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Itay Epshtain

@EpshtainItay

Sep 1

In a statement issued last month, #Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs @IsraelMFA made two of its tired and erroneous legal claims to the occupied #Palestinian territory of the West Bank and #Gaza (as was parroted by the ‘GREAT Trust’ exposed by @washingtonpost @catebrown12): The Uti Possidetis Doctrine and the Missing Reversioner Doctrine. Both were rejected by the International Court of Justice 2024 Advisory Opinion, as I will show in this thread:

1/6 In the context of international law, uti possidetis initially described the situation on the ground after an armed conflict, and the right to territory acquired through conflict. This notion of uti possidetis is no longer admissible since the established peremptory norm on aggression precludes the use of force for any acquisition of territory. Nevertheless, Israel knowingly bases itself on antiquated law.
The @CIJ_ICJ noted that following WWI, the territorial boundaries of Mandatory Palestine were laid down by various instruments. However, in November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181, which included a “Plan of Partition” for the territory between two independent States, one Arab and the other Jewish, as well as the creation of a special international regime for the City of Jerusalem.

2/6 In reverting to uti possidetis and rejecting Resolution 181, Israel is undercutting the basis of its admission to the @UN, and its duty to comply with the decisions of the Security Council according to Article 25 of the Charter. In May 1949, when it admitted Israel as a Member State of the United Nations, the General Assembly recalled resolution 181 and took note of Israel’s declarations “in respect of the implementation of the said resolution.” Moreover, in November 1967, the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 242, which “emphasized the inadmissibility of acquisition of territory by war” and called for the “withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict.”

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Itay Epshtain

@EpshtainItay

Aug 31

BREAKING: The #Gaza Reconstruction Acceleration and Transformation Trust (GREAT), exposed by @washingtonpost, is the twisted brainchild of @BCG, commissioned by @POTUS and @SecRubio to design a great breach of peremptory norms of international law. A short thread:

1/4 The @UN International Law Commission codified in 2022 the peremptory norms of international law (jus cogens), from which no derogation is permitted, to include the prohibition of aggression and genocide, the basic rules of IHL, and the right of self-determination of peoples. The 'GREAT' aims to systemically breach these sacrosanct norms.

@UN 2/4 The foremost aim of 'GREAT' is the the acquisition of Gaza's territory by the use of force - by Israel and the US as co-conspirators - and the suppression of Palestinian political independence and territorial integrity.

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Itay Epshtain

@EpshtainItay

Aug 26

1/3 This is Amichai Chikli, a blatant racist who serves as #Israel's Minister of 'Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism.' In a bid for political relevance - competing with other bigoted politicians who promote atrocities against #Palestinians - he set out to eradicate impartial humanitarian relief.

2/3 Come September 9, Chikli - according to his recent admission - will exclude independent and impartial humanitarian organizations from providing aid to Palestinians in dire need in the West Bank and #Gaza. Those who are allowed to stay and deliver would do so under condition of subservience to Israel's whims and illicit acts of forcible transfer, deportation and annexation. These are the "security, laws, and foreign policy" considerations espoused by Chikli.

3/3 Chikli - on behalf of Israel's government - rejectes the absolute duty of an Occupying Power to agree - on behalf of and in the interest of occupied peoples - offers of humanitarian relief made by impartial humanitarian organizations, and the corollary duty to facilitate their presence and activities. In other words, Israel has no latitude to refuse organizations on capricious, arbitrary or unlawful grounds.

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Itay Epshtain

@EpshtainItay

Aug 6

#Israel is set to expand its #Gaza offensive, in what amounts to 'Debellatio.' A short thread on the supreme international crime:
1/3 war of debilitation is characterized by the unlawful intent and attempt to bring the complete destruction and disintegration of all public life and institutions.

2/3 Debellatio was a legal construct during a period when States were free to wage war for territorial gain. However, in contemporary international law, that would be an act of aggression.

3/3 The concept of 'debellatio,' including the complete and total defeat of an adversary, and the taking of "spoils of war" (the territory and sovereignty of the vanquished belligerent) has been outlawed. Time we call #Israel's war in #Gaza what it is - a crime of #aggression.

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Itay Epshtain

@EpshtainItay

Jul 13

BREAKING: Former #Israel Minister of Intelligence @GilaGamliel (@Likud_Party, the current Minister of Science) fabricates the October 2023 plan for mass deportation of #Palestinians from #Gaza, in a purported attempt to avoid complicity in the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer. A thread:

1/3 On 13 October 2023, the Ministry of Intelligence circulated a white paper, calling for the forcible transfer of the civilian population to Rafah, leading to mass deportation to tent cities in northern Sinai, their eventual resettlement there, and the fortification of the Gaza-Egypt frontier, so they may not return.

2/3 Last week, Minister Gamlil recirculated a fabricated version of her criminal plan. While it bears the same date (13 October 2023), it was doctored to refer to "voluntary humanitarian evacuation" to Sinai, and references to forced resettlement and non-repartation were omitted.

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Itay Epshtain

@EpshtainItay

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.

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.

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.”

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