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Top foreign military officials to ICC: Don’t arrest Netanyahu, Gallant
The Higher Level Military Group has submitted a legal brief to the International Criminal Court seeking to convince the judges to reject a request by ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan for arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The specific legal group includes top former military generals and military legal officials from several North American and European countries who, in July, visited a wide variety of IDF bases and humanitarian aid sites at both higher-level and lower-level command levels throughout Israel and Gaza.
In the brief, the group addresses Khan’s two main thrusts for prosecuting Netanyahu and Gallant: charges of alleged starvation and charges of alleged deliberate killing of Palestinians by the IDF under orders.
Regarding the charges of starvation, the brief finds that Israel and the IDF’s humanitarian efforts were initially delayed by several days of fighting to expel the Hamas invasion, which went on for the greater part of the week after October 7 as well as another week of initial massive deployment efforts of around 100,000 troops to the Gaza front, many of whom also lacked proper food and supplies at times.However, from October 21 onward, the group found that the IDF facilitated humanitarian aid convoys (initially via the Nitzana Crossing).
Further, the group said that there is no war crime for first providing aid to one’s troops at a minimal level before facilitating aid to a foreign civilian population and that the delay was short-lived and did not lead to starvation, given the food and supplies previously stocked up in Gaza.
Next, the group calls out Khan for implying that Israel closed the Erez and Rafah crossings when Hamas destroyed the Erez Crossing, and the Rafah crossing has always been a mixed project between Israel and Egypt.
Arguments over whether Kerem Shalom crossing could have opened earlier
Regarding the Kerem Shalom crossing, which was only opened in mid-December, there are complex arguments about whether it could not be opened earlier because the IDF did not have sufficient security control in northern Gaza to keep the crossing and aid coming from it safe or whether there were internal Israeli political issues, but generally the group argues that there is no evidence of Israel wholesale blocking aid.
Rather, the group asserts that the IDF set innovative and high standards for providing aid in a complex urban warfare zone where Hamas was trying to steal or siphon the aid away from its own civilian population, making the challenges involved beyond anything that other democracies have had to contend with.
In addressing targeting issues, the group said that the IDF had developed innovative technologies to help move and map out the movements of large Palestinian civilian groups to ensure their safety despite massive security challenges.
According to the brief, the IDF is up against a unique enemy in that Hamas systematically uses its civilian population and their civilian buildings, like hospitals, mosques, and schools, as human shields.
Further, the brief noted that Hamas fired 10,000 rockets into Israel’s home front, including ongoing through July and August, something that Western militaries have not had to face.
Most importantly, the group interviewed forward commanders and troops and found that their understanding of the laws of war corresponded to proper views as directed by the IDF legal division.
From the perspective of the ICC’s own laws, the brief said that it was premature for Khan to get involved when the IDF was still in the early and middle stages of probing its own alleged war crimes.
In fact, the group said that the IDF is now probing around 300 possible war crimes from the current war, nearly double the previous number reported.
On July 19, the Jerusalem Post exclusively reported that the IDF legal division had opened around 75 full criminal probes, while there were another around 60 operational probes, for a total of under 150.
This was a significant update from May 27 when IDF Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi publicly announced that she had opened around 70 criminal probes to date.
The group said that Khan could not make even any initial conclusions about potential war crimes for Netanyahu and Gallant without evidence about whether the soldiers who they allegedly ordered to commit war crimes, in fact, perpetrated such crimes.
Rather, the group said that it was quite possible that the broader IDF apparatus directed by Netanyahu and Gallant acted properly, but that there were a number of incidents of failures by middle and lower level commanders.
As an example, the group noted that the IDF had coordinated 16,000 aid deliveries since the start of the war, with only a few leading to incidents.
However, the group noted that most of the world’s attention tends to focus on such individual incidents as when the IDF mistakenly killed seven aid workers of the World Central Kitchen (three top IDF officers were either fired or reprimanded) and not on almost all of the 16,000 successful aid deliveries.
One problem Israel has faced is that there is currently no probe of government officials, though the Post has reported exclusively recently that such an independent state inquiry is being highly considered to avoid ICC intervention.
The ICC is not supposed to intervene if a country proves its own alleged war crimes.
Overall, the group said that if the ICC goes after Netanyahu and Gallant, it will have created a new standard which essentially no democracies will be able to live up to if facing an asymmetric enemy like Hamas or ISIS, who uses civilians as human shields systematically.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday put him at odds with the IDF regarding how many haredi the military can absorb in a short amount of time.
Netanyahu said that while he was in favor of increasing haredi integration into the IDF, in practicality, the military needed more time to establish haredi-tailored programs and environments for this to be successful.
The prime minister’s remark comes days after top IDF officials presented a series of highly specific, customized programs for the ultra-Orthodox that are either already open or are “ready to go” as soon as the haredi respond to their military summons. This directly contradicts the prime minister’s words during the briefing.
Netanyahu spoke to the committee in a closed and classified hearing, but portions of what he said were, nevertheless, publicized, including his comments regarding haredi integration into the IDF.
When asked about the issue, Netanyahu said, “We would prefer that anyone who is not studying [in a yeshiva] share the burden [of military service.] But right now, there is a gap between what the army says it can absorb and what it can absorb, so the absorption capacity of the IDF needs to be increased.”
He added that there were intentions to create new frameworks that would allow the haredi to maintain their way of life as well as to respond to operational needs, such as establishing an ultra-Orthodox base along the border with Jordan that would be responsible for defense there.
How to fulfill the IDF’s need for more soldiers
Besides that example, Netanyahu said that the army’s need for more soldiers could be filled by extending the service of mandatory service soldiers as well as calling up a variety of reservists from among the population living in border communities who never responded to their call-ups or were given exemptions.
In contrast to Netanyahu’s statements, seeming to indicate that the IDF cannot absorb a significant increase of haredi men, the military has said repeatedly, dating back to August, that it has been ready to receive an additional 3,000 haredi per year, on top of the approximately 1,800 per year it has already been absorbing.
The announcement in August and the sending of summons to 3,000 members of the ultra-Orthodox community came after months of extensive work and the investment of significant resources to prepare both personnel and bases for a new, major influx.
One new option for service that the IDF has already added for the haredi to make their service more attractive is serving in technical and logistical capacities at hardened aircraft shelters at an air force base section where only men will serve.
Another new option is called the Yoav Track in logistics command centers, which includes fulfilling a wide variety of technical and logistic roles throughout the military, and not just in the Israel Air Force.
Also, though Netanyahu said that the IDF should look into forming a new haredi brigade, the military had already announced last week that on December 26, it would open one, distinct from Netzach Yehuda.
Netzach Yehuda had been the brigade that most of the haredi wanted to join to date. However, it has turned off many of the ultra-orthodox because it has a reputation for being more religious Zionist in nature than haredi.
Additionally, there is a recently established unit of haredi serving at the Ofer detention center, and that program is expected to grow.
Further, a Lt.-Col. with a hassidic Chabad background, who has joined the army. He will be focused on haredi affairs and making sure new inductees are comfortable and are having their needs addressed.
Despite a detailed presentation last week about all of these new service mediums as being already established for haredim, a spokesperson for Netanyahu doubled down on the claim that the IDF was still lacking in its capacity to absorb a major influx of haredi soldiers.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
British rocker Paul Weller, Scottish band Primal Scream, and Irish rappers Kneecap will headline a ‘Gig For Gaza’ charity show at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on Dec. 13.
Weller, the former frontman for 1970s punk pioneers The Jam, is curating the show, with all proceeds going to organizations Medical Aid For Palestinians and Gaza Forever, which purportedly provide essential aid – including food, medical supplies, and emergency shelter – for Gazans who have been forced to flee their homes due to the Israel-Hamas War.
“This is an opportunity to enjoy a night of powerful music and make a tangible difference in the lives of people facing unimaginable hardship,” a press release for the show said. The concert will also feature guest speakers and short films.
Weller of Primal Scream performed with Palestinian flag
During a recent tour of the US, Weller, a longtime advocate for leftwing causes, performed with a Palestinian flag draped over his guitar amplifier. Speaking onstage from Glasgow, Scotland, last month, Weller said, “I would like to dedicate that last song to all the tens of thousands of women, children, babies, men, civilians in Palestine and Gaza. I would ask you one question. It’s really simple. There is no grey area. Are you for genocide, or are you against it? It’s a f–-king yes or no question…”
Over the summer, Primal Scream, which formed in the 1980s, gave their support for a jersey design for a Palestinian refugee football team based on their classic record ‘Screamadelica.’
In March, Kneecap withdrew from performing at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, after it was revealed that the US Army was a “super sponsor” of the event as well as defense contractor RTX Corporation.
“It is done in solidarity with the people of Palestine and to highlight the unacceptable deep links the festival has to weapons companies,” the group explained of their decision via Instagram. “This will have a significant financial impact on Kneecap… but it isn’t an iota of hardship when compared with the suffering being inflicted on the people of Gaza.
None of the artists appearing nor promo material for the concert mentioned the 101 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, nor the October 7 massacre that killed over 1,200 Israelis and sparked the current war aimed at toppling Hamas.
David Brinn contributed to this report.
Support for a two-state solution in the Middle East among Arab Americans and Palestinians residing in the West Bank and Gaza is on the rise, according to two recent surveys.
The more recent survey from YouGov and Arab News was published on Tuesday. The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) published the other in September.
A survey of Arab Americans leading up to the US presidential elections found that half of those polled (50%) believed in seeking a two-state solution.
The poll touched upon the future of the conflict and possible resolutions to see its conclusion. Half of Arab-Americans polled believed in seeking a two-state solution with shared governance over Jerusalem. 34% believe that there should be one state where Israelis and Palestinians have equal rights, and 9% stated that they were unsure.A separate poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in September found that support for the concept of the two-state solution among Palestinians continues to rise and has the support of 39% of those polled.
According to PSR, three months prior, support for two states stood at around 32%. Figures were taken from Gaza and the West Bank, at 39% and 38%, respectively.
However, when asked about a separate Palestinian state not linked to the “two-state solution” and when state borders are identified as those of 1967, support rises to 59%, PSR found.
Half of the respondents prefer the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, while 19% prefer a confederation between the two states of Palestine and Israel. Only 10% prefer establishing a single state with equality between Israelis and Palestinians.
When asked about solving the conflict and reaching statehood, nearly half of Palestinian respondents (48%) said they would choose “armed struggle” as a way to achieve it (50% in the West Bank, 36% in Gaza).
However, a third said they preferred negotiations to end the conflict, and 15% said they would like to see popular peaceful resistance.
International calls for two-states
Recent US administrations and other global actors have called for the end to the ongoing war and to reach a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.
The Biden administration has attempted to broker a hostage and ceasefire deal as a first step. In remarks made ahead of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in September, US President Joe Biden reiterated his support for a two-state solution.
“As we look ahead, we must also address the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank and set the conditions for a better future, including a two-state solution, where the world — where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition and normalized relations with all its neighbors, where Palestinians live in security, dignity, and self-determination in a state of their own,” Biden said.
The survey conducted by Arab News and YouGov was conducted using a sample of 500 Arab Americans across the United States from September 26 to October 1, 2024. The survey data have a margin of error of +/- 5.93%.
The poll conducted by PSR comprised a sample size of 1,200 people, of whom 790 were interviewed face-to-face in the West Bank and 410 in Gaza. The margin of error stood at +/-3.5%.
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