Notes

The UN human rights council investigation (Shurat Hadin)

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner discusses the issues Israel will face over the next few weeks, courtesy of the United Nations while sitting in the Tel Aviv offices of Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center.

Her calm, almost serene appearance is a stark contrast to the fierce opposition Israel is likely to confront from the UN Human Rights Council as well as the three-member Commission of Inquiry [COI] that was tasked by the UN to "investigate in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel all allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and all alleged violations and abuses of human rights international laws leading up to and from April 13, 2021."

While Israel was the investigation of the UN in the past it is obvious that this investigation was created to continue and examine Israel and its IDF. The term of the commission was not decided.

nitsana darshan leitner -Leitner, who founded Shurat HaDin, explained that "the UN Human Rights Council Investigation is not coming from thin air". It's linked to happenings in the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The 1998 Rome Statute created the ICC. The court is able to bring charges against individuals for crimes of aggression as well as crimes against humanity and genocide. Israel supported the idea of an International Court of Justice however, it was worried about the possibility that it could be employed against them. Israel and the US and numerous other countries have not ratified or signed the statute , and therefore aren't under any legal obligation to adhere to the decisions of the ICC.

Fatou Bensouda at The Hague was the ICC Prosecutor. She announced that she was going to launch a war crimes probe into Israel and Hamas in the month of March 2021.

A decision of the International Court against Israel may have a significant impact. Most European and Scandinavian nations are members of the court and legally obligated to honor the court's rulings. Any Israeli soldier who is involved in IDF actions that involved war crimes could be held accountable if the ICC determines that they violated the law. The harsh economic sanctions can also be applied to the Jewish state and its banks sector.

Israel might be a target for sanctions, embargoes on weapons and boycotts. El Al or other Israeli carriers could be barred from operating in certain countries.

Bensouda's term was over as prosecutor and she was succeeded by Karim Khan (a British barrister). Bensouda had 14 investigations which were inherited by the prosecutor who replaced her. Eight of these investigations were active. Much to the dismay of Palestinians as explained by Darshan-Leitner his office classified the matters in his docket as "in the process of planning" - a polite way of saying that the allegations did not have any merit or urgency that warranted the court's attention.

aviel darshan leitner states that this "frustrated the Palestinian Authority". "They were unable to comprehend the reason for their efforts to convince a prosecutor to open an investigation have not succeeded."

In September 2021 in September 2021, the PA called for the establishment of a commission in the International Court of Justice to influence Karim Khan to reconsider his position and to reopen the ICC's probe against Israel.

Darshan Leitner claims that Israel has been accused of discrimination and war crimes since the time of his interview. The Amnesty International report, released in early February in February, accused Israel of committing apartheid violations both within and beyond the Green Line. The report claimed that Israel "has created and maintained an institutionalized regime of oppression" against Palestinians and also accused Israel of imposing racial segregation of Palestinians since 1948.

Darshan Leitner claims that the Palestinian demands against Israel have focused at the International Criminal Court on two areas: IDF Military Operations and the issue of Israeli Settlements. They consider these to be war crimes.

Karim Khan is pressured by the Palestinians, the ICC prosecutor is being urged to prioritise the investigation of Israel under "apartheid" which is a brand new accusation. This is not the case that Bensouda investigated in his preliminary investigation. She claims that "whatever is able to move the investigation forward is legitimate according to their view, and it doesn't matter what it's, or if its true."

KARIM KHAN, new ICC prosecutor. (Credit: Michael Kooren/Reuters)
The UN's commission of inquiry is the latest initiative by the Palestinians for the court at The Hague to be convinced. Navi Pillay, South Africa's head, leads the group of three members, which also includes Miloon Kathari (India), Chris Sidoti and Chris Sidoti.

According to Darshan-Leitner, Pillay, Kothari and Sidoti are recognized for their prejudices towards Israel."All three have a demonstrated track record of statements and actions on the same topics they are required to investigate the matter,'" she says. "Pillay herself has previously accused Israel of apartheid. And she was the driving force behind the infamous antisemitic Durban conferences. Shurat Hadin of the group are not far behind."

The 49TH session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC49) will be held at its office in Geneva from February 28 through April 1.

It is anticipated that the primary draw for the session is the release by the inquiry commission the report on Operation Guardian of the Walls. This refers to the Israeli operation at Gaza in response to the rockets launched at Israel by Hamas in May 2021. In this session, Israel will likely be accused of war crimes and apartheid aswell as crimes against humanity.

Darshan Leitner claims that even although the State of Israel is not cooperating or becoming involved in the inquiry, Shurat Hasan cannot remain in silence and ignore the accusations that are sure to be presented.

Darshan Leitner states that there are two possible ways to counter the Pillay commission. " aviel darshan leitner is the substantive answer - answering the allegations of apartheid. The second is the personal aspect, focusing on its members' resentment.

She claims that her previous experiences have shown that Shurat HaDin or another individual will not be able to convince those who are negatively disposed towards Israel to alter their opinions.

https://independent.academia.edu/JiangBroberg , she suggests, plans to illustrate that all members of the inquiry committee have biases against Israel and that the UN will not to sacrifice its fundamental principles and any notion of fairness in order to delegitimize Israel.

nitsana darshan leitner says, "We will launch a campaign calling for the resignations of all COI members." "We are going to organize large-scale petitions and pursue legal actions against the COI, its members and anyone that helps the COI."

Shurat haDin will also try to show the PA rather than the State of Israel is, the actual violator of human rights. "We are going to look through their legislation and draw out what we knowabout gender discrimination that is imposed on children, women, and members of the LGBTQ community, and their flawed system of law. Did you have any idea that PA law allows a man to legally rape the spouse of his partner? Marital rape is not an offense under their 'advanced human-rights-friendly' legislation.

This is only one example of the UN's 'champions for human rights who the UN will do everything to help. While they are claiming Israel of apartheid, they promote the rule of law with no elections for 15 years and regularly infringes on the rights of its own citizens.

Darshan Leitner asserts that Shurat HaDin is also going to reveal to the world how minorities in Gaza as well as in the PA are treated. "The fate of Christians living in Gaza and the PA territory is set," she states. Their numbers are decreasing continuously. They are on the rise.

Shurat HaDin's chief believes Israel committed serious mistakes when it handled an earlier UNHRC commission of inquiry in 2009, headed by Richard Goldstone, South African jurist. Jerusalem did not want to cooperate with the Goldstone Commission after it found out that the Goldstone Commission had a biased agenda. The negative end report caused a lot of political tensions for Israel.

"While I wholeheartedly agreed that Israel was in the right to refuse to aid or participate in the deplorable Goldstone witch hunt, I don't believe we had a good time playing our cards. It is not enough to simply ignore the UNHRC and call them prejudiced and hateful. The government should supplement its decision by organizing a proactive and well-organized campaign to promote its own version of events, and counterattack the antisemitic UNHRC. She says we can be vocal, take action and take legal action in instances where the government's hands are tied."

Darshan Leitner is working to fill the void. She outlines the current state of affairs, and states that the ultimate aim of the PA is to influence the Hague's chief prosecutor. My goal is to expose the underlying principles of this commission, and to show the flaws in its ideology, how apartheid claims are false, and how they better fit for the PA. This will show that the commission is of no value.

"If we don't take this step, the consequences will be disastrous. The prosecutor may be influenced and change his decision. It will be a tragedy and it could alter the direction of justice. We can't let this happen."


My Website: http://pandora.nla.gov.au/external.html?link=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-security-israel-lawyer/fighting-israels-foes-in-u-s-courts-lawyer-had-help-from-mossad-idUSKBN1D2296