts Notorious Racist Former Prime Minister
and War Criminal!

– Pierre Soublière –

A militant picket was held Friday morning, April 12, in front of the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, where the Conservatives were holding their four-day "Canada Strong and Free Network" conference. Among the guest speakers at the conference was Naftali Bennett, a former Israeli Prime Minister, a notorious racist, war criminal and founder of the Zionist settler party Yamina. For two hours, people, mainly youth, stood face-to-face with police and shouted slogans, stating that genocidal war criminals are not welcome in Ottawa.

Bennett had not originally been announced in the conference schedule, purportedly for "security reasons." According to conference organizers, conference volunteers and staff were given a security briefing "given the sensitivity of Bennett's presence," a euphemism for hosting a proponent of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Last November, in a Fox News interview in the U.S., speaking of the crimes against humanity being committed by Israel, Bennett stated: "We've got a job to do, to eliminate Hamas, and we will not appreciate anyone asking us to stop in the middle." When asked about the pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the U.S., he stated that demonstrators were "radical Islamic believers." In 2013, asked about freeing Palestinian political prisoners, he replied that "terrorists should be shot, not released," adding that he had already killed lots of Arabs in his life, and that "there is absolutely no problem with that."

Bennett also was in command of military operations of aggression and occupation, the most notorious being his participation in Operation Grapes of Wrath and various "search and destroy missions." He was involved in the Qana massacre on April 18, 1996, in which Israeli forces attacked a United Nations compound in Southern Lebanon in which Lebanese civilians from Qana and neighbouring villages had taken refuge. More than a hundred people were killed, half of them children, and hundreds injured, including UN workers.

Demonstrators called for an end to the genocide, receiving ongoing support from people driving by and honking their horns. Some of the conference participants came out and arrogantly filmed demonstrators, who responded: "While you're laughing, kids are dying" and "Free, free Palestine!"

Other guests of this ilk at the conference included Orlando Gutierrez Boronat of the "Cuban Resistance Assembly."

Torontonians Stand Together to Denounce Police Violence Against Supporters of Palestine

– Barbara Biley –

Police on horseback riding into the crowd on March 30.

Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) and Jews Say No to Genocide Coalition held an emergency press conference at Toronto Police headquarters on April 1 to denounce the brutal police violence and arrests at the Land Day action on March 30. In an Instagram post on April 2, PYM pointed out that the police do not keep people safe but "exist to protect the interests of the state and elite" and that the Toronto police are openly brutalizing pro-Palestinian families and community members in an attempt to suppress and silence all those who are protesting the Israeli Zionist genocide in Gaza. The statement ends with the declaration "Community keeps us safe. We keep us safe. We will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced! We will continue to fill the streets of Toronto until we see an end to this genocide, and until we see a free Palestine."

Several people were arrested and others injured when Toronto police, on horseback, on bicycles and on foot, created a provocation and then launched an unprovoked attack. Over 1,000 demonstrators had marched from Yonge and Dundas to east Toronto with no incidents. As is always the case, the march was led by a truck with loudspeakers to facilitate speeches and for organizers to direct the march and keep everyone safe. At the intersection of Parliament and Gerrard the march was stopped by a line of police officers and vehicles, blocked from moving for more than an hour and a half. At some point police surrounded the truck, forcibly pulled a woman off the bed of the truck and detained the driver. The driver has been charged under the Highway Traffic Act with stunt driving! Several other people, including a person just passing by on the street, were assaulted by police and detained. Police announced that charges of assaulting a peace office with a weapon have been laid against two young women, one accused of throwing horse manure at police, the other of hitting an officer with a flagpole. Police on foot pushed people over while police on horseback rode through the crowd which included small children, elderly people and people with disabilities. Several people were injured.

Trucks, some pulling large flatbed trailers, are regularly used in Toronto parades and demonstrations including the Pride Parade, Santa Claus Parade, Labour Day, religious events and others. A truck has been used to lead the demonstrations in support of the Palestinian resistance every week since October 9, with police present at every event. A rally organizer reported that a police officer okayed the truck setup at the start of the rally on March 30. Organizers have complied with police orders to stop using a trailer platform behind the truck. Still, more than three hours into the march, police chose to violently arrest the driver and others.

City Councillors reported publicly that they had heard from hundreds of city residents concerned about the unprovoked police violence on March 30 and spoke against the police actions. Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw released a self-serving statement that neither addressed the concerns of citizens nor the role played by the police to attack those who both defend the Palestinians and hold Israel to account for its genocidal crimes. This is to say nothing about the role of Toronto police to abet violations of international law, namely real estate sales events of stolen Palestinian lands. Furthermore, on April 4 Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue with the Toronto Police Service community safety command, claimed to reporters that police have been seeing the "same individuals" who have been acting as agitators "consistently" and are becoming "increasingly confrontational and violent." In fact, activists, who are disciplined and organized, have documented that police instructions to demonstrators are arbitrary and inconsistent; that instigation of violence has only been from the Zionists attacking those who stand with Palestine or the police themselves; that it is the police who have undercover agents provocateurs in the protests, of whom the movement is aware.

The police attack on March 30 is a further escalation of state attacks aimed at dividing the people and portraying supporters of the Palestinian resistance as violent. It goes alongside the disinformation campaign of the Canadian government to cover up its material and political support for the ongoing Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people. The world condemns Israel's crimes and the role of the U.S., Canada and others in doing everything in their power to block the worldwide mass movement from achieving its aim of ending the occupation, for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid and for the creation of conditions for the Palestinian people to establish their state without foreign interference.

No Nickel for Genocide

– David Starbuck –

Sudbury is synonymous with nickel and nickel is synonymous with war. World War I could not have been fought in the way it was if nickel had not been discovered in Sudbury and the metallurgical processes which enabled the extraction of nickel from its ores were not developed. Ninety per cent of the world's nickel came from Sudbury and almost all of that went for military purposes. The main application was nickel-steel armour cladding for the dreadnought, the huge warships which were the apex weapon in the period leading up to the war. As the war progressed, nickel was increasingly used in tanks, artillery, aircraft engines, ammunition and other tools of modern warfare.

After the war, the nickel industry suffered a huge downturn as the military demand for nickel collapsed. Attempts by the nickel companies to diversify into civilian production through the development of monel metal and other alloys met only partial success. But the Great Depression ended quickly in Sudbury as war production took over in 1932 and remained strong until the end of World War II.

The 1950s saw the beginning of a diversification of nickel production. Mines were developed in countries such as Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, the Philippines and Indonesia, and in Thompson, Raglan and Voisey's Bay in Canada. Sudbury is no longer the world's sole source of nickel and now only produces about four per cent. Modern armaments production requires many superalloys and a myriad of parts and components which are assembled into the final machines of war. This creates a complex supply chain. This means that it is much more difficult to connect Sudbury and war production, especially Israeli war production. However, this connection is still very real.

Israel is a significant manufacturer and exporter of advanced weapon systems. For example, IMI Systems, formerly Israeli Military Industries, wholly owned by the State of Israel, produces the Uzi sub-machine gun and the Merkava tank, the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and a tank considered equivalent to the U.S. Abrams, the British Chieftain and the German Leopard tanks, amongst a long list of other deadly weapons. Israel is the ninth-largest arms exporter, accounting for 2.4 per cent of global arms sales during 2019-23 according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Arms Transfer Database of March 2024.

The Canadian working class opposes the genocidal campaign that the Israeli Zionists are carrying out against the Palestinian people. Canadian workers do not want to see the natural resources of our land and the products of our labour, such as nickel and other metals, contribute to the manufacture of the weaponry that has killed and maimed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Canada exported only $23,840 of nickel to Israel in 2023. However, Canada is a significant exporter of nickel to the United States and other arms-manufacturing countries. The U.S. imports 40 per cent of its nickel requirements from Canada, half of this from Sudbury. A significant portion of this nickel is incorporated into weapons destined for Israel. The high purity, refined nickel produced in Sudbury is particularly suitable for the production of superalloys used in military applications.

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has published a document "The Companies Profiting from Israel's 2023-2024 Attacks on Gaza" which lists those companies which are contributing to Israel's genocide through the provision of weapons and specifies which weapons the company is supplying. The list includes the largest U.S. and Israeli arms manufacturers, including Lockheed-Martin and RTX (formerly Raytheon), the world's two largest weapons manufacturers, as well as Boeing, General Dynamics and Northrup Grumman (all major U.S. weapons manufacturers). Israeli firms include Elbit Systems (Israel's largest arms manufacturer), Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Raphael Advanced Defense Systems, all three among the world's 100 largest weapons manufacturers.

Canada must prohibit the sale of nickel and other war-related metals to these companies on the AFSC list of war profiteers as long as they continue to provide weaponry to Israel and also prohibit the sale of nickel to any companies that may be added to this list. Further, all companies that purchase Canadian nickel must commit to refusing to re-sell the nickel purchased to these armaments manufacturers.

The Canadian Parliament passed a resolution on March 18 which called for a ban on the sale of Canadian-manufactured weaponry to Israel and the Canadian Government subsequently committed itself to such a ban although only on new sales contracts, not on existing ones. The United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution on April 5 calling for an embargo on arms sales to Israel.

The world is demanding a ban on arms sales to Israel. Should not the ban on sales of armaments and other military equipment to Israel also include a ban on the export from Canada of the raw materials that are needed to manufacture these weapons?

No Nickel For Genocide!

Canadian Banks' Investments in Weapons Manufacturers Engaged in Gaza Genocide

Sarah Abdul-Karim, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, speaks about RBC investments in weapons companies at this rally in Ottawa on April 6.

The role of Canadian banks investing in weapons manufacturers that provide arms to Israel is of great concern to anti-war activists and all those working to stop its genocide in Gaza. So too is the refusal of the Canadian government to adhere to its obligations under international law to end support for genocide, which include the activities of these banks and weapons manufacturers.

Canada, as a signatory to the Genocide Convention, is bound by the January 26 ruling of the International Court of Justice, that Israel's actions in Gaza could amount to genocide. Canada is obligated to uphold the provisional measures issued by the court that any actions that could be considered to support the genocide must be ended, such as sending military aid to Israel. Canada has used sleight of hand to continue providing military support to the Israeli genocide in Gaza, claiming that this aid is not weaponry. Canada has also said nothing about sales in Canada of Palestinian land in the West Bank, with such "real estate" sales being held in Toronto and Montreal, another clear violation of international law by Israel.

The UN also has Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights that provide pertinent guidance to companies doing business with Israel, which state: "The responsibility to respect human rights is a global standard of expected conduct for all business enterprises wherever they operate." They also state that "[This responsibility] exists independently of States' abilities and/or willingness to fulfil their own human rights obligations and does not diminish those obligations. And it exists over and above compliance with national laws and regulations protecting human rights." In other words, the complicity of the Canadian government in supporting Israeli crimes in Gaza does not then excuse the activities of the banks to act in a way that violates human rights.

General Dynamics manufactured F-16 fighter jets for the Israeli air force and the 500-pound MK82 and the 2,000-pound MK84 bombs dropped on Gaza by those jets. The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) holds $809 million in stock in General Dynamics. Other Canadian banks that hold General Dynamics stock include the Bank of Montreal ($370 million), the Toronto Dominion Bank ($170 million), the National Bank of Canada ($95 million), TD Waterhouse Canada ($84 million), TD Asset Management Inc. ($80 million), Bank of Nova Scotia ($72 million), CIBC Asset Management Inc. ($51 million), and CIBC World Markets Inc. ($48 million).

Elbit Systems is an Israel-based military technology company and contractor that operates internationally, and is a major supplier of arms to the Israeli military. These include the Skylark and Hermes military drones used extensively in Gaza. Numerous Canadian banks hold Elbit stock. The Bank of Nova Scotia has held up to $500 million in stock in Elbit Systems, while the Bank of Montreal, TD, the RBC, and the National Bank of Canada are also holders of millions of dollars in Elbit shares. Elbit's reputation is such that the pension funds of Norway, Denmark and Sweden divested from Elbit stocks between 2009 and 2010 due to its role in supplying surveillance systems for Israel's West Bank wall, not wanting to support companies that violate human rights and international law.

Picket at TTM technologies in Scarborough against export of military materials to Israel,
February 26, 2024.

The movement in support of Palestine across Canada and Quebec has made clear with pickets outside weapons manufacturers and increasingly the major banks that complicity in Israel's genocidal crimes is unacceptable and must be ended.

(With files from Peace Brigades International. Photos: Peace Brigades International, Labour for Palestine, CPA Vancouver.)

Senior U.S. Legislators Call to Suspend
Military Aid to Israel

Chicago, Illinois, April 5, 2024

As demonstrators persist in their demand to end all U.S. aid to Israel and stop U.S./Israeli genocide, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in early April said she thinks the International Court of Justice will find Israel guilty of genocide and "they have ample evidence to do so." This follows a letter to President Biden from six senior members of the House of Representatives. The letter urged him to invoke U.S. foreign assistance laws to suspend military aid to Israel due to the starvation it is imposing on the people of Gaza. "Given the catastrophic and devolving humanitarian situation in Gaza, we urge you to enforce the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act (Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act) and, as required by that law, make clear to the Israeli government that so long as Israel continues to restrict the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the continued provision of U.S. security assistance to Israel would constitute a violation of existing U.S. law and must be restricted," the letter reads.

British MPs and Legal Professionals Call for Arms Embargo on Israel

More than 100 British MPs urged the UK government to immediately ban arms sale to Israel, given its continued genocide and war crimes in the Gaza Strip. The appeal was made in a letter signed by 130 parliamentarians (107 MPs and 27 peers). The letter argued that "business as usual" for UK arms exports to Israel is "totally unacceptable," noting that an F-16 fighter jet made with UK parts was probably responsible for bombing British doctors in Gaza two months ago. The letter further noted that the UK government had suspended arms sales to Israel during the two previous wars on Gaza. "The scale of violence committed by the Israeli military is vastly more deadly, but the UK government has failed to act," it said.

More than 600 members of the British legal profession and three former Supreme Court justices have also called on the government to halt arms sales to Israel. "The provision of military assistance and material to Israel may render the UK complicit in genocide as well as serious breaches of International Humanitarian Law," the judges, barristers and legal academics said in a 17-page letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak April 3. Despite this, Foreign Secretary Cameron announced April 9 that based on legal advice kept confidential, Britain will continue to arm Israel.

Across the Middle East

Notable Developments

Lebanon

Banner on rubble of homes destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Lebanon reads "you may destroy our homes but you will not destroy our will," April 8, 2024.

Hezbollah said on April 13 that it fired "dozens of rockets" at Israeli artillery positions in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights in response to the Israeli military's strikes in southern Lebanon, in one of its largest assaults since it began its operations in support of the Palestinian people on October 8, 2023. Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem noted that "Hitting the Golan hasn't been something normal in this confrontation." He also pointed out that Israeli attacks on Lebanon are increasingly hurting civilians as well as military targets, with more than 60 Lebanese civilians killed, compared with only several on the Israeli side.

On March 26, Hezbollah announced an attack on an Israeli command centre in the occupied Golan Heights, after Israel confirmed its latest attack on eastern Lebanon launched earlier in the day, Hezbollah informed in a statement. "In response to the Zionist enemy's attack that targeted the Beqaa Valley, the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance targeted at 04:20 pm in the afternoon of March 26, the Yarden Barracks in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, 'the main command headquarters in times of war,' with more than 50 Katyusha rockets," the statement said. The attack was Hezbollah's tenth operation of the day, it added.

Jordan

April 7, 2024

Nightly protests that began March 24 continue across Jordan against the government's complicity with Israeli. Jordan signed a peace deal with Israel 30 years ago, in 1994, followed by a normalization of relations but it is submitting to U.S. and Israeli pressure to assist the commission of heinous crimes against the Palestinian people and the people of Jordan are rising up en masse against this. Palestinians make up at least 2 million of Jordan's 11 million people. A frequent chant at the protests is Who said we are separate? Jordan's blood is for Palestine!

Similar protests are taking place in the other gulf states that have similar arrangements with Israel.

Jordanians standing with Palestine point out that the Jordanian government is helping the United Arab Emirates and Israel conduct trade, bypassing the Red Sea blockade by the Houthis in Yemen, and allowing goods to travel overland through Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Other actions by Jordan in support of Israel include stationing soldiers and police along the 192-mile-long border with Israel and placing security personnel along the main roads near the Israeli Embassy. Protesters are calling for the embassy to be closed.

The Jordanian government has arrested hundreds of activists during pro-Palestine protests over the last month.

Jordan also hosts U.S. military bases. Jordan also assisted Israel to shoot down Iranian missiles and drones on April 13, despite Iran's warnings not to do so. Jordan's response was very different to Turkey's which closed its airspace to any country opposing Iran's retaliatory strike.

Iraq

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has said it has carried out operations against Israeli targets in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. They struck the Israeli Ovda Air Base with drones on March 26 and the 'Speer' military site with drones on March 27, both in the occupied territories. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has carried out several key operations in recent months, including multiple attacks on Ben Gurion Airport, a power plant in Tel Aviv as well as major Israeli ports in solidarity with the people of Gaza. They have also attacked U.S. military bases in Iraq and neighbouring Syria in response to U.S. support for the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Yemen

The Commander of France's Aquitaine-class FREMM frigate Alsace, in an interview published by Le Figaro on April 11, informed that the ship was forced to end its 71-day deployment to the Red Sea after running out of missiles and munitions from repelling attacks by the Yemeni armed forces.

"We didn't necessarily expect this level of threat. There was an uninhibited violence that was quite surprising and very significant. [The Yemenis] do not hesitate to use drones that fly at water level, to explode them on commercial ships, and to fire ballistic missiles," Commander Jérôme Henry told Le Figaro. All of its combat equipment was depleted, he stated. "From the Aster missile to the 7.62 machine gun of the helicopter, including the 12.7mm, 20mm, or 76mm cannon, we dealt with three ballistic missiles and half a dozen drones," Henry added. The Franco-Italian Aster missile -- each costing $2 million -- "was pushed to its limits" by the Yemeni armed forces, as the Alsace had to use it "on targets that we did not necessarily imagine at the start."

Henry added that Yemen has markedly increased its use of ballistic missiles after relying mainly on drones at the start of the pro-Palestine operations in the Red Sea. Referring to France's participation in NATO's criminal bombing of Libya in 2011, Henry, who was there, said, "It wasn't the same thing. It has been even longer since we have engaged with this level of weaponry and violence. The threat to the boat was much greater in the Red Sea."

In a March 26 statement, the Yemeni army said it carried out military operations against six ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, including two U.S. destroyers, within 72 hours. The army's spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the Yemeni naval forces had conducted the operations "with a large number of ballistic missiles and drones." According to the statement, the Yemeni army struck Maersk Saratoga, APL Detroit, Huang Pu and Pretty Lady after identifying them as owned by either the U.S. or Britain. Saree said the army also launched a drone attack against two U.S. destroyers in the Red Sea as well as Israel's Eilat Port. The spokesman said the military operations were "successful."

Syria

On April 3, Russia's Defence Ministry announced that it had deployed additional forces in the Syrian-controlled areas of the Golan Heights. Since 2018 these forces, from Russia's military police, have been tasked with de-escalating tensions in the Syrian provinces of Quneitra and Daraa, as well as monitoring the longstanding ceasefire in force as part of the Syrian Civil War. News reports state that Russia has installed several observation posts along the demarcation line between Syria and the Occupied Golan Heights since the start of this year.

Russia's decision to increase its presence in the Golan Heights comes after condemning Israel's strike on Iran's consular building on April 1. Russia called on Israel to cease such "completely unacceptable" actions and requested a meeting of the UN Security Council regarding the strike, to no avail.

Prior to this, Syria strongly condemned the act of aggression by U.S. occupation forces on March 26 which targeted several areas in the country's eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr, causing casualties. A Syrian military source said U.S. strikes hit several villages, towns and military sites. They killed seven soldiers and one civilian while injuring 19 soldiers and 13 civilians. The strikes also caused huge material damage to public and private properties. It stressed that the U.S. must end its illegitimate presence on Syrian soil and end its open support and funding of terrorist organizations like Daesh. "Syria calls on world countries which struggle for their sovereignty, freedom and independence to condemn that aggression and reject it and demand the U.S. end its illegal presence and its terrorist military operations in the region," the statement said.

Iran

Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on April 13 that Navy special forces from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used a helicopter to board and seize the MSC Aries, a container ship linked to Israel. The ship is being transferred from the Strait of Hormuz, where it was seized, to Iranian territorial waters.

IRNA said the Portuguese-flagged ship is operated by the Zodiac shipping company, which is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer's Zodiac Group. Zodiac said in a statement that the ship is managed and operated by the U.K.-based shipping company, MSC, which confirmed on April 13 that the ship had been boarded. The company also said there were 25 crew members onboard and that it is working with "relevant authorities" to ensure their safety.

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The sky over Israel shows an Iranian ballistic missile hitting its military target, April 13, 2024