War Crimes and the Gaza War

What We’re Reading

Gaza and Hamas

War Crimes and the Gaza War,

“It is unrealistic to expect Hamas, which the United States and other countries consider a terrorist group, to comply with international law or police itself,” write the editors of the New York Times. “But Israel has a duty, and should have the desire, to adjust its military policies to avoid civilian casualties and hold those who failed to do so accountable. Absent some kind of peace agreement with the Palestinians, another war in Gaza seems inevitable.”

Will the UN's Gaza report force change?,

A United Nations investigation accusing Israel and Palestinian armed groups of alleged war crimes in last summer’s Gaza conflict caused a stir on Monday. Will the report — which includes details of both Israeli and Palestinian militant practices that targeted civilians — lead to real change?

Head of UN Gaza commission rejects claims of bias,

The head of the United Nations Human Rights Council commission on the Gaza war rejected claims of bias by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday, saying the investigation was “even-handed” and the premier had likely not studied the report on last summer’s conflict in full. Israeli ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor called the Human Rights Council “soldiers of Hamas.”

Lessons from the UN Gaza report: Next stop, ICC?,

“The Human Rights Council’s independent inquiry is full of suspicions of war crimes. More important is what it has to say about how Israel investigates those allegations, and what that means for the International Criminal Court,” writes Michael Omer-Man.

Beach gives hope to Gaza's drowning economy,

Yaser Arafat al-Masri’s new falafel shop is a simple affair. His fryer is made out of a gutted washing machine, and his salad counter is a simple table he built with recycled wood covered in foil.

Hamas rejects French peace initiative,

Hamas has said that it refuses the anticipated French draft of a UN resolution that seeks to resume the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis.

Occupation/Human Rights

Palestinians stand their ground in Wadi Fukin,

Palestinian residents in the town of Wadi Fukin close to Bethlehem invest in their land by cultivating it and raising livestock in a way to stop, or at least delay, Israeli expropriation plans.

Israel responds to lone attacks with collective punishment,

The Defense Ministry cancels travel permits for 500 Palestinians, and work permits for an entire West Bank village.

Jailed Palestinian lawmaker pleads innocence,

Khalida Jarrar, who was arrested for representing the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the Palestinian legislature, rejects all charges against her as trial opens in West Bank military court.

Palestinians giving up on statehood, ex-security chief says,

“I’m hearing from various Palestinian officials with whom I am in contact that they have given up on the two-state solution as an option for resolving the conflict,” says former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin in an interview with the Times of Israel.

No increase in West Bank terror attacks this year, Shin Bet says,

There has been no increase in the pace of attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem this year compared to 2013 and 2014, according to data released by the Shin Bet security service on Sunday.

Israeli politics

Gov't axes volunteer program for Israeli rights NGOs cited in Gaza report,

National Service volunteer slots at left-wing organizations that were cited in the UN report on Israel’s war in Gaza last summer are to be removed, as per the directive released on Tuesday by Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi). Ariel is also in charge of the National Service Administration.

Jewish Home revives bill limiting foreign funds for left-wing groups,

Knesset member Yinon Magal (Jewish Home) on Tuesday presented a new version of a controversial bill aiming to limit foreign funding for organizations that support the prosecution of IDF officers in international courts or campaign for boycotts of Israeli institutions or products.

Palestinian politics

Palestinian officials to discuss formation of new government,

The PLO will discuss forming a new unity government next week, a Palestinian Authority spokesperson said Tuesday, after an announcement on June 16 that the consensus government formed last year would be dissolved.