Notes

Investigating the UN Human Rights Council (Shurat Hadin).

Nitsana Dahan-Leitner who works in the Tel Aviv offices of Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center discusses the issues Israel will face from the United Nations in coming weeks.

Her calm, almost tranquil demeanor defies the fierce opposition Israel has to face from both the UN Human Rights Council, and the three-member Commission of Inquiry [COI], who was assigned by the UN "investigate" in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, East Jerusalem and Israel all allegations of violations of international humanitarian law, and any alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law up to and beyond April 13, 2021.

Although Shurat Hadin has been the victim of UN-led investigations in the past, it is clear that this current investigation was created to continue and examine Israel and its IDF. The duration of the commission has not been decided.

Darshan-Leitner , the founder of Shurat HaDin 2003, explains that "the UN Human Rights Council investigation does not come out of thin air." It's connected to incidents at the Hague's International Court of Justice."

The ICC was created by the Rome Statute in 1998, which created the court. The court is able to pursue criminal charges against people for acts 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 would be applied against the country. The US, Israel and many other countries have not yet ratified or signed the statute. Therefore, they aren't legally bound to follow the rulings of the ICC.

Fatou Bensouda was the ICC prosecutor in The Hague and announced in March 2021 that she was initiating a war crime investigation against Israel.

A ruling by the International Court against Israel may have major ramifications. Most European and Scandinavian nations are members of the court, and are legally bound to abide by its decisions. Anyone Israeli soldier who participated in IDF military missions and traveled to countries which have been deemed members of the court like Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, could be taken into custody if ICC decided that IDF soldiers were in fact guilty of war crimes. The Jewish state and its banking industry may be hit with severe economic sanctions.

Israel could also be exposed to other risks , including embargoes, sanctions on weapons, or even boycotts. El Al or other Israeli carriers could be barred from operating in some countries.

Bensouda retired as prosecutor in June 2021. Karim Kan, a British barrister, was chosen as her replacement. Bensouda assigned fourteen investigations for the new prosecutor, of which eight were currently active. To the dismay of the Palestinians as explained by Darshan-Leitner the cases in his docket as "in the planning phase" which is an informal way of saying that the claims lacked the merit or urgency warranting the court's attention.

Darshan Leitner Darshan Leitner said "this upset the Palestinian Authority." "They could not understand why their efforts to convince the prosecutor to launch an inquiry failed."

The PA called for the establishment of a commission within the International Court of Justice in September 2021 to pressure Karim Khan to reconsider his decision and reactivate the ICC investigation against Israel.

Since then, says Darshan-Leitner The PA continues to accuse Israel of committing war crimes as well as apartheid. The Amnesty International report, released in early February it in February, accused Israel of apartheid behavior both within and beyond the Green Line. The report stated that Israel had "established and maintained an institutionalized system oppression" toward Palestinians. In addition it blamed Israel for its racial segregation of Palestinians which dates back to 1948.

Darshan-Leitner states that the Palestinian complaints against Israel before the International Criminal Court have been focused on two areas: the IDF military operations and Israeli settlements. They argue that these are war crimes.

Karim Khan Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor is now being pressured by Palestinians to prioritize the probe of Israel in the context of the "apartheid" accusation, a new claim, that was not among those even investigated in the preliminary investigation which Bensouda was pursuing. But, "whatever gets this investigation running is legitimate in their eyes, and it does not matter what the case is or even if it's true," she says.

KARIM KHAN, new ICC prosecutor. (Credit: Michael Kooren/Reuters)
The commission of inquiry of the United Nations is the latest initiative by the Palestinians to convince the court in The Hague to be convinced. Navi Pillay, South Africa's chief, is the leader of the group of three members, which also comprises Miloon Kathari (India), Chris Sidoti and Chris Sidoti.

Darshan Leitner claims that Pillay Kothari, Sidoti and Kothari are all famous for their stances on Israel. "Pillay is known to be a victim of apartheid. She has also accused Israel of using apartheid. They are not far behind."

From February 28th until April 1st The UN Human Rights Council will be holding its 49th session (HRC49).

It is anticipated that the most significant event for the session is the publication by the inquiry commission the report on Operation Guardian of the Walls. This is a reference to the Israeli operation at Gaza in response to the rockets fired at Israel by Hamas in May 2021. aviel darshan leitner will be a time when Israel accused of war crimes and apartheid as crimes against humanity.

Darshan-Leitner states that even though the State of Israel will not be involved in or cooperate with the inquiry commission, Shurat HaDin cannot sit back quietly and ignore the accusations that are sure to come from the commission.

"There are two major options to fight the Pillay committee" Darshan-Leitner explains. "One is the practical response - answering the accusations of apartheid. The personal angle is based on the members who are not impartial.

She says that her previous instances show that Shurat haDin, or any other person, is not in a position to convince those who are opposed to Israel to reconsider their views.


She suggests that Shurat HaDin will instead show that all members of the inquiry commission are biased against Israel, and that the UN is willing to sacrifice its core values, fairness, and sense of fairness in order to delegitimize Israel.

Darshan Leitner Darshan Leitner says, "We will launch a campaign to demand the resignation of the entire COI members." "We intend to create large-scale petitions, and to take legal actions against COI members, and anyone else who supports this committee" Darshan Leitner declares.

Shurat HaDin, on other hand, is going to try to show that the PA is the main violation of human rights. "We will look through their laws to see what we can find discrimination against children, women, and the LGBTQ community as well as their ineffective legal system. Do you know that one can legally rape their spouse in accordance with PA law? Marital rape is not an offense under their 'advanced human-rights-friendly' legislation.

"This is just a tiny example from the "champions" of human rights who the UN is eager to help. While https://vfi-usa.org/register-now-zoom-presentation-inside-the-covert-war-against-terrorisms-money-masters-the-story-of-shurat-hadin-israel-law-center-with-founder-nitsana-darshan-leitner-2/ accuse Israel of being apartheid , they encourage a tyranny which hasn't had elections for fifteen years and that systematically violates the rights of its citizens.

Darshan-Leitner says that Shurat HaDin will also expose to the world how minorities are treated inside the PA as well as Gaza."The fate of Christians in the PA territories and Gaza is set," she asserts. Their numbers are continually decreasing. https://www.amazon.com/Nitsana-Darshan-Leitner/e/B079DFMV2M%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share who call for massacre 'infidels,' who are no better than ISIS numbers, 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 refused collaboration with the Goldstone Commission after it found that the commission was biased in its agenda. Israel was badly hurt by the negative impact of the final report.

"I believe we didn't play our cards well although I am in agreement with Israel's refusal to join or assist in the hateful Goldstone witch-hunt. It's not enough to disregard the UNHRC and call them prejudiced and haters. The government must support its decision by launching an organized campaign to deter and disseminate the anti-Semitic UNHRC. She states, "We can act, speak up, and use legal recourse in situations where government's hands are essentially tied."

Darshan-Leitner aims to fill in this gap this time. She summarizes the current situation and states that the PA's objective is ultimately to influence The Hague's chief procuror. Therefore, "if I can uproot the commission's foundations to demonstrate how flawed it is, as well as how the claim of apartheid is wrong and more appropriate to the PA It will prove that the commission has no significance.

"If we do not do this, the result could be catastrophic. The prosecutor might be influenced, and then change his opinion. It will be a tragedy and it could alter the course of justice. It's not possible to do this.



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