Last night, #Israel's War Cabinet approved a plan for partisan and militarized aid distribution in #Gaza, led by US-based private military security companies and the opaque 'Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.' Let's dig into the facts and law that underpin this facade of humanitarianism: 1/5 The 'Gaza Humanitarian Foundation' was registered in Switzerland earlier this year and is led by David Papazian (Former CEO of Armenian National Interests Fund), Samuel Marcel Henderson, and David Kohler (CEO of Kohler Co.). None have any apparent links to, or experience with, humanitarian relief.

A few observations on yesterday's intervention by @UN Counsel, the formidable Elinor Hammarskjöld @Elinorjbh, at the @CIJ_ICJ:
1/3 At the outset, the relevance of the Courts' 2024 Advisory Opinion on the unlawfulness of Israel's continued presence in the occupied #Palestinian territory was invoked. "#Israel's assertion of sovereignty over and its annexation of certain parts of the oPt constitute a violation of the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force." This cornerstone finding is relevant to the current proceeding, argued Hammarskjöld, because Israel must respect the "decisions of the representative of the Palestinian people to receive basic goods and services from the United Nations entities [and other impartial humanitarian organizations - IE] in order to fully enjoy their right to self-determination. Israel is bound to respect the decision of the Palestinian people on the manner in which the dependence of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza on Israel for the provision of basic goods and services should be reduced."
2/3 Second, Hammarskjöld laid out the continuum of humanitarian relief and development assistance in situations of prolonged belligerent occupation: "The content of relief schemes depends on the needs of the population of an occupied territory. The legal obligation covers those needs that have to be addressed immediately [e.g., food, water, shelter, and hygiene facilities]. The definition should also be understood to cover needs which may be more long-term, in particular in cases of prolonged occupation. For example, relief schemes to address long-term needs may include items that are essential for the construction and repair of certain infrastructures, including medical and sanitation facilities, and items and services to eradicate poverty." From that, it follows that relief schemes need to be adapted to the evolving needs. "The occupying Power must agree to such relief schemes, as adapted, and facilitate them."

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.

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).

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).

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.

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."

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."

The suppression of civic and humanitarian space by #Israel is nothing new, and predates the 1967 occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Case in point is Al-Ard ('The Land', founded 1958), an organization of #Palestinian citizens of Israel, designated as unlawful by Israel in 1964. A throwback: 1/3 In 1964 Al-Ard addressed a memorandum to the @UN Secretary General on the 'Arabs in Israel,' detailing the discriminatory policy pursued by the Government of Israel. In retaliation, the Israeli NGO Registrar re-registered the organization, a decision later upheld by the Israeli High Court of Justice.

BREAKING: In a joint statement, #Israel's co-ministers of defense @Israel_katz (Likud) and @bezalelsm (Religious Zionism) confirm the government's intention to permanently acquire, colonize, and annex the entirety of the occupied West Bank, at the expense of #Palestinian sovereignty.
1/5 This egregious plan includes the wanton and extensive destruction of Palestinian homes and humanitarian and development assistance - schools, health clinics, livelihoods - provided by @eu_echo, @EU_Commission, @EUCouncil member states, and @NorwayMFA and @FCDOGovUK, under the guise of maintaining public order.

Earlier today, in 64 pages of legal perversion, the #Israeli High Court of Justice effectively rejected the @Gisha_Access petition to order the government to agree and facilitate humanitarian relief to the civilian population of #Gaza. A short thread: 1/5 At the outset, Israel's constitutional court held that Gaza was not under belligerent occupation, absolving Israel from the duties of an occupant to restore and ensure, as far as possible, public order and life in the occupied territory.

Minister Amichai Chikli deliberately distorts facts and law. So, let’s correct this perversion once and for all:

1/6 International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) providing humanitarian and development assistance to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza do not seek to operate in #Israel but in #Palestinian territory, which Israel – according to the International Court of Justice - unlawfully occupies. 2/6 International Humanitarian Law (#IHL) is crystal clear: for as long as Israel continues to occupy the oPt, it has no latitude to refuse requests for humanitarian relief by the Palestinian people, it is their right to receive aid; nor is Israel allowed to deny impartial humanitarian organizations access to and presence in the occupied Palestinian territory; it is their right to provide aid.
As the occupant, Israel only has nominal control rights. It can, reasonably, satisfy itself that relief consignments and services are addressed to the population in need; and that relief consignments do, in fact, consist of relief supplies and do not contain weapons, munitions, or military equipment.

BREAKING: #Israel's Minister of Energy, Eli Cohen, orders the Israel Electrical Company to immediately cease power sale and transmission to Gaza. 1/3 In July 2024, the International Court of Justice @CIJ_ICJ determined that "Israel’s withdrawal from the #Gaza Strip has not entirely released it of its obligations under the law of occupation. Israel’s obligations have remained commensurate with the degree of its effective control over the Gaza Strip."

In February 1988, 37 years ago, #Hamas was formed in #Gaza, encouraged and aided by #Israel as an opponent to the PLO. Many decades later, Israel's government continues to support Hamas, at the expense of the #Palestinians. A short thread: 1/3 Since the 2006 Hamas takeover of Gaza, Israel's (current) Minister of Finance and overseer of occupied territory territory, Smotrich @bezalelsm, spoke out against unseating it, naming Hamas an asset and the PLO-led Palestinian Authority a liability.

https://x.com/KnessetT/status/1394583134344200192?t=PaPx_abN1Vfoj1lq8wRguA&s=08

EXCLUSIVE: Within the extensive dossier of files presented to the International Court of Justice @CIJ_ICJ in the pending advisory proceeding oh the presence and activities of UN agencies and humanitarian organizations in occupied Palestinian territory, is one document that tells the story of Israel's prolonged, acquisitive and unlawful occupation. A thread:
The year is 1980, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Dr. Yehuda Blum, accords to @UNDP, set out to commence operations in occupied Palestinian territory, the privileges and immunities of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. However, 12 years before that, Blum set the course for Israel's attempt to colonize and permanently acquire Palestinian territory, to the absolute detriment of the people UNDP was to serve.

What "deal" at the expanse of the inalienable rights of Palestinians will #Trump and #Netanyahu discuss on Tuesday? A short thread. 1/4 Before any mention of a phased #Gaza ceasefire, the two will - in an attempt to ring fence Netanyahu's radical coalition government - discuss US recognition of Israel's annexation of the West Bank, in whole or in part, evoking Trump's 'Peace to Prosperity' Plan.

On Monday, the Nagel Commission (chaired by former National Security Advisor Prof. Jacob #Nagel) presented Israeli PM Netanyahu with its report on building Israeli military power, suggesting an overhaul towards a proactive attack posture and increased budget appropriation. A thread on what a more aggressive #Israel is going to look like: 1/6 The report assumes two major threats in the next ten years: A nuclear Iran and conflagration in the West Bank, Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, and Jordan (in that order). The Commission notes that threats in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon have been addressed since 7 October, while the West Bank (referred to as 'Judea and Samaria') and Jordan, owing to the presence of settlements, pose a critical threat necessitating an increased Israeli military territorial footprint.

ALERT: Next week, the #Israeli parliament will vote on a draft bill (tabled by Moshe Passal, Likud) imposing a 20 percent text on humanitarian relief items destined for Gaza, not specifically designated by the Minister of Defense as 'basic commodities.' The explanatory note reads: "At the onset of the war, Israel declared a total siege on #Gaza, preventing the entry of water, food and humanitarian relief. Following international pressure, Israel permitted the entry of aid [...] however, they include non-basic items, such as cigarettes."
1/3 The draft bill comes after, in October 2024, the Ministry of Economy and Industry exempted from tax international humanitarian aid to Gaza, subject to the approval of the Israeli Civil Administration of Gaza, subordinate to Minster Bezalel Smotrich. The limited exemption led to a political backlash in the form of the proposed tax.

The @washingtonpost and @nytimes report on indiscriminate, disproportionate and reckless patterns of #Israeli attacks on #Gaza, including through the automation of target acquisition, as reported months ago by @972mag @yuval_abraham. My legal reflection follows: 972mag.com/lavender-ai-is… 1/3 In a non-international armed conflict (NIAC), an individual whose continuous function involves the preparation,
execution or command of operations amounting to direct participation in hostilities on behalf of an organized armed group is considered a member of that group.
That person is seen to have "continuous combat function" (CCF) and loses his protection against the dangers arising from military operations for the duration of that membership. Persons cease to be civilians within the meaning of IHL for as long as they hold 'CCF'.
CCF equates members of armed
groups in a non-international armed conflict with members of state armed forces in international armed conflicts. Importantly, it refers exclusively to the armed or military wing of a non-state party, not civilian institutions it may oversee.
However, situations of occupation, such as that characterizing #Israeli control of the West Bank and #Gaza are a particular form of
international armed conflict (IAC), not a NIAC.
The ICTY, established in the Tadic case that ‘an armed conflict exists whenever there is a resort to armed force between States or protracted armed
violence between governmental authorities and organized armed groups or between such groups within a State.’

UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres reports on the implementation of the @CIJ_ICJ Advisory Opinion on #Israeli practices in occupied @Palestinian territory, and #UNGA Resolution ES-10/24. A thread outlining key observations: 1/5 Member States have reported legal measures seeking accountability for violations of international law, including supporting the establishment of an “international register of damages” and strengthening legislative frameworks to support Palestinian self-determination.

ALERT: The #Israeli think-tank that outlined the war of aggression laid on #Gaza, Misgav (headed by former National Security Advisor and #Netanyahu confidant, Meir Ben-Shabbat), suggests, in a new white paper, a "reboot of Israel's approach to international law,": 1/3 A procedural change to Israeli constitutional law that will exempt the Israeli military from judicial oversight around, and in connection, with its actions along Israel's borders (e.g., with #Gaza, #Lebanon or #Syria).