ICC’s Misguided Equivalence: Defending Israel Against Terrorism

The ICC’s recent decision to pursue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and three Hamas leaders has stirred significant debate. ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s allegations of war crimes against Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders fail to distinguish between Israel’s defensive actions and the operations of a terrorist group.

The conflict erupted on October 7th, triggered by a brutal Hamas attack that left 1,200 Israeli civilians dead and 250 kidnapped. This unprovoked assault by a group recognized as a terrorist organization by numerous Western countries necessitated a decisive military response from Israel to protect its citizens.

While critics point to the high Palestinian casualty rate, it is essential to consider the complexities of urban warfare. Hamas routinely uses civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals as shields, complicating Israel’s military efforts. Despite these challenges, Israel adheres to stringent moral standards and international law, striving to minimize civilian harm.

The ICC’s move to equate Israel’s actions with those of Hamas overlooks the critical difference between a democratic state’s right to self-defense and a terrorist group’s deliberate targeting of civilians. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz condemned the ICC’s decision as a “historic disgrace,” highlighting the legal and moral justification for Israel’s military operations.

Allegations that Israel obstructs humanitarian aid and employs starvation as a weapon are baseless. Israel maintains that it does not restrict aid into Gaza and attributes distribution issues to UN inefficiencies. The ongoing conflict and security concerns further complicate aid delivery, a factor often overlooked by critics.

Israel’s judicial system rigorously investigates and prosecutes any alleged misconduct by its forces, ensuring accountability and transparency. This stands in stark contrast to Hamas, which operates without accountability, committing atrocities against both Israelis and Palestinians.

In summary, Israel’s actions in Gaza are a necessary defense against ongoing terrorist threats from Hamas. The ICC’s decision to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders unfairly equates defensive measures with terrorism. The international community must acknowledge the complexities of this conflict and support Israel’s right to defend its citizens.

ICC Ruling Locks in Showdown with US Congress!

 

A barrage of posts on X, from prominent leaders, slammed the actions of ICC prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan. For some his ICC warrants are seen as egregious, driving up the Islamic sponsored Jihad that opposes Judeo Christian sentiments of the silent majority. For now that bear sleeps, but Khan's prodding is likely to wake it up, put it on center stage and invoke a reckoning that will ultimately drive US Congressional action. 

His close relationship with UN head António Guterres, further empowers him to act on behalf of nations that battle for diplomatic dominance at UN headquarters in New York. However, the outcome of the US election in November will have a significant bearing and its not just about the President, the make up of Congress and Senate will bear significant weight. The stakes for the ICC are very high and Khan is gambling its reputation. 

It goes without saying that a Trump victory will most likely result in similar or even more severe budget cuts, banking controls and veto actions to that of his previous term in office. That global precipice is looming. It could indeed turn the tide and put the ICC back in its box. Alternatively a Biden victory is likely to enable President Obama to continue dominating Democrat Party endorsed policy that would accelerate the global shift toward Islamic cultural bias.

The Judeo-Christian bond between Israel and the USA is unbreakable, but the stakes are high and the ICC's serious challenge may have to be dialed back at the expense of Karim Ahmad Khan.

Living It Up On Food Money In Gaza!

Egyptian border with Gaza

The Gaza Strip shares a 12km border with Egypt, known as the Rafah border. This border served as a vital lifeline for the people of Gaza, providing a connection to the outside world that was not directly controlled by Israel. However, the Rafah border was tightly controlled by Cairo for years, limiting how long it’s kept open down to as few as 32 days in a single year at some points. Despite the desperate need for aid in Gaza, Egypt has failed to facilitate the entry of life-saving aid to more than 2.2 million people, citing Israeli restrictions. 

Almost two million people - most of the population - are reported to have fled their homes and those who remain in northern Gaza are on the brink of famine, according to the United Nations. Even before the current conflict, about 80% of the population of Gaza was in need of humanitarian aid.

The desperate food situation comes after six months of conflict. Israel responded to the 7 October attacks by Hamas with an intense bombing campaign, followed by a ground invasion. This Israeli campaign continues under the pretext of undermining the military power of Hamas, the Palestinian political armed movement which runs Gaza.

In May 2024, Hamas hijacked a major humanitarian aid shipment that was delivered to Gaza from Jordan. The aid shipment was unloaded by the Jordanian military inside the Strip before being picked up by a humanitarian implementer for distribution inside Gaza. However, the aid was intercepted and diverted by Hamas on the ground in Gaza. 

The Pentagon reported that humanitarian aid trucks traveling to the war-torn Gaza shore were hijacked before reaching their destination. Some of the initial shipment of 569 metric tons of aid had been seized after it left the causeway built by the Pentagon.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released drone footage claiming to capture instances of Hamas militants beating civilians and commandeering the aid in the Gaza Strip. The footage depicts terrorists hijacking aid trucks, physically assaulting civilians, and diverting essential supplies to a Hamas stronghold.

President Donald Trump, through his national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said: "President Trump did more for Israel than any American President in history, and he took historic action in the Middle East that created unprecedented peace. When President Trump is back in the Oval Office, Israel will once again be protected, Iran will go back to being broke, terrorists will be hunted down, and the bloodshed will end.

Getting food to Gaza is not the problem, controlling nations including those who finance terrorist leaders and criminal gangs that profit from any tradable merchandise is a complex matter. It will require iron fisted control over critical elements of global banking to ensure responsible behaviors.