International Criminal Court - Israel Law Center: Fill & Download for Free

David Matas, Lecturer in Constitutional Law at McGill University, stated."For there to be an occupation at international law, there has to be an occupying and occupied power both of which are members of the community of nations. The only conceivable occupied power for the West Bank was Jordan. Yet Jordan has renounced all claims over the West Bank." 'Further, in 2005, Israel withdrew from all of Gaza. 98% of the Palestinian Arabs now live in areas governed by the Palestinian Authority (PA); with their own Parliament, schools, textbooks, media, courts, and governing institutions.Remove the mask of international law by Suzy Dim(Translated from Hebrew by Avinoam Ben Dor)The accusation of Israel in international forums is done without any affiliation to moral standards.We don't do enough to fight it.There is no escape from admitting that international law has intuitive beauty.It is a concept whose name is moral, just and unifying.But unfortunately, things underneath the surface are not that simple - and may be even the opposite.In the following essay, we will focus on what is called International Criminal Law (ICL), which is the one that was recently utilized against the State of Israel in The Hague. This sentence is part of public international law. Therefore, the sources of international criminal law are the sources of public international law. These include customary law, which is largely based on what is called Opinio Juris.This concept is defined as "general belief or acceptance among the states that a particular practice is required by law."What does that "Opinio Juris" indicate?For example, diplomatic statements, whether in correspondence, policy statements or governmental communications, and also the practice of international organizations such as the UN.Simply put: Your compliance with the requirements of international criminal law is a result of what countries in the world are prepared to say about you. Therefore, in the case of Israel, since there is an automatic majority against it among the States and in any international forum, criminal international law will always include incrimination of Israeli acts. Not because we necessarily sin on basic human morality, and certainly not because we do it more than others.This is not why we are discriminated against, but because those who have an automatic majority in the political arena control what is considered criminal and what is not. All that remains is only to give a general name for the actions of the Jewish state deserving of this derogation (for example, the "occupation"), and we have reached the laws of accusations.In general, B'Tselem's website offers not a bad picture of the reality of "international law". Although B'Tselem often speaks on behalf of the international norm, the site freely admits that "the main problem in international law is the lack of effective enforcement mechanisms.Existing mechanisms are cumbersome… In addition, setting priorities and choosing the cases to be dealt with is usually influenced by political pressure and power relations in the world. As a result, the degree of compliance of countries… depends on… the international and diplomatic pressure exerted on them - if any - by other countries or by international bodies".Therefore, international law, as far as Israel is concerned, is largely a deception. A semblance of intellectual and moral honesty, which is a cover for what is really happening in those "justice" modes, especially behind the scenes.This phenomenon is no novice in our history. There is an interesting parallelism here from a notorious event in the spiritual world in the history of the Jewish people, known as the "Tortosa disputation". A public debate between Jews and Christians in the city of Tortosa, Catalonia, Spain, between 1413-1414. The argument was born of an initiative by a Christian leader who failed to gain sufficient recognition, in his opinion, as a pope. To prove his adherence and zeal to Christianity he found it necessary to organize a public debate. Thus, in his book "History of the Jews," historian Solomon Graisel describes in his book "History of the Jews," the allegedly sublime status: "The Tortosa disputation was held dramatically to settle the question of the relative quality of Judaism and Christianity... The Jews obviously did not want to take any part in it. They knew that no free and open discussion would take place where they and Christians would have the same right to express themselves, far from it. It was another attempt to humiliate Judaism, but it was impossible to refuse the invitation to participate in the disputation:Under threat of fines, imprisonment and exile, the leading intellectuals of Spanish Jews were forced to appear. "For more than a year," Jewish representatives have tried to present their position, though they knew how futile it was. The conclusion of the disputation was, of course, exactly what was expected from the beginning: condemnation of the Talmud".Disputation of Tortosa1413https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disputation_of_TortosaWithin a year of the end of the Tortosa disputation, restrictions were imposed on the Jews of Spain, and this time they were enforced. These were restrictions that are reminiscent of what happened to the Jewish people in Germany on the eve of the Holocaust. Talmud books were burned or confiscated. In addition, every Jew was required to attend three Christian ceremonies each year.The parallel in the ceremonies between the 21st C international law and the Tortosa rites of 6 centuries ago is, of course, partial. Today, alongside the phenomenon of criminalization of the Jewish state, and hence of the Jewish people, who enjoy the glorious name "international law", there are now many positive manifestations of affection, respect and appreciation for the only Jewish state in the world.However, it does not hurt from time to time to name the "child" for a number of reasons.The first is the natural tendency of leaders of a democracy such as Israel to ignore problems such as these to the possible extent, so as not to cast a burdensome shadow on their work as leaders.There is state "treatment" of the (BDS) phenomenon - but it is not enough, or not at all, nor its intellectual roots. Conservative public leaders in Israel can and should talk more (or, for the first time) about the dynamics described here.They should contend with their liberal, Jewish and pro-Israeli counterparts, in Israel and the West, who ignore these intellectual dynamics and refuse to do what is necessary.After all, "settlement illegality" is after all not an axiom, though it's presented as such. It's mostly an excuse. It's OK and possible for a leftist intellectual to continue and oppose the settlements, if that is his / her opinion, but parallel to that, actively defend their legality, and to reveal the real reason why they believe that they are so vehemently illegal.The real reason, as in the Tortosa disputation, is the justification of anti-Semitism; A matter we tend to ignore.Last December, a Kuala Lumpur conference was held in Malaysia. It discussed the major problems of the Muslim nation, involving Muslims representing more than fifty countries across the globe. The organizer of the conference was Malaysian Prime Minister Muhammad Mahatir, one of the most outspoken anti-Semites; This is a leader who explicitly wrote of himself being proud of being anti-Semitic, commenting on the appearance of the Jewish nose, and denying Holocaust information.This foe and enemy justifies himself by portraying Israelis as thieves and the State of Israel as a criminal state.This blatant anti-Semitic ammunition is taken from the liberal West; The Liberal West that claims that it intends to express "honest criticism".The second reason why it's important to be familiar with the infrastructure of international public law, is the need to mobilize various personalities and bodies to fight for the defense of Israel in the international arena of repression. This is a task that can be led by private individuals, especially Israeli academics, itthose, who enjoy leading positions in many global areas, and bear much responsibility; They have a responsibility to vehemently fight back armed with their keyboards.Not in writing opinion columns for the convinced, but in striving to contact the unconvinced.Brave thinkers, such as Melanie Phillips, urge us to do so often; But we Israelis are not responsive enough. Yisrael Meidad's vigorous activity, a member of the Begin Center, who has been working tirelessly to protect our international legality, is felt on many "Israel-bashing" sites, is showing the way for many others who could have done the same.The third reason for justifying awareness of the "Tortosa disputation" of modern times, is that these "debates" have deadly consequences for Jewish Diaspora youth.As Shishai Fleischer, an Israeli Hasbara activist from Hebron, who occasionally portrays well IsraeI's position to liberal audiences, especially Jewish youth in the Diaspora which cannot be expected to feel Jewish pride, if they are constantly told (in the liberal environments in which they reside) that only a part of his people / co-religionists in Israel, are a sinful nation with a great deal of transgressions.Even those that the State of Israel is not so important to them, should recognize the problem arising from the repeated imposition of liberal charges, which are presented as objective, against Israel.This reality destroys every ability of the next generation to be kept motivated to continue being Jewish.The older generation in the US, in particular, those who hold positions of power and control over the abundance of donations previously donated to various Jewish organizations, those in their forties, fifties and sixties, should ponder well before it is too late.Today, they ponder not.Maybe because there are not enough Fleishers who dare to speak their mind in the face of fierce and frequent anti-Israel criticism and tell them what they actually see there.International Laws explained by David Brand in Quora:https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-status-of-Palestinians-right-to-return-in-international-law/answer/David-Brand-35?ch=10&share=af71e396&srid=B25Fw

The Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, the West bank and Gaza, and the occupation of Jerusalem is illegal. The UN Security Council (UNSC) has officially declared Israeli-occupied territories to be "the Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem." The Security Council made that declaration in 27 UNSC Resolutions. A conference of the parties to the 4th Geneva Convention, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Israeli Supreme Court have also resolved that these territories are occupied. The court said:"Judea and Samaria [West Bank] and the Gaza area are lands seized during warfare, and are not part of Israel.” In international law, acquisition of territory by Military conquest is illegal.And regarding Jerusalem, Israel lacks any legal basis for sovereignty in Jerusalem. UNGA resolution 181, under whose aegis Israel declared statehood, declared Jerusalem to be an international city, “corpus separatum,” managed under UN auspices. In 1980 the Knesset passed the “Basic Law” which declared Jerusalem “complete and unified” the capital of Israel. The “Basic Law” is a violation of UNSC resolutions 476 & 478. UNSC resolution 478 declared the Knesset “Basic Law” null and void and 476 declared any demographic changes in Jerusalem a violation of int’l law and a breach of the Geneva Convention: prosecutable as a war crime. Israel settlements built on occupied Palestinian territory are a violation of article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention: transfer of the population of an occupying power to occupied territory. Breaches of the Convention are prosecutable as war crimes before the International Criminal Court. (ICC).Israel is in violation of more UN resolutions than all the nations of the world combined. The Israeli blockade of Gaza is a violation of article 33 of the 4th Geneva Convention: collective punishment of a civilian population. Israel has no historic right to Judea, Samaria or Jerusalem. Since 1020 BC when the first Israelite kingdom was founded, until today, 3,038 years, Jews have held sovereignty in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem only 513 years, and not since 63 BC. There is no international law that entertains irredentist claims. Both the FBI and the Department of Justice have released statements that Israel is the second most active nation conducting espionage operations in the United States. China is first. Israel deliberately attacked the USS Liberty in international waters in 1967, and tried to sink it with all hands aboard. The attack killed 34 crewmen and wounded 171. Israel claimed the attack was a mistake. The US intelligence community proved the attack was deliberate. Unknown to Israel, a US EC121 recon aircraft was in the area and recorded Israeli pilots calling their ops center and reporting that the ship was American. They were instructed to continue with the attack. Israel was executing Egyptian POWs in the Sinai, and Israel was afraid the USS Liberty had intercepted Israeli radio transmissions about the killings. Executing POWs is a war crime.

Many people publish pictures like these, they said it's reflecting Syria's image before the war. But a lot of people don't know the real situation inside Syria, which pushed Syrians to revolution.However, you should know the following:The salary rate in Syria was very low (between $ 100 and $ 400 per month). Compared with the price of the cheapest car (the Iranian Saba), the price is $ 20,000, the person must work ten years to collect the price. The same goes for flats, where the smallest flat's price is $ 30,000.You can not get a job without paying bribes.The level of corruption is very high, you can not get your rights in the courts without paying bribes to the judges.[1]All this has not made you aware of political life, in two words: political life is dead. One party ruled the country 50 years ago, and came to power through a military coup (8/3/1963), which controls all aspects of life, and begins to organize children to it's cadres at the age of six years.And the conversation goes on…so, I’ll copy the World Report about Syria 2008 from Human Right Watch[2] >>Syria emerged from its international isolation in 2008, but its human rights record remains very poor. The authorities arrested political and human rights activists, censored websites, detained bloggers, and imposed travel bans. Emergency rule, imposed in 1963, remains in effect and Syria's multiple security agencies continue to detain people without arrest warrants.The Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), an exceptional court with almost no procedural guarantees, sentenced 75 people in 2008, mostly Islamists, to long prison terms. Syrian Kurds, the country's largest ethnic minority, continue to protest their treatment as second-class citizens. Months after military police shot and killed rioting inmates at Sednaya military prison, no information has been disclosed about casualties.Political Activists on TrialStarting in December 2007, the Syrian security services detained over 40 political activists who attended a meeting of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration, comprising a number of opposition groups. While most were released within 48 hours, the authorities referred 12, including former member of parliament Riad Seif, to the Damascus Criminal Court, which sentenced them on October 29, 2008, to 30 months in prison on charges of "weakening national sentiment," and "spreading false news affecting the country's morale." On May 7, 2008, security services detained writer and political analyst Habib Saleh for articles critical of the government and in defense of opposition figure Riad al-Turk. He is awaiting trial on multiple charges, including "weakening national sentiment."The SSSC sentenced over 75 people in 2008 on various grounds, including membership in the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Kurdish activism, membership in unauthorized political groups, and independent criticism of the government.On April 23 the Military Court in Damascus sentenced Kamal al-Labwani, a physician and founder of the Democratic Liberal Gathering, to a three-year prison term for reportedly "insulting the authorities" while in prison, in addition to the 12-year term he received in 2007 for having advocated peaceful reform while visiting the United States and Europe.In a welcome move, on August 7 authorities released economics professor Dr. `Arif Dalila, a proponent of political liberalization who was serving a 10-year sentence for "attempting to change the constitution by illegal means."Freedom of ExpressionSyrian authorities continue to restrict freedom of expression, and an independent press remains nonexistent. The government has extended to online outlets restrictions it applies to other media, detaining journalists for posting information online. Syrian internet censorship extends to popular websites such as Google's blogging engine, Blogspot, as well as Facebook and YouTube.On April 7 the SSSC sentenced writer and poet Firas Sa`ad to four years in jail for "weakening national sentiment" after he published articles on the website www.ahewar.org in which he defended a call for improved relations between Lebanon and Syria and criticized the Syrian army's role in the July 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. On May 11 the SSSC sentenced to three years in prison blogger Tarek Biasi, 23, whom the government detained in July 2007 for "insulting security services" and "weakening national sentiment." At this writing, Karim `Arbaji, 29, moderator of popular online youth forum www.akhawia.net, is on trial for "spreading false information that may weaken national sentiment."Arbitrary Detention, Torture, and "Disappearances"Syria's multiple security services continue to detain people without arrest warrants and frequently refuse to disclose their whereabouts for weeks and sometimes months, in effect forcibly disappearing them. On August 15 Syrian security services detained Mash`al al-Temmo, spokesperson for the Kurdish Future Current in Syria, an unauthorized political party, while he was driving alone at night, and held him incommunicado for 11 days. The security services are also believed to hold a small number of detainees who were arrested in Pakistan in recent years and held for a time in secret CIA custody.Human Rights Watch received numerous reports of ill-treatment and torture by security agencies. In January, eight of the 12 detainees of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration reported that State Security officers beat them during interrogation, including prominent writer `Ali al-Abdullah who suffered ear injuries. A Kurdish activist showed Human Rights Watch photos of bruises he said Political Security officers inflicted on him in July 2008 during interrogation. At least 11 of the 75 people sentenced in 2008 by the SSSC had told the court that security agencies tortured them.On July 5 military police opened fire on rioting inmates in Sednaya prison. A number of inmates and prison guards were reportedly killed, but authorities have released no information on the number or names of those killed and wounded.As in previous years, the government failed to acknowledge security force involvement in the "disappearances" of an estimated 17,000 persons, mostly Muslim Brotherhood members and other Syrian activists detained by the government in the late 1970s and early 1980s as well as hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinians detained in Syria or abducted from Lebanon. The vast majority remains unaccounted for and many are believed to have been killed.Human Rights DefendersHuman rights activists continue to be targets of government harassment and arrest. On April 22 a military court sentenced Ahmad al-Hajji al-Khalaf, a board member of the Arab Organization for Human Rights in Syria, to five days in jail for criticizing appointments at the Ministry of Education. Similarly, on June 23 a military court sentenced Mazen Darwish, president of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, to five days in jail for reporting on violent clashes in the Damascus suburb of `Adra. On June 29 a military court sentenced Muhammad Badi` Dek al-Bab, a member of the National Organization for Human Rights, to six months in jail for articles in which he criticized the government for detaining intellectuals.The government continues to prevent activists from traveling abroad, and in some cases, their families also. The number of activists banned from traveling is estimated to be in the hundreds.All Syrian human rights groups remain unlicensed, as officials consistently deny their requests for registration.Discrimination and Repression against KurdsKurds, Syria's largest non-Arab ethnic minority, comprise about 10 percent of the population of 19 million. They remain subject to systematic discrimination, including the arbitrary denial of citizenship to an estimated 300,000 Syria-born Kurds. Authorities suppress expressions of Kurdish identity, including the teaching of Kurdish in schools. On March 20, 2008, Syrian internal security forces opened fire on Kurds celebrating the Kurdish New Year in the town of Qamishli, leaving three dead.On September 14 a military court sentenced 50 Kurds to six months in jail for demonstrating against the 2005 assassination of Kurdish leader Sheikh Ma`shuq al-Khaznawi. Security officials detained a number of Kurdish political activists, including Muhammad Musa, secretary of the Syrian Kurdish Left Party, and Mash`al al-Temmo and Omran al-Sayyid, leaders in the Kurdish Future Current in Syria. At this writing, all three face trial.Women's RightsSyria's constitution guarantees gender equality, and many women are active in public life, but personal status laws and the penal code contain provisions that discriminate against women and girls. The penal code allows a judge to suspend punishment for a rapist if the rapist chooses to marry his victim, and provides leniency for "honor" crimes. While the number of honor crimes is unknown, the Syrian Women's Observatory, an unlicensed group, documented at least 10 in 2008, including the killing in April of a 14-year-old by her brother because she had a relationship with another teenager.According to media reports, a committee tasked with drafting a law against human trafficking submitted a draft to the Council of Ministers in July 2008. At this writing, the draft had not yet been made public or referred to Parliament.Situation of Refugees Fleeing IraqSyria hosts the largest number of Iraqi refugees, estimated at 1 to 1.5 million, and provides them with access to public hospitals and schools but prohibits them from working. Since 2007 Syria has implemented increasingly restrictive visa and entry requirements for Iraqi refugees. Combined with the lack of employment in Syria and a relative improvement in the security situation in Iraq, this led thousands of Iraqi refugees to return to Iraq in early 2008: in May the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that only slightly more Iraqis entered Syria each day than left for Iraq. Syria continues to refuse entry to Palestinians fleeing Iraq. At this writing, several hundred remain at makeshift camps in the no-man's-land between Iraqi and Syrian border checkpoints; with thousands more in camps on the Iraqi side close to the border.Key International ActorsSyria emerged from its international isolation in 2008, with French President Sarkozy and other high-level foreign dignitaries visiting Damascus. However, the renewed ties have had little impact on Syria's human rights record. During 2008 the European Union issued public statements expressing concern over the human rights situation in Syria and calling for the release of all political prisoners, although in September Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, indicated that the EU might be willing to resume talks on an Association Agreement, which were frozen following the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri in February 2005.Iran continues to be Syria's main regional ally, and the two countries increased their cooperation in the military and economic spheres. Saudi Arabia and Syria exchanged sharp criticism over regional roles, highlighting tensions between the two countries.Footnotes[1] Corruption Perceptions Index 2008[2] World Report 2009: Rights Trends in Syria