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Itay Epshtain

@EpshtainItay

Apr 23

Alarming reports from last night's #Israeli War Cabinet meeting: Minister of Defense @Israel_katz confirmed that aid - delivered by impartial humanitarian organizations - would not be allowed into #Gaza, and relief, if and when provided, would be handed out by private US-based military security companies.

Katz was immediately contradicted by his Co-Minister of Defense, @bezalelsm, who argued that, in any event, obstructing humanitarian relief is critical to the Israeli war effort and the implementation of the '@realDonaldTrump Plan' for the mass deportation of #Palestinians.

With only minute differences between them, both Katz and Smotrich should be investigated and indicted by @IntlCrimCourt Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC for the war crimes of intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies; and unlawful deportation or transfer.

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Itay Epshtain

@EpshtainItay

Apr 19

In two weeks, #Israel's parliament, Knesset, will come back to the spring legislative session. It will consider the draft bill tabled by Amit Halevi (Likud) to 'apply the rule, law, and administration of Israel to Judea and Samaria.' A short thread on what sets this draft bill apart from previous legislative attempts at annexation of occupied #Palestinian territory:

1/3 The author - a pundit of Israeli acquisition of occupied territory by force - is cognizant of the twenty previously tabled bills to annex the West Bank and Gaza, and wishing to appear more pragmatic, suggests a phased approach, beginning with the West Bank (with #Gaza to follow). To the 3 million #Palestinians residing in the West Bank, the draft bill offers a five-year 'temporary residence,' after which they may apply for 'permanent residence' under draconian measures (e.g., relinquished housing, land, and property rights).

2/3 The explanatory note attached to the draft bill juxtaposes the (erroneous) 'application of sovereignty' through belligerent occupied to the military government with the application of Israeli rule, legislation, and administration, noting that the former undermines the "absolute just claim of ownership over the Land of Israel (...) to first be applied to Judea and Samaria."

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Itay Epshtain

@EpshtainItay

Apr 16

BREAKING; #Israel's Minister of Defense @Israel_katz publicly announces what humanitarians have been informally told by Israeli officials: 1/2 Obstruction of humanitarian relief to #Gaza's civilians is a means to accomplish a military objective - unseating Hamas, where all else has failed. (Read: the use of starvation as a method of warfare).

2/2 No plans to lift the absolute besiegement of Gaza and ban on humanitarian relief schemes are considered. If and when Israel allows for aid, it would be exclusively delivered by private military security companies operating on its behalf (Read: the militarization of humanitarian response in order to accomplish military objectives in breach of principles of neutrality, independence and impartiality).

By doing so, #Israel hopes to evade responsibility for grave breaches of #IHL codified as war crimes (e.g., the destruction of property, the starvation of the civilian population, and its forcible transfer). However, The 'Montreux Document on pertinent international legal obligations and good practices for States related to operations of private military and security companies during armed conflict' establishes that governmental officials, whether they are military commanders or civilian superiors, or directors or managers of PMSCs, may be liable for crimes under international law committed by PMSC personnel under their effective authority and control.

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Itay Epshtain

@EpshtainItay

Apr 5

Good morning from the Hague, where the International Bar Association War Crimes Committee is convened to discuss impunity's impact on international law. Looking forward to contributing to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes, and the protection of civilians during armed conflict.

As we discuss defending humanity in hostilities, the suggestion that #Israel alone should investigate this egregious incident - with evidence brought forward by @PalestineRCS of the murder of protected medical personnel - is an insult to justice and the sacrosanct rules of #IHL.

In February 2024, more than a year ago, #Israel's Military Advocate General wrote to senior commanders: "(...) We also encounter wrongful acts deviating from IDF principles and orders. These include (...) use of force without military necessity, including against detainees, pillage including expropriating private property with no military necessity, and the destruction of civilian objects in breach of orders. Several incidents exceed disciplinary infractions and cross into criminality." Despite this internal reflection on war crimes perpetrated by Israeli forces, next to nothing was done to investigate, prosecute or prevent their recurrence. In other words, Israel cannot be trusted with respecting and ensuring respect for international humanitarian law, that must be the role of the @IntlCrimCourt and of third States.

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Itay Epshtain

@EpshtainItay

Apr 4

Next time you hear about #Israeli settler violence directed at #Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, remember this: it is initiated and controlled by Israeli central and local government. Seen earlier today, Minister of Defense @bezalelsm and Minister of Settlements @oritstrock arming extremists of the settlement outposts on the outskirts of Hebron.

Art. 8 of the @UN International Law Commission (ILC) Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts is clear: "The conduct of a person or group of persons shall be considered an act of a State under international law if the person or group of persons is in fact acting on the instructions of, or under the direction or control of, that State in carrying out the conduct."

The State of Israel is responsible for directly allocating funds to regional and local settlement councils for "security," which are used for hiring security coordinators and arming volunteer civilian guard squads who terrorize Palestinians. Israeli ministers and senior officials incite violence to forcibly displace Palestinian communities in a premeditated plan to acquire territory.

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Itay Epshtain

@EpshtainItay

Apr 4

When it comes to the permanent acquisition of the West Bank and #Gaza, #Israel has always considered annexation by administrative means, falling short of formal deceleration. In this classified protocol of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committees, from July 1967, the Military Commander of the Gaza Strip, Col. Aviv Barzilay says: "The more we take action that means that we have not come to the (Gaza) Strip in order to leave (...) it proves to its inhabitants that our plans are long-term and not transitional, and that is reflected in (their) cooperation."

Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan clarified: "(it is) true that there is military rule (of occupied territory), and formally, only the IDF is responsible for everything. But in reality, the government decrees that every Israeli ministry is responsible for its area of competence in liberated territories."

In its 2024 Advisory Opinion, the International Court of Justice @CIJ_ICJ noted that all forms of annexation are equally prohibited, amounting to an act of aggression - the acquisition of territory by the threat or use of force, leading it to conclude that Israel's presence in the oPt is unlawful.

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