Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Itay Epshtain Profile picture
@EpshtainItay
May 8, 2023 • 9 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
BREAKING: #Israel's 2023 (top up)-2024 "special budget allocation" (beyond the regular state budget): 75 million ILS (20 million USD) to forcibly transfer #Palestinians from Area C of the West Bank (e.g., by destroying humanitarian aid), and 404 million ILS (111 million USD)… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
Furthering the annexation of occupied #Palestinian territory on February 23' with the transfer of powers to Israel's civil government, the allocations are to the Ministry of National Missions, headed by Orit Strook (Religion Zionism - Jewish Power). Image
In practice, #Israeli settlers - through regional and local councils - will be tasked and equipped to "search and destroy" #Palestinian property and humanitarian assistance they accepted. Image
To fully understand how the current #Israeli government weaponizes settlement councils to forcibly transfer #Palestinians from Area C () we must go back to their inception, beginning with the 1970 Allon Plan, outlining parts of the West Bank to be annexed… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
In 1978, Matityahu Drobless gave the settlement cluster approach effect in his plan, which to this day serves as the "master plan" for the establishment - in breach of peremptory norms of international law - settlements, settlements outpost, and satellite neighborhoods, within a… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
42 years later, in July 2020, the Israeli military commander addressed the Israeli parliament and reflected on the priorities for the destruction of Palestinian property and humanitarian aid provided to them in Area C, and their eventual forcible transfer following the Drobless… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
The 6 settlement regional councils, whose representatives are seen here in a recent picture with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister of Justice Levin, have extended their powers beyond Area C to control the entirety of the West Bank including those areas allocated to the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… ImageImage
Their political vision goes well beyond the proliferation of settlements, toward the annexation in full of the West Bank to Israel. Image
And it does not stop there, the "area separated and closed to Jewish settlement" - which today forms Jordan - is within sight of future acquisition. Image

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Itay Epshtain

Itay Epshtain Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @EpshtainItay

Itay Epshtain Profile picture
Jul 9
1/5 The Assembly of States Parties to the @IntlCrimCourt concludes its special session on the crime of aggression today. Over the past three days, it has considered amendments to the exercise of the Court’s jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. The #US, not a State party, was present, on the behest of #Israel, in order to intimidate and coerce others from pursuing criminal justice for the supreme international crime.Image
2/5 The proposed amendment, under debate, seeks to ensure that all States Parties are equally subject to the Court’s jurisdiction over aggression, allowing the Court to exercise its jurisdiction over the crime of aggression even when committed by nationals of a State that is not a party to the Statute or when committed on its territory and established a jurisdictional framework that applies uniformly to all core crime.Image
3/4 US State Department Legal Advisor Reed Rubinstein – who vowed during his March 2025 nomination hearing to serve “national interests above all else” – intervened and threatened the Court and the State parties with “diplomatic, political, and legal instruments to block @IntlCrimCourt overreach.” Coercion was clear: the #US expects “all ICC actions against the United States and our ally #Israel-that is, all investigations and all arrest warrants-to be terminated. If not, all options remain on the table.”Image
Image
Read 6 tweets
Itay Epshtain Profile picture
Jul 8
The parallels are uncanny... Image
Together with a copy of the @DonaldTrump nomination letter handed over by @netanyahu is a petition from his party, @Likud_Party, to seek endorsement of the October 23' Ministry of Intelligence plan (at the time, headed by Gila Gamliel) for mass deportation from #Gaza. Image
Image
Image
The criminal endeavour, now referred to as the 'Gamliel-Trump Plan,' outlines the four stages: 1. A call on #Palestinian civilians to vacate north #Gaza and allow for land operations; 2. Sequential land operations from north to south, Gaza; 3. Leaving routes open across Rafah; 4. Establishing "tent cities" in northern Sinai and the construction of cities to resettle Palestinians in #Egypt.
Read 5 tweets
Itay Epshtain Profile picture
Jun 3
First, there was the #Gaza pier, which floated away before delivering any meaningful aid, then there were the airdrops, which landed in the Mediterranean, when they didn't kill or injure Palestinians. Now, there are the sham humanitarians - brandishing assault rifles - of the "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation" setting up death traps for Gazans starved by #Israel.Image
Image
Image
It is all an attempt to obfuscate the intentional use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and territorial conquest. A distraction from the grave breaches and serious violations of interntional law. A ruse leading to the death of thousands.
The answer has always been clear. Israel must adhere to its duty, as the occupying power, to facilitate independent and impartial humanitarian relief, free from any military, political, or economic interference, offered by impartial humanitarian organizations, across the
occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza. Lifting the near-total siege and blockade on Gaza, and taking action to prevent further forcible transfer and starvation, is the absolute minimum. What we see now is diametrically opposed, and criminal.
Read 9 tweets
Itay Epshtain Profile picture
May 21
The @EUCouncil's 'qualified majority' decision to review #Israel's adherence to Article 2 of the Association Agreement raises an unresolved EU procedural law matter. A thread for those interested in the more technical aspects (which could have major legal and political implications):Image
1/3 Article 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU, the founding treaty of the EU, signed in 1957 and revised in 2007) regulates agreements between the Union and third countries, such as Israel. There are three stages to it:
- The @EUCouncil authorises the opening of negotiations and adopts negotiating directives
- The @EU_Commission and the @eu_eeas HR/VP submit recommendations to the Council
- After consulting the European Parliament @Europarl_EN, the Council must reach unanimity of member states to adopt a decision concluding the association agreementImage
2/3 Article 218(9) then provides that on recommendation from the HR/VP @kajakallas - pending said review - the Council may decide, again, unanimously, to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Therein lies the problem. The review will likely confirm that #Israel's actions in occupied #Palestinian territory amount to a grave breach of peremptory norms of international law (jus cogens), including, inter alia, the prohibition of aggression, the prohibition of genocide, the prohibition of crimes against humanity, the basic rules of international humanitarian law (and corollary war crimes), and the suppression of the right to self-determination.Image
Read 5 tweets
Itay Epshtain Profile picture
May 21
Ensuring respect for peremptory norms of international law, including the basic rules of IHL, is a legal duty under Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions and the rules on State Responsibility for Internationally Wrongful Acts. I'm encouraged by @FCDOGovUK @UKintlaw's recognition of that core legal tenet.
In 2020, the @ICRC Commentary on the Geneva Conventions confirmed the possible measures, some of which the UK has instituted, while others should be immediately considered in response to atrocity crimes:
– exerting diplomatic pressure by means of confidential protests or public denunciations
– applying measures of retorsion, such as the halting of ongoing negotiations or refusing to ratify agreements already signed, the non-renewal of trade privileges, and the reduction or suspension of voluntary public aid
– adopting lawful countermeasures such as arms embargoes, trade and financial restrictions, flight bans, and the reduction or suspension of aid and cooperation agreements
– resorting to penal measures to repress violations of humanitarian law and supporting international efforts, including by the @IntlCrimCourt, to bring suspected perpetrators of serious violations of IHL to justice
Yesterday, the @EUCouncil - led by @eucopresident and @eu_eeas Chief @kajakallast - decided to review #Israel's compliance with the EU Association Agreement, 'based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy.' What might that look like:
Read 6 tweets
Itay Epshtain Profile picture
May 12
ALERT: Yesterday, #Israel's War Cabinet approved the wholesale 'title registration' of West Bank land, completing its annexation, and entrenching Israel's unlawful presence. This unprecedented decision will deny millions of #Palestinians their housing, land, and property rights. Image
A two-prong legal analysis applies to this decision: 1/2 Up until July 2024, it was in breach of the rules of usufruct—under Article 43 and 55 of the Hague Regulations—according to which Israel, as the Occupying Power, is only a temporary administrator of occupied territory. Image
2/2 From July 2024, the @CIJ_ICJ advisory opinion maintains that Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful, and this "entails that the Occupying Power bears the duty to administer public property for the benefit of the local population or, exceptionally, to meet the needs of the army of occupation. In the present case, however, the public property confiscated or requisitioned for the development of Israeli settlements benefits the civilian population of settlers, to the detriment of the local Palestinian population." The Court concludes that to "seek to acquire sovereignty over an occupied territory, as shown by the policies and practices adopted by Israel in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, is contrary to the prohibition of the use of force in international
relations and its corollary principle of the non-acquisition of territory by force."
Read 8 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(