State of Play in the Occupied Palestinian Territory of Gaza Strip, Day 214 on 17 May 2025

 

According to the United Nations by Day 214 (08.05.24) there were 34,622 recorded Palestinian fatalities in Israel's War on Gaza, 24,686 of which have been fully identified and of those identified 7,797 were children, 4,959 women, 1,924 elderly, and 10,006 men.

Today is Day 223, there is still no ceasefire and est. 1.7 million Palestinian men, women and children have been internally displaced by Israel's ongoing punitive war.

Of these internally displaced persons tens of thousands have had to flee the Jabilia refugee camp in northern Gaza since 11 May 2024 due to an sustained IDF assault and another est. 600,000 people have been part of a forced evacuation from Rafah and it refugee camp since 6-8 May, as Israeli forces completely closed the border crossing bringing humanitarian aid to southern Gaza and continued to target the city.

Internally displaced Palestinians arrive to Khan Younis after leaving Rafah following an evacuation order issued by the Israeli army, southern Gaza Strip, 11 May 2024. EFE-EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

 

The Israeli Defence Force killing of civilians continues across the Gaza Strip.

On 13 May 2024 Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the country intends to file a declaration of intervention in South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in light of Israel’s increasing aggression against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, as well as the systematic practices perpetrated against the Palestinian people, such as the targeting of civilians and the destruction of infrastructure. Egypt’s announcement follows Columbia and Libya's requests to intervene in the case.

On 15 May the bloc of 27 nations comprising the European Union issued a statement titled "Gaza: Statement by the High Representative on Israel’s operation in Rafah" calling on Israel to refrain from further exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and reopen the crossing point of Rafah and warning that should Israel continue its military operation in Rafah, it would inevitably put a heavy strain on the EU’s relationship with Israel.

Yesterday,16 May 2024 and again today 17 May the International Court of Justice scheduled public hearings in the matter of Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) having received an urgent request for the indication of additional provisional measures and the modification of previous provisional measures from the Republic of South Africa.

An Israeli full-scale attack on Rafah in southern Gaza is imminent

7 May 2024

This is Now or Never. The whole World needs to shutdown. There are 1.7 Million+ people in Rafah & there's no where to go. It's a dead end and Israhell is deliberately bombing them. This is Genocide & monstrosity at it's fullest#PermanentCeasefireNow#EyesOnRafah #AllEyesOnRafah pic.twitter.com/7Lx32PyFYr

— سید ہمایوں (@Syed_HumayunAz3) May 7, 2024

Unconfirmed video

Click image lower right full view arrow

 

At present it is estimated that 1.5 million displaced Palestinian civilians - men, women & children - are sheltering in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and environs. 

Financial Review, 7 May 2024:

Jerusalem | Hamas announced on Monday (Tuesday AEST) it has accepted a ceasefire proposal, but Israel said the deal did not meet its “core demands” and it was pushing ahead with an assault on the southern Gaza town of Rafah.

Al Jazeera, 7 May 2024:

Israeli tanks have taken over the Rafah crossing in Gaza’s border with Egypt after advancing during the night as their warplanes pounded residential homes, killing at least 12 people.

 

The Guardian, 7 May 2024: (approx. AEST 1:00am)

Thousands of people are evacuating from Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, hours after the Israeli military told residents and displaced people in eastern neighbourhoods to leave in advance of a long-threatened attack on the city and its environs. Witnesses described frightened families leaving the city on foot, riding donkeys or packed with their belongings into overloaded trucks on Monday. Overnight Israeli airstrikes had reinforced “panic and fear”, prompting more to heed the instructions to move.

al Mawasi camp in April 2024
Image: The Guardian

It is reported that the IDF has ordered est. 100,000 of those displaced persons in an eastern section of Rafah to move to al Mawasi, where there is a makeshift camp on the coast. About 450,000 displaced Palestinians are said to already be sheltering there.

The al Mawsi area has been subject to IDF attack and what infrastructure there is damaged and the camp unable to support a further influx of people according to United Nations sources.

Al Jazeera, 7 May 2024 (AEST 8:40pm):

Suhaib al-Hamas, the director of Rafah’s Kuwaiti Hospital, has said the facility is teeming with dozens of wounded patients as Israel’s military operation intensifies in the city, reports the Wafa news agency. The hospital is receiving more patients than usual since the city’s main public health facility, al-Najjar, is now located within the Israeli military’s red zone and unable to take them in.

CNN, 8 May 2024 (approx. AEST 3:15am):

Israeli strikes in eastern Rafah today. AFP - Getty Images

The Guardian, 8 May 2024 (AEST 3:49am):

An intensification of the operation should be unthinkable: it would vastly increase the disaster. Many of those now in Rafah were forced to flee from other parts of Gaza. Ordering evacuation is pointless when there is nowhere safe to go. Unicef says 600,000 children are in the city. According to Gaza’s health authorities, 14,000 minors have already been killed, along with 6,000 mothers: there are 19,000 new war orphans.

Media and other reports suggest that up to 1,000 Australian citizens have journeyed to the State of Israel since 7 October 2023 in order to serve in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) during its War on Gaza - as dual Australian-Israeli citizen IDF reservists or as non-dual citizens in the IDF Mahal volunteer force.

UPDATE:

ABC News, 9 May 2024:

Since the start of the seven-month Israel-Hamas conflict, powerful US-supplied 2,000-pound bombs have been used in bombardments on Gaza's heavily populated cities. 

Now, for the first time, US President Joe Biden has acknowledged that the bombs, which military experts say turn "earth into liquid", have killed civilians in Gaza. 

And the US will be delaying a shipment of thousands of bombs over concerns about Israel's invasion of the southern city of Rafah.

"Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centres," Mr Biden told CNN. 

"I made it clear that if they go into Rafah ... we're not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used." 

Analysts say it's a "powerful symbolic move" from the Biden administration. 

But, it's unlikely to have an impact on the conflict overall, or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned assault on Rafah.... 

Washington has paused one shipment consisting of 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs, and 1,700 500-pound bombs, according to US officials. These are the 2,000-pound bombs the US is reportedly sending Israel The US has in recent days reportedly green-lit the transfer of billions of dollars' worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel. 

Four sources said the shipment, which has been delayed for at least two weeks, involved Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions, which convert dumb bombs into precision-guided ones, as well as Small Diameter Bombs...

The blast of an MK84 bomb is so immense "it turns earth into liquid", Marc Garlasco, a former Pentagon official and a war crimes investigator for the United Nations told the Associated Press last month. 

"It pancakes entire buildings," he said. 

He added an explosion in the open meant "instant death" for anyone within about 30 metres. 

Lethal fragmentation can extend for up to 365m. 

SBS News, 10 May 2024:

Highlights

• Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Israelis will fight with only their fingernails, if they must ["But we have much more than our fingernails"].

• Ceasefire talks make some headway, but no deal, Egyptian security sources said.

• Israeli officials said operation in Rafah to proceed as planned.

Video Portrait of a War Crime 2024: a situation that the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia is assiduously averting its eyes from even as it ignores its binding responsibilities under international law and conventions

As of 23 March 2024 at least 32,142 Palestinian men women and children had been killed and more than 74,412 had been wounded in Gaza since 7 October 2023, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza quoted in mainstream media.

On 18 March 2024 the World Health Organisation stated:

The latest analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) partnership released today warns that the situation in Gaza is catastrophic, with northern Gaza facing imminent famine and the rest of the Strip at risk as well.

"The IPC announcement reflects the dire situation that the people of Gaza are facing," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "Before this crisis, there was enough food in Gaza to feed the population. Malnutrition was a rare occurrence. Now, people are dying, and many more are sick. Over a million people are expected to face catastrophic hunger unless significantly more food is allowed to enter Gaza."

Before the recent months’ hostilities, 0.8% of children under 5 years of age were acutely malnourished. Today’s report shows that as of February in the northern governorates, that figure is between 12.4 and 16.5%.

Without a significant and immediate increase in deliveries of food, water and other essential supplies, conditions will continue deteriorating. Virtually all households are already skipping meals every day and adults are reducing their meals so that children can eat. 

UN News stated on 20 March 2024:

“Facilitated missions primarily involved food distributions, nutrition and health assessments, and the delivery of supplies to hospitals,” OCHA said, repeating warnings that “humanitarian access constraints” continue to “severely affect the timely delivery of life-saving assistance, particularly to hundreds of thousands of people in northern Gaza”.

Echoing those calls on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the Israeli authorities “to ensure complete and unfettered access for humanitarian goods throughout Gaza and for the international community to fully support our humanitarian efforts”. 

In January 2024 mainstream media began to report that Israeli citizens were blockading humanitarian aid trucks at official checkpoints for transit from Egypt into the Gaza Strip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqRzfb2oMaM 

22 Mar 2024 #TheGrayzone

Journalist Jeremy Loffredo goes inside the grassroots Israeli campaign to block desperately needed aid to the besieged Gaza Strip and elicits the shockingly candid views of the Jewish Israeli nationalists manning the barricades.

Setting out on a bus caravan through illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Loffredo arrives at the Kerem Shalom crossing to Gaza, filming Israeli citizens as they physically block trucks loaded with flour and other essential goods. There, a reservist who served in the military assault on Gaza confesses to an array of war crimes, including blowing up the offices of UN centers dedicated to providing food to the local population.

Loffredo then joins nationalists on a march toward Gaza, where they hope to establish new settlements after the population is violently driven out.

This original Grayzone report was produced thanks to viewers like you.

Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com

Tweet of the Week

 

When you grow up surrounded by perpetrators who think they’re always victims because of past mass trauma you know exactly what they’re capable of https://t.co/sQ3WZwWUQn

— Asher Wolf (@Asher_Wolf) March 5, 2024

Opinion: "Those with the loudest voices do not speak for all Jews in Australia"

Sarah Schwartz and Max Elliott Kaiser writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 February 2024:

Those with the loudest voices do not speak for all Jews in Australia.

Today, talk about antisemitism is everywhere - in newspapers, conversations between friends, and especially on social media. Many Jews feel scared. They are told to see antisemitism in the scarves worn in solidarity with Palestine, in the words "Free Palestine" voiced at protests, and in the stickers calling for the boycott of Israeli products.

But while reports of antisemitism have increased in Australia since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel - as have those of anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia - none of these are examples of it. They are instead legitimate expressions of support for Palestinians who are facing overwhelming levels of violence and displacement.

When Australia's pro-Israel lobby groups mischaracterise these expressions as antisemitic, they produce fear and demonise Palestinians and their supporters. These accusations rely on a conflation of Jews and Israel - that any criticism of the state of Israel is seen as an attack on all Jews. This conflation reflects the view, promoted by Israel, that Jewish identity and safety worldwide is inextricable from Israel and its "security". Any criticism of Israel's use of brute force against Palestinians in the name of this security is by default deemed antisemitic.

As proud Jews who are committed to combating real racism, we know these are not the same thing. Jewish people have identities separate from the state of Israel and our cultures and practices are far older than Zionism. The truth is that the Jewish community is not a monolith. We might better speak of multiple Jewish communities with unique histories, diverse expressions of Jewishness, and - in our view increasingly - conflicting views on Israel. Jews here and around the world, particularly those with personal connections to Israel, are still reeling from the killing of more than 1100 people in Israel, the majority civilians, on October 7. Many Jews also abhor the violence Israel has since meted out to Palestinians in Gaza. More than 27,000 people have been killed, according to Gaza's health ministry, many of them children and most of them civilians, and 2 million have been displaced from their homes.

Almost 1000 Jewish people in Australia have signed an open letter condemning Israel's collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza, calling for a ceasefire and stating that: "Our Jewish values are incompatible with the unjustified cruelty and reckless disregard for human life and dignity that the Israeli government is displaying."

A survey in June 2023 found disagreement between Jews in Australia in relation to Israel's control over Palestinians in the West Bank. Irreconcilable differences of opinion between Jews are widening, yet the broader Australian public could be forgiven for thinking all Jews agree.

This is in part because most so-called Jewish representative organisations in Australia refuse to represent this diversity of opinion between Jews and have become explicit Israel lobby groups. One of these organisations, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, prepares a regular report on rising antisemitism in Australia.

In its December 2023 report, cited widely in the media, it brings attention to many real incidents of hate against Jews such as graffiti in November on a block of flats saying "kill jews, jews live here".

However, disgusting instances such as this are also lumped in with legitimate political expressions of solidarity with Palestinians, criticism of Israel and criticism of Zionism as a political ideology. Examples include graffiti and placards reading "Zionism = racism" and "end the Palestinian Holocaust" being considered antisemitic, as was the protest chant "intifada, intifada", which means "uprising" in Arabic.

The Israel lobby's conflation of these types of incidents has meant that claims of antisemitism are being exploited to stifle legitimate criticism of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

The Australian public now knows there is a concerted effort by organised pro-Israel lobbyists to target individuals who publicly criticise the state of Israel.

Leaked messages from WhatsApp groups reveal campaigns to target actors who wore the keffiyeh - a scarf worn in solidarity with Palestinians - for a curtain call; broadcaster Antoinette Lattouf, who reposted content on Gaza; and doctors who engaged in political action in support of healthcare workers in Gaza. We should all be concerned when political lobbying crosses over into intimidation aimed at suppressing legitimate expression in a democratic society.

The baseless weaponisation of accusations of antisemitism by various lobby groups aims to undermine the movement for a just future for Palestinians, but it also undermines the fight against antisemitism. The history and concept of antisemitism risks becoming confused and devalued amid a very real fight worldwide against genuine anti-Jewish racism and an increase in fascist activity. It will lead to real instances of antisemitism being dismissed.

We are proud of being Jewish. We are the descendants of Jews who fled violence, horror and racism. We grew up hearing stories of Holocaust survivors. For us, honouring our ancestors means fighting against racist violence wherever it appears. Doing all we can to stop Israel's overwhelming violence against Palestinian civilians, found to be a plausible case of genocide by the International Court of Justice, is an ethical imperative precisely because of our Jewishness and our histories.

We write these words knowing we will face backlash. Palestinians face the worst targeting from lobbyists. However, the state of Israel, and groups that lobby on its behalf, have no qualms about going after fellow Jews. In order to maintain that their actions are for the benefit of all Jews, they must silence and discredit Jewish dissenters.

Every Jew we know who has spoken out against Israel has faced threats, social exclusion, intimidation, campaigns for sacking or attempts to discredit them. We are called "self-hating", "Kapos", "Nazi sympathisers", or "fake Jews". Lattouf's Jewish lawyer Josh Bornstein was even called a "traiter" [sic] by a participant in the Lawyers for Israel group which advocated for the broadcaster's sacking.

We are part of a growing number of Jewish people who have spoken out against Israel's actions. Antisemitism is a real threat, but the cynical misappropriation of this term is causing unnecessary fear and shutting down critical dialogue around Israel's war. We are proud of our Jewishness, and we refuse to let those with the loudest voices speak for all Jews in Australia.

Sarah Schwartz is a human rights lawyer and lecturer at the University of Melbourne. Dr Max Elliott Kaiser is a historian, expert on antisemitism and author of Jewish Antifascism and the False Promise of Settler Colonialism.

In the global response to the War on Gaza words matter.....

 

Likud Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, posting in English via @netanyahu on 27 January 2024, a day after the International Court of Justice published its Order binding the State of Israel:

"Israel's commitment to international law is unwavering. Equally unwavering is our sacred commitment to continue to defend our country and defend our people.

Like every country, Israel has an inherent right to defend itself.

The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it was justly rejected.

The charge of genocide leveled [sic] against Israel is not only false, it’s outrageous, and decent people everywhere should reject it."

The disconnect between those words, along with other recent statements made by the Likud Party leader, and the words found in the International Court of Justice Order of 26 January 2024 are being noticed.

 

CDU EXPERT: The ICJ’s order rebuts denials and is binding with its “Israel must”

 

 

Charles Darwin university

 

 

Hard facts, semantically clear landmark verdict

31 JANUARY, 2024

Who: Charles Darwin University forensic linguistics expert Dr Awni Etaywe is a lecturer in linguistics and a forensic linguistics researcher focusing on terrorism, incitement to hatred, radicalisation and genocide, and digital deviance. He is a former United Nations Expert on Mission and Observer of human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with training on the law of armed conflict and the protection of civilians and children.

Topics:

• Israel’s response to South Africa’s case and the International Court of Justice's order.

• The International Court of Justice rebuts Israel’s denials and claims, and decides it is a plausible case of genocide.

• The UCJ’s order is legally binding, and the Court sees that “Israel must” conform.

• Predictably, language is a main part of evidence to decode a genocidal intent and determine a plausible case of genocide.

• Violence in Gaza is a form of “genocidal moments” and placed within a broader settler-colonial context.

 

Quotes attributable to Dr Awni Etaywe:

“The Court issued its binding evidence-based order, using the 'Israel must' phrase where Israel not only 'must' 'take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations…' but also 'must submit a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to this Order within one month, as from the date of this Order. The report so provided shall then be communicated to South Africa, which shall be given the opportunity to submit to the Court its comments thereon.'"

“The Court enacts tenor through high modality – 'must' – a linguistic means through which the Court expresses the highest level of intensity of obligation.”

“What are these must-take measures? The Court considers that:

• “Israel must […] take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of […]: (a) killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.

• “…Israel must ensure with immediate effect that its military forces do not commit any of the above-described acts.”

• “…Israel must take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

“As predicted, speech function and dehumanising language was under the microscope of the Court to establish evidence of encoded genocidal intent.

"Judge Nolte adds that '…certain statements by Israeli State officials, including members of its military, give rise to a real and imminent risk of irreparable prejudice to the rights of Palestinians under the Genocide Convention.' In response to this genocidal language, the Court orders Israel to do the following:

• “…Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip.”

“Netanyahu politically (again, not legally) labelled the ‘crime of crimes’ charge as 'outrageous', while Yoav Gallant countered by characterising South Africa’s case as 'antisemitic'."

"In the face of political dynamics and the framework of international law, nations worldwide are confronted with a critical choice.”     

ENDS                                           

Note: 

Judge Georg Nolte is a German jurist, former Professor of Public and International Law, a former member of the International Law Commission and a current Member of the International Court of Justice since 2021.

International Court of Justice has decided there is a prima facie case against Israel and a full trial will take place, with a provisional order now in place requiring the State of Israel to ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any acts of genocide

 

On 29 December 2023 the Republic of South Africa made an application to the International Court of Justice instituting proceedings in accordance with Articles 36 (1) and 40 of the Statute of the Court and Article 38 of the Rules of Court against the State of Israel. The Application included a request that the Court indicate provisional measures to protect the rights invoked (as found in the UN 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide) from imminent and irreparable loss.

The Court sat for two days, 11 & 12 January 2024, and both South Africa and Israel put their cases concerning the rights and responsibilities found in the Genocide Convention and, whether the actions of the Israeli Government since 7 October 2023 had caused acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, had established a credible risk of genocide or that Israel's actions did not in fact involve genocide.

The Court adjourned and deliberated for thirteen days, then delivered its findings and decision.

It couldn't be any clearer, the State of Israel is on notice and a full trial will take place.

International Court of Justice (The Hague), South Africa v Israel, Summary of the Order of 26 January 2024, (Provisional Measures), excerpt:

OPERATIVE CLAUSE (PARA. 86)

The full text of the operative clause of the Order reads as follows:

“For these reasons,

THE COURT,

Indicates the following provisional measures:

(1) By fifteen votes to two,

The State of Israel shall, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of this Convention, in particular:

(a) killing members of the group;

(b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and

(d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

IN FAVOUR: President Donoghue; Vice-President Gevorgian; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Bennouna, Yusuf, Xue, Bhandari, Robinson, Salam, Iwasawa, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant; Judge ad hoc Moseneke;

AGAINST: Judge Sebutinde [representing the Republic of Uganda]; Judge ad hoc Barak [representing the State of Israel];

(2) By fifteen votes to two,

The State of Israel shall ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any acts described in point 1 above;

IN FAVOUR: President Donoghue; Vice-President Gevorgian; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Bennouna, Yusuf, Xue, Bhandari, Robinson, Salam, Iwasawa, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant; Judge ad hoc Moseneke;

AGAINST: Judge Sebutinde; Judge ad hoc Barak;

(3) By sixteen votes to one,

The State of Israel shall take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip;

IN FAVOUR: President Donoghue; Vice-President Gevorgian; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Bennouna, Yusuf, Xue, Bhandari, Robinson, Salam, Iwasawa, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant; Judges ad hoc Barak, Moseneke;

AGAINST: Judge Sebutinde;

(4) By sixteen votes to one,

The State of Israel shall take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip;

IN FAVOUR: President Donoghue; Vice-President Gevorgian; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Bennouna, Yusuf, Xue, Bhandari, Robinson, Salam, Iwasawa, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant; Judges ad hoc Barak, Moseneke;

AGAINST: Judge Sebutinde;

(5) By fifteen votes to two,

The State of Israel shall take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within the scope of Article II and Article III of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide against members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip;

IN FAVOUR: President Donoghue; Vice-President Gevorgian; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Bennouna, Yusuf, Xue, Bhandari, Robinson, Salam, Iwasawa, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant; Judge ad hoc Moseneke;

AGAINST: Judge Sebutinde; Judge ad hoc Barak;

(6) By fifteen votes to two,

The State of Israel shall submit a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to this Order within one month as from the date of this Order.

IN FAVOUR: President Donoghue; Vice-President Gevorgian; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Bennouna, Yusuf, Xue, Bhandari, Robinson, Salam, Iwasawa, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant; Judge ad hoc Moseneke;

AGAINST: Judge Sebutinde; Judge ad hoc Barak.”

*

Judge XUE appends a declaration to the Order of the Court; Judge SEBUTINDE appends a dissenting opinion to the Order of the Court; Judges BHANDARI and NOLTE append declarations to the Order of the Court; Judge ad hoc BARAK appends a separate opinion to the Order of the Court.

___________

In South Africa v Israel the full Summary of the Order of 26 January 2024 can be read and downloaded at:

https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-sum-01-00-en.pdf.

The full APPLICATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE IN THE GAZA STRIP (SOUTH AFRICA v. ISRAEL) - 26 January 2024 Order can be read and downloaded at:

https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-00-en.pdf

In which Australian Jewish Association blatantly misrepresents the history of the Middle East and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. At the same time broadly characterizing readers of the Byron Echo as "left-leaning activist types".

 

"Hamas is responsible for 100% of all Gazan deaths" [Australian Jewish Association, 17 January 2024]

On 17 January 2024 on Page 5 of the Byron Echo, along with two local news articles - "McLeods Shoot tourist accom slated" and "Olgivie reflects on 35 years in the yoga biz" there was a single advertisement.

Nothing unusual in this independent newspaper's page layout.

However, the advertising slot did not contain the expected information concerning a bazzar, market, op shop, council notice or similar.

It contained an astonishing piece of political propaganda created by the Australian Jewish Association, which blatantly misrepresented the history of the Middle East and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

With the exception of part of the one-sentence fifth paragraph, the distortions of fact it contained were so egregious that it took this writer's breath away.

IMAGE: The Byron Shire Echo, aka Byron Echo or Echo, 17.01.24, p.5 Click on image to enlarge

On the same day the Australian Jewish Association posted/tweeted this message on X formerly Twitter along with a copy of the advertisement:

It's important that the Jewish community and Israel are understood across Australia.

Byron Bay is known as a hotspot for left-leaning activist types.

The local paper, the Byron Shire Echo is widely read and often contains anti-Israel content.

AJA decided to take out a half page ad and share some facts.

The ad was generously facilitated by Michael Burd.

What do you think of the AJA ad? [my yellow highlighting]

[SEE: https://twitter.com/AustralianJA/status/1747433711057125551]

NOTE: 

• Michael Burd on the subject of Michael Burd:

https://www.jwire.com.au/nothing-left-has-nothing-left/

• United Nations Resolutions on the Question of Palestine -1946 to 2023

https://www.un.org/unispal/data-collection/general-assembly/?wpv_view_count=237041&wpv_paged=1

•  United Nations Records at https://peacemaker.un.org/

1.Oslo Accord 1993 - signed by Israeli Government & Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO)

2. Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area 1994 (Cairo Agreement) - signed by Israeli Government & PLO

3. Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities 1994 - signed by Israeli Government & PLO

4. Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip 1995 (Oslo II) - signed by Israeli Government & PLO

5. Agreement on Temporary International Presence in the City of Hebron 1996 - signed by Israeli Government & PLO

6. Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron 1997 - signed by Israeli Government & PLO

7. Agreement on Temporary International Presence in the City of Hebron II 1997 - signed by Israeli Government & PLO

8. The Wye River Memorandum 1998 - signed by Israeli Government & PLO

9. Sharm el Sheikh Memorandum on Implementation Timeline of Outstanding Commitments of Agreements Signed and the Resumption of Permanent Status Negotiations 1999 - signed by Israeli Government & PLO

10. Protocol Concerning Safe Passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip 1999 - signed by Israeli Government & PLO

11. Camp David Summit 2000 - Israel & Palestine failed to reach an agreement 

12. The Disengagement Plan - General Outline 2004 - proposal by Israeli Government in which sovereignty over West Bank settlements is asserted and an intention to maintain a military presence, along with an assertion of authority over Gaza Strip airspace and coastal seas as well as an intention to ring Gaza's borders with security forces and police population movement.

13. Agreed Documents on Movement and Access from and to Gaza: Agreement on Movement and Access Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing 2005 - Israeli Government & PLO agreement

14. Annapolis Conference Joint Understanding and Statements Joint Understanding on Negotiations 2007 - Israeli Government statement

15. Understanding Regarding Ceasefire in Gaza Strip 2012 - not attributed

16. Egyptian Initiative 2014 regarding ceasefire in Gaza Strip - not accepted by all parties. However an amended ceasefire agreement came into effect at 7pm Cairo time on 26 August 2014. In May 2021, the Israeli police raided Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, triggering an 11 day armed conflict between Israel and Hamas. This included Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Egypt again brokered a ceasefire which came into effect on 21 May 2021.

Cartoons of the Week

 

Cathy Wilcox

David Rowe