Notes

The UN Human Rights Council's investigation (Shurathadin)

Nitsana Shurat HaDin -Israel Law Center is seated in Tel Aviv's office of Shurat HaDin on a sunny Sunday afternoon. She discusses the issues Israel will face due to the United Nations in forthcoming weeks.

Her calm, almost tranquil attitude is in stark contrast to the fierce opposition Israel faces from both the UN Human Rights Council, and the three-member Commission of Inquiry [COI] which was commissioned by the UN "investigate" in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, East Jerusalem and Israel all allegations of violations of international humanitarian law, and any allegations of violations or abuses of international human rights laws prior to and including the 13th of April, 2021.

There have been past UN investigation into Israel The difference between the current and previous UN investigation is the fact that this commission was set up to function as a permanent inquiry and continue investigating Israel and the IDF. Shurat Hadin The commission's term was not decided.

Darshan-Leitner clarifies, "The UN Human Rights Council investigation isn't coming out a in the air," and he established Shurat HaDin back in 2003. It's connected to incidents at the Hague's International Court of Justice."

In 1998, the Rome Statute established the ICC. The court is authorized to prosecute people for crimes of genocide as well as crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.While Israel initially supported the idea of an international court it was concerned that the court would be used as a weapon that could be used against it. Israel and the US and a host of other nations have not ratified or signed this law and thus are not legally bound by it.

Fatou Bensouda the ICC prosecutor from The Hague announced in March 2021 that she was opening a war-crimes probe against Israel, Hamas, and other nations.

A decision by the International Court in favor of Israel could have wide-ranging implications. Most European and Scandinavian members of the court are legally bound by its decisions. Anyone Israeli soldier who took part in IDF military activities and was in countries which are members of the court, such as Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, could be detained if the ICC declared that IDF soldiers were committed war crimes. The Jewish state and its banking industry may be hit with harsh economic sanctions.

Additionally, Israel might also face additional risks, such as sanctions, weapons embargoes, and boycotts. El Al, or other Israeli carriers, could be prohibited from operating in specific countries.

Bensouda's term as prosecutor ended in June 2021 and her replacement was British barrister Karim Khan. The new prosecutor inherited 14 investigations that were initiated by Bensouda and eight of them were ongoing investigations. To the chagrin of Palestinians, explains Darshan-Leitner, the cases that were on the docket of his court as "in the process of planning" - a polite way of saying that the allegations did not have the urgency or merit to warrant the court's attention.


Israel Law Center "This caused a lot of anger to the Palestinian Authority," says Darshan-Leitner. "They were unable to comprehend why their immense efforts to to open an investigation are not working."

The PA demanded the establishment of a commission in the International Court of Justice in September 2021 to force Karim Khan to reconsider his decision and reactivate the ICC investigation into Israel.

Darshan Leitner says that Israel was accused by the PA of war crimes, apartheid and other crimes. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/24/world/middleeast/crusading-for-israel-in-a-way-some-say-is-misguided.html The February report by Amnesty International criticized Israel of committing apartheid violations in and outside of its Green Line. The report claimed Israel "has created an oppressive regime that is institutionalized Palestinians" and also the report accused Israel of racial segregation since 1948.

Darshan-Leitner says that the Palestinian complaints against Israel at the International Criminal Court have focused on two specific areas: IDF military operations and the issue of Israeli settlements, which they say constitute war crimes.

Karim Khan (the ICC prosecutor) is currently being urged by Palestinians to ask Israel to be investigated under the "apartheidaccusation. This new accusation was not part of the preliminary investigation Bensouda was conducting. However, "whatever gets them this investigation, it doesn't matter what you claim or if it is true," she asserts.

https://israellawcenter.org/ KARIM KHAN, new ICC prosecutor. (Credit: Michael Kooren/Reuters)
The latest effort by the Palestinians to convince the tribunal at The Hague is the UN's three-member inquiry committee that is led by Navi Pillay from South Africa, and which comprises Miloon Kothari (India) and Chris Sidoti (Australia).

Israel Law Center Darshan Leitner claims that Pillay Kothari and Sidoti have a long history of expressing biases against Israel. "Pillay, herself, has made allegations against Israel for its apartheid policies. It was her spirit behind the antisemitic Durban conferences. "The other people are following the footsteps of their predecessors."

From February 28 through April 1, UN Human Rights Council (HRC49) will be hosting the 49th session.

It is expected that the primary focus of the session is the report the commission of inquiry will publish on Operation Guardian of the Walls The Israeli operation in Gaza that occurred in May 2021 as a reaction to the missiles Hamas launched at Israel. In the course of this meeting, Israel will likely be accused of war crimes and apartheid, as well being accused of crimes against humanity.

Darshan Leitner states that although the State of Israel will not cooperate or become involved with the commission of inquiry, Shurat HaDin cannot sit in silence and overlook the accusations likely to come from the commission.

Darshan Leitner says that there are two possible options to combat the Pillay commission. "One is the real response, answering the charges of apartheid. The second is the personal aspect which focuses on its own members' animosity.

She claims that her prior experiences indicate that ShurathaDin as well as others won't be able to convince Israel-haters who are already negative about Israel.

Instead, Shurat HaDin suggests that Shurat haDin is attempting to prove that all of the members of the inquiry committee are biased against Israel. The UN is prepared sacrifice its core values and any sense of fairness in order to undermine Israel.

Darshan Leitner: "We are going start a campaign that calls for the resignation of every COI members." "We're planning to hold massive protests and file legal action against the COI. Its members , and anyone else who supports this committee."

Shurat haDin will also attempt to prove that the PA rather than the State of Israel is, the actual violator of human rights. "We will scrutinize their legislation and pull out what we have learned about the discrimination against women, children as well as the LGBTQ community, as well as their ineffective legal system. Do you know that one can legally rape his spouse under PA law? Shurat Hadin Marital rape is not an offense under their 'advanced human-rights-friendly' legislation.

This is but one instance of the UN's "champions for human rights which the UN will do everything to help. While they accuse Israel of apartheid, the UN promotes the rule of law with no elections in 15 years, and systematically violates its own human rights.

Darshan Leitner declares that Shurat haDin will also show the world how minorities are treated by the PA and Gaza. Their numbers are decreasing. Islamic extremists are increasing, calling to massacre "infidels" and are even more violent than ISIS.

Shurat Hadin The Shurat HaDin leader feels that Israel committed a number of serious errors in the handling of an earlier UNHRC inquiry commission, which was headed by South African jurist Richard Goldstone in 2009. In that notorious incident, Jerusalem refused to cooperate with the Goldstone Commission, declaring it as a biased organization with a predetermined agenda that it would not legitimize with its cooperation. Israel was the target of many tensions following the publication of the final, highly criticized report.

"I believe we did not play our cards well although I am in agreement with Israel's refusal to cooperate or facilitate the hateful Goldstone witch-hunt. It's not enough to disregard the UNHRC and declare them as racist and hateful. The government had to complement its decision with an organized and proactive campaign to disseminate the government's story and counter attack against the antisemitic UNHRC. She says we have the ability to speak out, act and pursue legal actions in instances where the hands of the government are bound."

Darshan Leitner is working to fill in the gaps. She outlines the state of affairs and explains that the goal of the PA was to influence The Hague Chief Prosecutor. To summarize, she said, "If I can remove the basis of the commission in order to expose how flawed the claim is, why apartheid's assertion is false and the reason it is more appropriate for The Hague's chief prosecutor, it will show that it is not worth the effort."

"If we do not take this action, the results will be bad. The prosecutor might be influenced, and then decide to change his decision. If he does, it will be a tragedy and could be a game changer. This cannot happen.



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