In the News – May 14, 2024

Palestine

Israeli army tanks stationed at the entrance to Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, May 14, shelling whatever comes in front of them.

Resistance’s Response to Israeli Rejection of
Mediator’s Proposal for Ceasefire

As a result of the Israeli offensive into Rafah, Hamas said on May 10 that its leadership will hold consultations with the leaders of all other Palestinian Resistance groups in order to reconsider their negotiations strategy. The statement was a response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to invade the city of Rafah despite the fact that on May 6 Hamas had accepted a proposed ceasefire to end the Israeli war on Gaza. The movement confirmed in a statement that Israel’s rejection of the mediators’ proposal brought the situation in Gaza back to square one.

Hamas rejected the latest attempt of U.S. President Biden to blame the Resistance for the collapse of the ceasefire negotiations. On May 11 Biden claimed that a ceasefire in Gaza would be possible “tomorrow” if Hamas released its Israeli prisoners. “Israel said it’s up to Hamas, if they wanted to do it, we could end it tomorrow. And the ceasefire would begin tomorrow,” Biden had the gall to tell some 100 people at a fundraiser outside Seattle.

Hamas responded: “We condemn this position by the U.S. President, which we consider a setback from the outcomes of the latest round of negotiations, which led to the movement’s agreement to the proposal put forward by mediators in Egypt and Qatar, with the knowledge and oversight of the American mediator.”

South Africa Makes New Urgent Request to International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has informed that South Africa filed an “urgent request” with the court on May 10 for the indication of additional provisional measures and the modification of provisional measures previously prescribed by the court, necessitated by Israel’s attacks on Gaza, particularly in the city of Rafah.

“In its new request, South Africa states that the provisional measures previously indicated by the Court are not capable of ‘fully addressing’ the changed circumstances and new facts on which its Request is founded,” the ICJ said in a statement. “[The] situation brought about by the Israeli assault on Rafah, and the extreme risk it poses to humanitarian supplies and basic services into Gaza, to the survival of the Palestinian medical system, and to the very survival of Palestinians in Gaza as a group, is not only an escalation of the prevailing situation, but gives rise to new facts that are causing irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people in Gaza,” South Africa said in its request, the ICJ reported. It said South Africa requests that the court indicate further provisional measures and modify the previous provisional measures, pursuant to Article 41 of the Statute of the Court and Articles 73 (1), 74 (1), 75 (1) and (3) and/or 76 (1) of the Rules of Court, for “the protection of the Palestinian people in Gaza from grave and irreparable violations of their rights, and of South Africa’s rights, under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”

In related news, Egypt has joined South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.

Al Jazeera reported that Egypt says it will formally join the case filed by South Africa against Israel at the ICJ, which accuses Israel of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention in its war on the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated: “The submission comes in light of the worsening severity and scope of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, and the continued perpetration of systematic practices against the Palestinian people, including direct targeting of civilians and the destruction of infrastructure in the Strip, and pushing Palestinians to flee,” the ministry said in a statement. Egypt thus joins Türkiye and Colombia in formally requesting to join the case against Israel.

Egypt’s decision comes as a major blow to Israel and to the U.S. objective of having Arab states such as Egypt deepen working relations with Israel, Alon Liel, former director of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Al Jazeera. Egypt’s move was an “unbelievable diplomatic blow to Israel,” Liel said. “Egypt is the cornerstone of our standing in the Middle East,” he said.

The connections that Israel has in the Middle East and North Africa today, including with Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Morocco, are all “a result of what Egypt did 40 years ago,” Liel said, referring to the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. “With Egypt joining South Africa now in The Hague, it’s a real diplomatic punch. Israel would have to take it very seriously,” he said.

News Out of Israel Confirms Its Internal Crisis is Deepening

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “for lacking a government strategy on who will govern the Gaza Strip after Tel Aviv ends its onslaught and for leading the military to reattack certain areas,” media reports informed on May 12. Describing the situation as “endless,” Halevi directed criticism at Netanyahu for the lack of a clear strategy.

The Times of Israel reports that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on May 12 that the White House had not seen an Israeli plan for the Gaza Strip’s post-war governance, nor had Israel presented the U.S. with a credible plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah ahead of a military operation there. Blinken said that absent a post-war plan for Gaza, Israel would have to either stay in the Strip indefinitely and face an “enduring insurgency” from thousands of remaining Hamas gunmen, or withdraw — “as we believe they need to do” — and be left with “a vacuum that’s likely to be filled by chaos, anarchy, and ultimately by Hamas again,” Times of Israel wrote.

Netanyahu, in an interview broadcast on May 10 on the Dr. Phil U.S. television show, said that he wishes to see a demilitarized civilian government supported by the UAE and Saudi Arabia ruling the enclave. “We’ll probably have to have some kind of civilian government, civilian administration, by Gazans who are not committed to our destruction, possibly, I think, with the aid of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and other countries that I think want to see stability and peace,” he is quoted as saying.

For its part, the UAE has ruled out taking part in the administration of the Gaza Strip after the end of the current war. Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed said his country won’t provide ‘cover’ for Israel in Gaza. According to the independent media source The Cradle, the Foreign Minister tweeted, “The UAE stresses that the Israeli Prime Minister does not have any legal capacity to take this step, and the state refuses to be drawn into any plan aimed at providing cover for the Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip.”

According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, Israel’s National Security Council official Yoram Hamo, in charge of defence policy and strategic planning, resigned due to frustrations over the failure to reach political decisions regarding future actions in the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s Battlefield Losses Continue to Mount

A senior Israeli officer, Brig. Gen. Yogev Bar Sheshet, the Defense Ministry’s deputy comptroller for the defence establishment, was wounded fighting in Gaza on May 10, the Israeli military announced on May 12. As battles raged across the Gaza Strip amid the heinous operations of the Israeli army in Rafah, Zeitoun and Jabalia, Sheshet was with the Nahal Infantry Brigade chief’s forward command team in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City. He is the most senior IDF officer to be wounded in fighting in the Strip so far.

The Israeli Zionist’s Nachala Settlement Movement along with other murderous Zionist groups including Hotam, Sovereignty, The Jewish Truth and others are planning a march to the Sderot observation point overlooking northern Gaza on May 14 calling for re-occupation of areas in the Gaza Strip which were evacuated in 2005. The Zionists said they are aiming for 10,000 settlers to endorse their position and join the march. According to reports, some 4,000 had signed up by May 12.

Protest May 11 in Tel Aviv demanding government negotiate a swap deal of captives and prisoners and hold early elections

Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis protested in Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Square over the May 11-12 weekend, demanding that the government negotiate a swap deal of captives and prisoners as soon as possible and hold early elections, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. About 2,000 protesters gathered in front of Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea. There were also actions in Haifa, Rehovot, and Ness Ziona (central), demanding that the government accept the ceasefire terms as agreed to by the Palestinian Resistance movement to attain the release of Israelis still held captive by the Resistance.

Channel 13 news in Israel reported that clashes erupted between police and demonstrators in central Tel Aviv. Police are said to have used water canon filled with waste water to disperse the protestors. An undisclosed number of people, including the daughter-in-law of one of the Israeli captives held in Gaza, were arrested on charges of rioting.

Global Conference Held in Johannesburg

Session of Global Anti-Apartheid Conference on Palestine, May 10-12, 2024

Hamas politburo member Dr. Basem Naim was one of the presenters at the Global Anti-Apartheid Conference on Palestine held in Johannesburg, South Africa on May 10-12. In an interview with Palestine Chronicle he said October 7 marked a turning point in history. “We have believed for decades that the resistance has to be the backbone of our struggle against apartheid and colonial occupation” and emphasized that “especially after October 7, it has been clear that no one can enjoy security and stability without Palestinians having their own rights.” He said that “despite this image of Israel as this superpower of the region and with the support of all superpowers, they were not able — after seven months — to defeat this resistance despite its very limited resources and limited space of movement. Therefore we believe we are on the right path and October 7 will be a turning point in the history of this struggle for the Palestinians and maybe a turning point in the history of humankind,” Dr. Naim said.

In her opening speech, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor called for “progressive forces” to push for the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination, which has been systematically denied since the British mandate.”

South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor addresses conference

Palestinian Legislative Council member Dr. Mustafa Barghouti told the Conference, “We will not be able to have true freedom and true peace without the complete dismantlement of the setter colonial system in Palestine.” He told Palestine Chronicle that he does not see Palestine except as one country with one democratic system with equal rights for everybody, adding that the resistance of the Palestinian people is already contributing to the future.

“I think the resistance of the Palestinian people and the steadfastness of the people on the ground especially now the steadfastness of our people in Gaza — which has failed the Israeli intention of conducting ethnic cleansing — is what is making the future of Palestinians,” he said. Asked for his view on the sentiment shared at the conference that Palestine is standing at its “South Africa moment,” Dr. Barghouti said “I always thought so, even before this war.” He said the rise now of the anti-apartheid movement “is by itself an indicator of where we are standing in history. And this global revolution, this huge solidarity with Palestinians which is unprecedented, is a very strong indicator of where we are heading.” He also said, “Israel initiated this tragedy, initiated this war but Israel will not be the one who decides how it ends, we will. We will decide how it ends.”

Various other speakers addressed the conference on the first day including Reverend Frank Chikane, moderator of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs for the World Council of Churches; Declan Kearney, chairperson of Sinn Fein; and Ronnie Kasrils, former South African Minister of Intelligence. The conference was attended by delegations from across the globe, representing civil society, religious institutions and Palestinian solidarity movements. Various workshops aimed at developing strategies for action were held on the second day.

U.S. State Department Report on Whether Israel Has Violated International Humanitarian Law or U.S. Law

On May 10, the U.S. State Department released the report on its assessment of whether Israel has violated international humanitarian law or U.S. law with American-provided weapons. The review was ordered by U.S. President Biden in February.

The report concluded that it was “reasonable to assess” Israel has violated international humanitarian law in its war conduct in Gaza and acknowledged “sufficient reported incidents to raise serious concerns.” It said that while the United Nations and aid groups say the majority of those killed are women and children, Israel claims that half of those numbers are Hamas fighters. The U.S. government said it could not independently verify the figures.

“Given Israel’s significant reliance on U.S.-made defence articles, it is reasonable to assess that defence articles covered under (the national security memorandum) have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its (international humanitarian law) obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm,” officials wrote in the report. However, State Department officials claimed it was “difficult to assess or reach conclusive findings on individual incidents.” The report found “no indication Israel directly targeted civilians” while it “assesses that Israel could do more to avoid civilian harm.”

“While Israel has the knowledge, experience, and tools to implement best practices for mitigating civilian harm in its military operations,” the report says, “the results on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions as to whether Israel is using them effectively in all cases.”

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who is a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and who had spearheaded the effort to get the Biden administration to more closely scrutinize Israel’s war actions, said, “If this conduct complies with international standards, God help us all.”

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken held Hamas and the resistance forces responsible for the indiscriminate killing of civilian, non-combatant men, women and children by Israeli occupation forces, armed and equipped to the teeth with U.S. armaments. “The report also makes clear that this is an incredibly complex military environment. You have an enemy that intentionally embeds itself with civilians, hiding under and within schools, mosques, apartment buildings, firing at the Israeli forces from those places,” Blinken said. “What the report concludes is that, based on the totality of the harm that’s been done to children, to women, to men who are caught in this crossfire of Hamas’ making… it’s reasonable to conclude that there are instances where Israel has acted in ways that are not consistent with international humanitarian law… At the same time … we continue to look at, investigate each of these incidents, but critically, so does Israel.”

Meanwhile, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said the White House is closely watching Israel’s military operations in Rafah, and that includes the seizure of the crossing into Egypt. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say what we’ve seen in the last 24 hours connotes or indicates a broad, large-scale invasion or major ground operation. It appears to be localized near the crossing,” Kirby said. He added that the White House is watching “with concern.”

(Photos: AA, Quds, Palestine Chronicle)