Israeli Settler Property Trends VS Palestine Trends for 2024

 Stop the Gaza genocide now.

All Israeli State Officials Admitting Genocidal Intent On Record With Links To The Direct Evidence

Expressions of Genocidal Intent against the Palestinian People by Israeli State Officials and Others

Evidence of Israeli State officials’ specific intent (‘dolus specialis’) to commit and persist in

committing genocidal acts or to fail to prevent them has been significant and overt since October 2023. Those statements of intent — when combined with the level of killing, maiming, displacement and destruction on the ground, together with the siege — evidence an unfolding and continuing genocide. They include statements by the following individuals in the positions of the highest responsibility:

— Prime Minister of Israel: On 7 October 2023, in a televised address by the Government Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to “operate forcefully everywhere”. On 13 October 2023, he confirmed that “[w]e are striking our enemies with unprecedented might . . .”.440 On 15 October 2023, when Israeli airstrikes had already killed over 2,670 Palestinians, including 724 children,441 the Prime Minister stated that Israeli soldiers “understand the scope of the mission” and stand ready “to defeat the bloodthirsty monsters who (59) have risen against [Israel] to destroy us”.

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435 UN OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #44 (19 November 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-44; UN OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #48 (23 November 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flashupdate-48. 436 “Abandoned babies found decomposing in Gaza hospital weeks after it was evacuated”, NBC News (2 December 2023),

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/abandoned-babies-found-decomposing-gaza-hospital-evacuated-rcna127533. 437 WHO, Women and newborns bearing the brunt of the conflict in Gaza, UN agencies warn (3 November 2023), https://www.who.int/news/item/03-11-2023-women-and-newborns-bearing-the-brunt-of-the-conflict-in-gaza-un-agencieswarn. 438 UN Press Release, Women bearing the brunt of Israel-Gaza conflict: UN expert (20 November 2023),

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/11/women-bearing-brunt-israel-gaza-conflict-un-expert (emphasis added). 439 Prime Minister of Israel, @IsraeliPM, Tweet (10:31 pm, October 7, 2023),

https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/1710769906373775373. 440 Address by the Prime Minister of Israel, (13 October 2023), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4HXaZ20M6Q. Translation in “‘Only the beginning’ says Netanyahu as Israel makes first raids into Gaza”, Reuters (13 October 2023),https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/now-is-time-war-says-israels-military-chief-2023-10-12/. 441 UNICEF, Immediate Needs Document in the State of Palestine (October – December 2023) (17 October 2023), https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/immediate-needs-document-state-palestine-october-december2023. (Total as of 17:45, 15 October 2023; children as of 12:00, 14 October 2023).

442 On 16 October 2023, in a formal address to the

Israeli Knesset, he described situation as “a struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle”,443 a dehumanising theme to which he returned on various occasions, including: on 3 November 2023, in a letter to Israeli soldiers and officers also published on the platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter); the letter asserted

that: “[t]his is the war between the sons of light and the sons of darkness. We will not let up on

our mission until the light overcomes the darkness — the good will defeat the extreme evil that

threatens us and the entire world.”444 The Israeli Prime Minister also returned to the theme in

his ‘Christmas message’, stating: “we’re facing monsters, monsters who murdered children in

front of their parents . . . This is a battle not only of Israel against these barbarians, it’s a battle

of civilization against barbarism”.445 On 28 October 2023, as Israeli forces prepared their land

invasion of Gaza, the Prime Minister invoked the Biblical story of the total destruction of

Amalek by the Israelites, stating: “you must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our

Holy Bible. And we do remember”.446 The Prime Minister referred again to Amalek in the letter

sent on 3 November 2023 to Israeli soldiers and officers.447 The relevant biblical passage reads

as follows: “Now go, attack Amalek, and proscribe all that belongs to him. Spare no one, but

kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses”.448

— President of Israel: On 12 October 2023, President Isaac Herzog made clear that Israel

was not distinguishing between militants and civilians in Gaza, stating in a press conference to

foreign media — in relation Palestinians in Gaza, over one million of whom are children: “It’s

an entire nation out there that is responsible. It’s not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware

not involved. It’s absolutely not true. … and we will fight until we break their backbone.”449

On 15 October 2023, echoing the words of Prime Minister Netanyahu, the President told foreign

media that “we will uproot evil so that there will be good for the entire region and the world.”450

The Israeli President is one of many Israelis to have handwritten ‘messages’ on bombs to be

dropped on Gaza.451

— Israeli Minister of Defence: On 9 October 2023, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in an

Israeli Army ‘situation update’ advised that Israel was “imposing a complete siege on Gaza. No

electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and

442 Israel Prime Minister’s Office, PM Netanyahu asks Ministers to Rise for a Moment of Silence (15 October 2023),

https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/spoke-start151023 (emphasis added).

443 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Press Release: Excerpt from PM Netanyahu's remarks at the opening of the Winter

Assembly of the 25th Knesset's Second Session, 16 October 2023, https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/excerpt-from-pm-

netanyahu-s-remarks-at-the-opening-of-the-knesset-s-winter-assembly-16-oct-2023.

444 Prime Minister’s Office in Hebrew, @IsraeliPM_heb (11:44 am, November 3, 2023),

https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM_heb/status/1720406469055500583.

445 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Christmas message from PM Netanyahu, 24 December 2023,

https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/christmas-message-from-pm-netanyahu-24-dec-2023.

446 Address by the Prime Minister of Israel, 28 October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIPkoDk6isc. Translation

in, “Israel-Hamas war: 'We will fight and we will win', says Benjamin Netanyahu”, Sky News (28 October 2023),

https://news.sky.com/video/israel-hamas-war-we-will-fight-and-we-will-win-says-benjamin-netanyahu-12995212.

447 Prime Minister’s Office in Hebrew, @IsraeliPM_heb, Tweet (11:43 am November 3, 2023),

https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM_heb/status/1720406463972004198.

448 Sefaria, I Samuel 15:1-34, JPS, 1985, https://www.sefaria.org/I_Samuel.15.1-34?lang=bi.

449 Rageh Omaar, “Israeli president Isaac Herzog says Gazans could have risen up to fight ‘evil' Hamas’”, ITV News (13

October 2023), https://www.itv.com/news/2023-10-13/israeli-president-says-gazans-could-have-risen-up-to-fight-hamas.

450 President of the State of Israel, @Isaac_Herzog, Tweet (10 pm, October 15, 2023),

https://twitter.com/Isaac_Herzog/status/1713661051986678189.

451 President of the State of Israel, @Isaac_Herzog, Tweet (5:16 pm, December 25, 2023),

https://twitter.com/Isaac_Herzog/status/173933430267074594.

60we are acting accordingly.”452 He also informed troops on the Gaza border that he had “released

all the restraints”,453 stating in terms that: “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. We will

eliminate everything. If it doesn’t take one day, it will take a week. It will take weeks or even

months, we will reach all places.”454 He further announced that Israel was moving to “a full-

scale response” and that he had “removed every restriction” on Israeli forces.455

— Israeli Minister for National Security: On 10 November 2023, Itamar Ben-Gvir

clarified the government’s position in a televised address, stating: “[t]o be clear, when we say

that Hamas should be destroyed, it also means those who celebrate, those who support, and

those who hand out candy — they’re all terrorists, and they should also be destroyed.”456

— Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure: ‘Tweeting’ on 13 October 2023, Israel

Katz stated: “All the civilian population in Gaza is ordered to leave immediately. We will win.

They will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave the world.”457 On 12

October 2023, he ‘tweeted’: “Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electrical switch will be turned on,

no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are

returned home. Humanitarianism for humanitarianism. And no one will preach us morality.”458

— Israeli Minister of Finance: On 8 October 2023, Bezalel Smotrich stated at a meeting

of the Israeli Cabinet that “[w]e need to deal a blow that hasn’t been seen in 50 years and take

down Gaza.”459

— Israeli Minister of Heritage: On 1 November 2023, Amichai Eliyahu posted on

Facebook: “The north of the Gaza Strip, more beautiful than ever. Everything is blown up and

flattened, simply a pleasure for the eyes … We must talk about the day after. In my mind, we

will hand over lots to all those who fought for Gaza over the years and to those evicted from

Gush Katif” [a former Israeli settlement].460 He later argued against humanitarian aid as “[w]e

452 Statement by Yoav Gallant, 9 October 2023, 9 October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nxvS9VY-t0.

Translation in Emanuel Fabian, “Defense minister announces ‘complete siege’ of Gaza: No power, food or fuel”, The Times

of Israel (9 October 2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/defense-minister-announces-complete-siege-of-

gaza-no-power-food-or-fuel/.

453 Filmography: Ariel Harmoni, Ministry of Defense, Kipa News, 10 October 2023,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9wx7e4u-xM. Translation in Emanuel Fabian, “Gallant: Israel moving to full offense,

Gaza will never return to what it was”, The Times of Israel (10 October 2023),

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gallant-israel-moving-to-full-offense-gaza-will-never-return-to-what-it-was/.

454 Filmography: Ariel Harmoni, Ministry of Defense, Kipa News, 10 October 2023,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9wx7e4u-xM. Translation in “Israeli Defense Minister Warns Hamas ‘Will Regret’

Deadly Attacks”, Bloomberg (10 October 2023), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtjHcnNB0E8.

455 Bill Hutchinson, “Bombarded by Israeli airstrikes, conditions in Gaza grow more dire as power goes out”, ABC News (12

October 2023), https://abcnews.go.com/International/bombarded-israeli-airstrikes-conditions-gaza-grow-dire-

power/story?id=103899193#:~:text=The%20airstrikes%20were%20launched%20by,have%20been%20hit%20in%20Gaza.

456 Interview with Itamar Ben-Gvir on Channel 12, 11 November 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yRl-cc-D3w

[10:30 onwards]. Translated by Quds News Network, @QudsNen, Tweet (7:28 pm, November 12, 2023),

https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1723784790682358189.

457 Israel Katz, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Member of the Political-Security Cabinet, Member of Knesset,

@Israel_katz, Tweet (6:01 pm, October 13, 2023) https://twitter.com/Israel_katz/status/1712876230762967222.

458 Israel Katz, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Member of the Political-Security Cabinet, Member of Knesset,

@Israel_katz, Tweet (7:34 am, October 12, 2023) https://twitter.com/Israel_katz/status/1712356130377113904. Translation

in “First Thing: no power, water or fuel for Gaza until hostages are freed, Israel says”, The Guardian (12 October 2023),

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/12/first-thing-no-power-water-fuel-gaza-until-hostages-freed-israel-says.

459 “By abducting over 100 people into Gaza, Hamas has put Netanyahu in a political bind”, The Times of Israel (8 October

2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/by-abducting-over-100-people-into-gaza-hamas-has-put-netanyahu-in-a-political-

bind/.

460 Amichai Eliyahu, Facebook Post (1 November 2023), https://www.facebook.com/eliyau.a/videos/148918588283326/.

61wouldn’t hand the Nazis humanitarian aid”, and “there is no such thing as uninvolved civilians

in Gaza”.461 He also posited a nuclear attack on the Gaza Strip.462

— Israeli Minister of Agriculture: On 11 November 2023, Avi Dichter in a television

interview recalled the Nakba of 1948, in which over 80 percent of the Palestinian population of

the new Israeli State was forced from or fled their homes, stating that “[w]e are now actually

rolling out the Gaza Nakba”.463

— Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and Member of the Foreign Affairs and Security

Committee: On 7 October 2023, Nissim Vaturi ‘tweeted’ that: “[n]ow we all have one common

goal — erasing the Gaza Strip from the face of the earth. Those who are unable will be

replaced.”464

102. Similar statements have been made by Israeli army officials, advisers and spokespersons, and

others engaging with Israeli troops being deployed in Gaza:

— Israeli Army Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (‘COGAT’):

On 9 October 2023, in a video statement addressed to Hamas and Gaza residents, published by

COGAT’s official channel, Major General Ghassan Alian warned: “Hamas became ISIS and

the citizens of Gaza are celebrating instead of being horrified. Human animals are dealt with

accordingly. Israel has imposed a total blockade on Gaza, no electricity, no water, just damage.

You wanted hell, you will get hell.”465

— Israeli Army Reservist Major General, former Head of the Israeli National Security

Council, and adviser to the Defence Minister:466 On 7 October 2023, Giora Eiland, describing

the Israeli order to cut off water and electricity to Gaza, wrote in an online journal: “This is

what Israel has begun to do — we cut the supply of energy, water and diesel to the Strip . . .

But it’s not enough. In order to make the siege effective, we have to prevent others from giving

assistance to Gaza . . . The people should be told that they have two choices; to stay and to

starve, or to leave. If Egypt and other countries prefer that these people will perish in Gaza, this

461 Gili Cohen, Dov Gil-Har, Itay Blumenthal, Sulieman Masvidan, “Minister Amichai Eliyahu: Atomic bomb on Gaza?

This is one of the possibilities”, Kan (5 November 2023), https://www.kan.org.il/content/kan-news/politic/596470/.

Translation in “Far-right minister: Nuking Gaza is an option, population should ‘go to Ireland or deserts’”, The Times of

Israel (5 November 2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/far-right-minister-nuking-gaza-is-an-option-

population-should-go-to-ireland-or-deserts/.

462 Ibid. The radio comment was criticised by the Prime Minister. Prime Minister of Israel, @IsraeliPM, Tweet (8:05 am,

November 5, 2023), https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/1721076229518823826. The Prime Minister’s Office announced

that the MK had been suspended from government meetings until further notice, although he reportedly voted in a meeting

later that day. “Netanyahu ‘suspended’ the minister who did not fire an atom bomb on Gaza - even though there is no such

option in the government regulations”, Yedioth Ahronoth (5 November 2023), https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/

rjdl5ebm6).

463 Interview with Avi Dichter on Channel 12. Hanno Hauenstein, @hahauenstein, Tweet (8:42 pm, November 11, 2023),

https://twitter.com/hahauenstein/status/1723441134221869453.

464 Nissim Vaturi, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. Member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, @nissimv,

Tweet (5:33 pm, October 7, 2023) https://twitter.com/nissimv/status/1710694866009596169. Translation in “Public

Statement: Scholars Warn of Potential Genocide in Gaza”, Opinio Juris (18 October 2023),

https://opiniojuris.org/2023/10/18/public-statement-scholars-warn-of-potential-genocide-in-gaza/.

465 Video address by Ghassan Alian, 10 October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5a0EWv-o7mE.

466 “Former security officials and strategic advisor: the ‘cabinet’ established by Gallant for himself”, Yedioth Ahronoth (26

October 2023), https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/r1zlcnoga.

62is their choice.”467 On the same day, he asserted in a national newspaper that “[w]hen you are

at war with another country you don't feed them, you don't provide them electricity or gas or

water or anything else . . . A country can be attacked in a much broader way, to bring the

country to the brink of dysfunction. This is the necessary outcome of events” in Gaza.468 He has

repeatedly asserted the benefits for Israel of the creation of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, stating

that “Israel has no interest in the Gaza Strip being rehabilitated and this is an important point

that needs to be made clear to the Americans”,469 and that “[i]f we ever want to see the hostages

alive, the only way is to create a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza”.470 He has indicated that

water should be targeted, noting that water in Gaza “comes from wells with salt water unfit for

consumption. They have water treatment plants, Israel should hit those plants. When the entire

world says we have gone insane and this is a humanitarian disaster — we will say, it’s not an

end, it’s a means.”471 In a Times radio interview on 12 October 2023, he reiterated the army

should:

“[C]reate such a huge pressure on Gaza, that Gaza will become an area where people

cannot live. People cannot live, until Hamas is destroyed, which means that Israel not

only stops to supply energy, diesel, water, food … as we did in the last twenty years …

but we should prevent any possible assistance by others, and to create in Gaza such a

terrible, unbearable situation, that can last weeks and months”.472

Giora Eiland has repeatedly been given a media platform to call for Gaza to be made

uninhabitable, declaring “the State of Israel has no choice but to make Gaza a place that is

temporarily, or permanently, impossible to live in.”473 In an interview on 6 November 2023, he

suggested that, “if there is an intention for a military action at Shifa [Hospital], which I think is

inescapable, I hope that the head of the CIA got an explanation of why this is necessary, and

why the US must ultimately back even an operation like this, even if there are thousands of

bodies of civilians in the streets afterward.”474 Further he proposed that “Israel needs to create

a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, compelling tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands to

seek refuge in Egypt or the Gulf . . . Gaza will become a place where no human being can

exist.”475 Echoing the words of President Herzog, he has repeatedly underscored that there

should be no distinction between Hamas combatants and Palestinian civilians, saying:

467 Giora Eiland, “A new turning point in the history of the State of Israel. Most people don’t understand that”, Fathom (7

October 2023), https://fathomjournal.org/opinion-a-new-turning-point-in-the-history-of-the-state-of-israel-most-people-dont-

understand-that/ (emphasis added).

468 Giora Eiland, “The state of Gaza has started a war against Israel - and it should be fought accordingly”, Mako (7 October

2023), https://www.mako.co.il/news-columns/2023_q4/Article-fcf787ad0ba0b81027.htm (emphasis added).

469 Interview with Giora Eiland on Kann News, 17 November 2023. Kann News, @kann_news, Tweet (6:42 pm, November

17 2023), https://twitter.com/kann_news/status/1725585143333622129 (emphasis added).

470 Ariel Whitman, “Giora Eiland outlines plan to get hostages back alive”, Globes (8 October 2023),

https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-giora-eiland-outlines-plan-to-get-hostages-back-alive-1001459631 (emphasis added).

471 “How should one respond to the massacre of hundreds?”, Yedioth Ahronoth (print) (9 October 2023),

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l5Ow2T0Na20BcoL2yautiobij8ldNsVK/view.

472 How Israel plan to ‘destroy Hamas’ | Major General Giora Eiland, 12 October 2023,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRHz0dZwF2A.

473 Giora Eiland, “This is not revenge. It's either us or them”, Yedioth Ahronoth (10 October 2023),

https://www.ynet.co.il/yedioth/article/yokra13625377 (emphasis added).

474 “Ex-top general: IDF op against Hamas at Shifa Hospital inescapable; US must back it”, The Times of Israel (6

November 2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/ex-top-general-idf-op-against-hamas-at-shifa-hospital-

inescapable-us-must-back-it/ (emphasis added).

475 Giora Eiland, “It's time to rip off the Hamas band-aid”, Yedioth Ahronoth (12 October 2023),

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sju3uabba (emphasis added).

63“Who are the ‘poor’ women of Gaza? They are all the mothers, sisters or wives of Hamas

murderers. On the one hand, they are part of the infrastructure that supports the

organization, and on the other hand, if they experience a humanitarian disaster, then it

can be assumed that some of the Hamas fighters and the more junior commanders will

begin to understand that the war is futile . . . The international community warns us of a

humanitarian disaster in Gaza and of severe epidemics. We must not shy away from this,

as difficult as that may be. After all, severe epidemics in the south of the Gaza Strip will

bring victory closer . . . It is precisely its civil collapse that will bring the end of the war

closer. When senior Israeli figures say in the media ‘It's either us or them’ we should

clarify the question of who is ‘them’. ‘They’ are not only Hamas fighters with weapons,

but also all the ‘civilian’ officials, including hospital administrators and school

administrators, and also the entire Gaza population who enthusiastically supported

Hamas and cheered on its atrocities on October 7th.”476

— Israeli Army reservist “motivational speech”: On 11 October 2023, 95-year old Israeli

army reservist Ezra Yachin — a veteran of the Deir Yassin massacre during the 1948 Nakba —

reportedly called up for reserve duty to “boost morale” amongst Israeli troops ahead of the

ground invasion, was broadcast on social media inciting other soldiers to genocide as follows,

while being driven around in an Israeli army vehicle, dressed in Israeli army fatigues:

“Be triumphant and finish them off and don’t leave anyone behind. Erase the memory of

them. Erase them, their families, mothers and children. These animals can no longer live

. . . Every Jew with a weapon should go out and kill them. If you have an Arab neighbour,

don't wait, go to his home and shoot him . . . We want to invade, not like before, we want

to enter and destroy what’s in front of us, and destroy houses, then destroy the one after

it. With all of our forces, complete destruction, enter and destroy. As you can see, we

will witness things we’ve never dreamed of. Let them drop bombs on them and erase

them.”477

— Head of the Israeli army’s Air Operations Group: On 28 October 2023, Lieutenant

colonel Gilad Kinan described the Air Force as “work[ing] together with all the bodies in the

IDF when the goal is clear — to destroy everything that has been touched by the hand of

Hamas”.478

— Commander in the 2908th Battalion of the Israeli army: In a video posted online on

21 December 2023, Yair Ben David said that the Israeli army had “entered Beit Hanoun and

did there as Shimon and Levi did in Nablus,” and that “[t]he entire Gaza should resemble Beit

Hanoun”, referring to the city in northern Gaza which has been entirely devastated by the Israeli

army..479 The biblical passage in issue reads: “On the third day, when they were in pain, Simeon

476 Giora Eiland, “Let’s not be intimidated by the world”, Yedioth Ahronoth (print) (19 November 2023), in Bezalel

Smotrich, Minister of Finance, Chairman of the Religious Zionist Party, @bezalelsm, Tweet (11:20 am, November 19,

2023), https://twitter.com/bezalelsm/status/1726198721946480911. Translation by Talula Sha, Tweet (19 November 2023),

https://twitter.com/TalulaSha/status/1726267178201362438 (emphasis added).

477 Bazz News, @1717Bazz, Tweet (7:39 pm, October 11, 2023),

https://twitter.com/1717Bazz/status/1712176168823107986. Translation by Middle East Eye, @MiddleEastEye, Tweet (8:48

pm, October 13, 2023), https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1712918166437806294 (emphasis added).

478 Israel Defense Forces, @idfonline, Tweet (6:23 am, October 28, 2023),

https://twitter.com/idfonline/status/1718136442805686351. Informal translation, emphasis added.

479 Yair Ben David, Commander in the 2908th Battalion, statement, 20 December 2023,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK8ZnGKspeI. Translation in “War on Gaza: Israeli commander vows to flatten 'entire'

Gaza Strip”, Middle East Eye (21 December 2023), https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-israeli-commander-vows-

flatten-entire-gaza-strip.

64and Levi, two of Jacob’s sons, brothers of Dinah, took each his sword, came upon the city

unmolested, and slew all the males”.480

103. The above statements by Israeli decision-makers and military officials indicate in and of

themselves a clear intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a group “as such”. They also constitute clear

direct and public incitement to genocide, which has gone unchecked and unpunished. The clear

inference from the acts of the Israeli army on the ground — including from the vast number of civilians

killed and injured, and the scale of displacement, destruction and devastation wrought in Gaza — is that

those genocidal statements and directives are being implemented against the Palestinian people. That is

also the clear and necessary inference to be drawn from the emerging evidence from Israeli army

soldiers serving in Gaza, including those stationed on the ground:

— Israeli Army Colonel, Deputy Head of COGAT: speaking in a video filmed in Beit

Lahia — one of the areas of Gaza which appears to have suffered particularly severe levels of

destruction — and broadcast on Israeli television on 4 November 2023, Colonel Yogev Bar-

Sheshet stated: “[w]hoever returns here, if they return here after, will find scorched earth. No

houses, no agriculture, no nothing. They have no future;” another Army Colonel recorded in

the same video, Colonel Erez Eshel (Reserve), also commented that: “Vengeance is a great

value. There is vengeance over what they did to us … This place will be a fallow land. They

will not be able to live here”.481

— Israeli army soldiers: Israeli soldiers in uniform have been filmed on 5 December 2023

dancing, chanting and singing “May their village burn, May Gaza be erased”;482 and, two days

later, on a separate occasion inside Gaza on 7 December 2023, dancing, singing and chanting,

“we know our motto: there are no uninvolved civilians” and “to wipe off the seed of Amalek”.483

104. Notably, the second video of soldiers chanting that there are “no uninvolved citizens” in Gaza

and that they will “wipe off the seed of Amalek” was filmed on 7 December 2023. By that date, 17,177

Palestinians in Gaza had been killed — an estimated 70 per cent of whom were women and children.

7-8 December 2023 was particularly devasting for Palestinians, with 350 people killed in the space of

24 hours — approximately one Palestinian in Gaza killed every four minutes.484

105.

This genocidal rhetoric of governmental and military officials is also widespread and

commonplace amongst non-cabinet members of the Israeli Knesset (‘MKs’) who have repeatedly called

480 Genesis 34:25 (NJPS 1985), https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.34.25?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en (emphasis added).

481 Channel 14 segment, 4 November 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqEj3DzadiM: “Special documentation from

the heart of Gaza: this is how our forces fight deep in enemy territory”, Now 14 (5 November 2023),

https://www.now14.co.il/

מיו - לב ע -כך-כוחותינו-נלחמים

תיעוד- חד מ - זה/.

482 Video of Kobi Peretz with soldiers, 17 November 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcH2o4c5KZY (emphasis

added).

483 Yinon Magal, @YinonMagal, Tweet (6:44 am, 7 December 2023)

https://twitter.com/YinonMagal/status/1732652279461757102. Translation by Middle East Eye, @MiddleEastEye, Tweet

(1:30 pm, December 8, 2023) https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1733116719668113618 (emphasis added).

484 UN OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #62 (7 December 2023), https://www.unocha.org/

publications/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-62-enar.

65for Gaza to be “wiped out”,485 “flatten[ed]”,486 “eras[ed]”,487

and “[c]rush[ed] . . . on all its

inhabitants”.488 Parliamentarians have publicly deplored anyone “feel[ing] sorry” for the “uninvolved”

Gazans, asserting repeatedly that “there are no uninvolved”,489 that “[t]here are no innocents in Gaza”,490

that “the killers of the women and children should not be separated from the citizens of Gaza”,491 that

“the children of Gaza have brought this upon themselves”,492 and that “there should be one sentence for

everyone there — death”.493 Parliamentarians have stated “[w]e must not forget that even the ‘innocent

citizens’ — the cruel and monstrous people from Gaza took an active part . . . there is no place for any

humanitarian gesture — the memory of Amalek must be protested”,494 and that “[w]ithout hunger and

thirst among the Gazan population, we will not be able to recruit collaborators”.495 Parliamentarians

have also called for “mercilessly” bombing “from the air”,496

calling for the use of nuclear

(“doomsday”) weapons,497 and a “Nakba that will overshadow the Nakba of 48”.498

106. Similar genocidal rhetoric is also commonplace in Israeli civil society, with genocidal messages

being routinely broadcast — without censure or sanction — in Israeli media. The media reports call for

Gaza to be “erase[d],”499 turned into a “slaughterhouse”,500 that “Hamas should not be eliminated” but

rather “Gaza should be razed”,501 on the repeated claim that “[t]here are no innocents… There is no

485 Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet (5:10 pm, October 29, 2023),

https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1718676748542296207.

486 Interview with Katrin “Keti” Shitrit-Peretz on Now 14, 1 November 2023: Now 14, @Now14Israel, Tweet (9:50 pm,

November 1, 2023), https://twitter.com/Now14Israel/status/1719834297832526215; Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet

(10:41 am, October 10, 2023), https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1711678420235534705.

487 Galit Atbaryan, @GalitDistel, Tweet (12:13 pm, November 1, 2023),

https://twitter.com/galitdistel/status/1719689095230730656.

488 Eliyahu Revivo, @revivoeliyahu, Tweet (2:46 pm, November 1, 2023),

https://twitter.com/revivoeliyahu/status/1719727722459508915.

489 Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet (3:46 pm, December 7, 2023),

https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1732788632430186872.

490 Avigdor Lieberman, @AvigdorLiberman, Tweet (6:45 pm, November 30, 2023),

https://twitter.com/avigdorliberman/status/1730297081959530685 (emphasis added).

491 Interview with Katrin “Keti” Shitrit-Peretz on Now 14, 1 November 2023: Now 14, @Now14Israel, Tweet (9:50 pm,

November 1, 2023), https://twitter.com/Now14Israel/status/1719834297832526215 (emphasis added).

492 Meirav Ben-Ari, Knesset Session, 16 October 2023,

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=3497251110531404 [2:29:57] (emphasis added).

Translation by Jonathan Ofir, “Israeli Politician Says ‘Children of Gaza Have Brought This Upon Themselves’”, Truthout

(18 October 2023), https://truthout.org/articles/israeli-politician-says-children-of-gaza-have-brought-this-upon-themselves/.

493 “MK Yitzhak Kroizer: “The Gaza Strip should be wiped off the map”, Galey Israel (5 November 2023)

https://www.gly.co.il/item?id=30587.

Translation in “Fire Israel’s Far Right”, Haaretz (6 November 2023), https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/2023-11-

06/ty-article/.premium/fire-israels-far-right/0000018b-a11c-dc0b-a1cb-e5de69890000.

494 Boaz Bismuth, @BismuthBoaz, Tweet (8:02 am, October 16, 2023)

https://twitter.com/BismuthBoaz/status/1713812686784311358.

495 Statement by Revital Gottlieb in the Knesset, 23 October 2023: Knesset Channel, @KnessetT, Tweet (6:10 pm, October

23, 2023), https://twitter.com/KnessetT/status/1716502486331113922.

496 Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet (7:39 am, December 13, 2023),

https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1734840416522948800.

497 Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet (5:59 pm, October 9, 2023)

https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1711426284322996613.

498 Ariel Kallner, @ArielKallner, Tweet (10:29 pm, October 7, 2023),

https://twitter.com/ArielKallner/status/1710769363119141268. Translated in the New Arab: “'Erase Gaza': How genocidal

rhetoric became normalised in Israel”, The New Arab (30 November 2023), https://www.newarab.com/analysis/erase-gaza-

how-genocidal-rhetoric-normalised-israel and informal translation.

499 Interview with Eyal Golan on Now 14, 15 October 2023: Now 14, @Now14Israel, Tweet (1:24 pm, October 15, 2023),

https://twitter.com/Now14Israel/status/1713531211300167928.

500 David Mizrahy Verthaim, @dverthaim, Tweet (4:52 pm, October 7, 2023),

https://twitter.com/dverthaim/status/1710684531114602891.

501 Moshe Feiglin, @moshefeiglin, Tweet (6:16 am, October 12, 2023),

https://twitter.com/moshefeiglin/status/1712336429982846977.

66population. There are 2.5 million terrorists”.502 One local official, reportedly called for Gaza to be “desolate and destroyed” like the Auschwitz Museum, “demonstrating the madness of the people who

lived there”.503 Former MKs have called for a level of destruction akin to that of Dresden and

Hiroshima,504 asserting that it would be “immoral” for the Israeli army not to show themselves to be “vengeful and cruel”.505 In an Israeli news interview, one former MK called for all Palestinians in Gaza to be killed saying:

“I tell you, in Gaza without exception, they are all terrorists, sons of dogs. They must be exterminated, all of them killed. We will flatten Gaza, turn them to dust, and the army will cleanse the area. Then we will start building new areas, for us, above all, for our security.”506

107. Those statements by prominent members of Israeli society — including former

parliamentarians and news anchors — constitute clear direct and public incitement to genocide, which has gone unchecked and unpunished by the Israeli authorities. That such sentiment appears to be so widespread and mainstream in Israeli society is of particular concern, in circumstances where the soldiers serving in Gaza are largely reservists, drawn from and informed by civil society.

Israel/Palestine Meme 2024

 

Memefuel from DWAHTS

Former Apartheid state South Africa charges current Apartheid state Israel with genocide at International Court of Justice

South Africa, my country of birth and current residence, has launched a case at the United Nations' top court alleging that Israel's military campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide. I read the document and I must say it's pretty good. I strongly urge you to do the same and I have provided a link, the last link in red at the bottom of this post, to the pdf document which is the actual document as submitted to the ICJ.

The filing makes for surprisingly engaging reading for a document of international law and is much more concise than its 84 pages suggests. A significant portion is made up of extensive citations and source's of the sort that are known to be recognised by the ICC / ICJ  and past warcrimes committed by Israel are also given scutiny as a means to provide context for the charge put forward as Israel's goal, that being genocide, rather than simply allege that ethnic cleansing is the goal. Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians (born to the generation that were killed or run off their land in 1948) has already been criminally achieved in most parts of Israel but a genocide need not be ongoing, it only needs to succeed once for obvious reasons. 

Israel's legal team will defend itself at the International Court of Justice before a panel of judges in the Great Hall of Justice but as usual its leaders are full of unrepentant swagger and it gave its expected predictable response in rejecting the genocide claim.

Eylon Levy, an official in the Israeli prime minister's office, on Tuesday accused South Africa of "giving political and legal cover" to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that triggered Israel's campaign. He added that Israels legal team to the Hague would "dispel South Africa's absurd blood libel"

israels Foreign Ministry released a statement which said South Africa's case lacks a legal foundation and constitutes a "despicable and contemptuous exploitation" of the court.

DOWNLOAD pdf 

Download the 84 page pdf document to read the full application 

Myths, assumptions & false premise surrounding the tension in Gaza

 

This is just a quick post absent of my usual geopolitical angles. To be honest it's about everything surrounding the topic, the sticking points that seem to sabotage a discussion capable of advancing the issue in civil discourse.  

In all honesty I personally almost consider much of what I choose to bring up irrelevant in understanding the geopolitics, but since (despite there being content out there parading as geopolitical analysis) I keep running into the same tired and totally ossified myths and mishevious (or misunderstood) synopses.  It's all weak, lacking in self consistent reasoning and based on a false premise, or two.. or ten. 

The case being made out there by the MSM doesn't impress me much.

                             ▪•○●☆●○•▪

Always keep in mind that Hamas was Israel's creation to effectively end Yasser Arafat's PLO.

Always keep in mind that Israel has nuclear weapons, and honestly I have zero doubt that they would sooner use them than ever allow their enemies inbthe region to defeat them. Broader all out war is a no win situation, Its vital this gets de-escalated.

Update: Iran, Iraq and the clown empire that occupies your land, steals your oil, murders your leaders and refuses to leave when your nation is in uprising to throw them out.... because they are a force for good there by your invitation whether you like it or not!??

Clearly words have lost all meaning in US diplomacy. As a result things are not getting better for the US Imperial war machine and their Desert Storm Troopers in Iraq following the illegal assasination of General Soleimani on January 3rd. 

Iraq has just witnessed the largest civil uprising in its history, demanding the US get thrown out and burning US flags. If they continue to take the current position and refuse to leave, the blood of the servicemen will be added to Trumps list following the shootdown of the Ukrainian airliner in the fog of war following Trumps unprovoked attack on Qasim Soleimani. 

The Pompeo lie machine is so transparent and pushy that if it was not set up to be that way then it rivals the US Department of Clowns during the time of John Kirby, Jen Psaki and Co when they first lost ascendancy to Russian diplomacy following the coup in Ukraine following the US colour revolution over there. 

Please read this post for highlights of their days of comic relief: 
https://dwahts.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-us-department-of-clowns.html?m=1

With sideshow McFibbypants on the scene we can rest assured that nothing will get done, tensions will be maximized, troops and civilians will be placed in danger and media will run around like chickens without heads trying to work out which lies to tell. 

Pompeo gives a speech at his lifetime achievement award at the biggest shits in politics awards. 

U.S. forces have committed serious crimes in Iraq: according to Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, the US Ambassador in Baghdad informed him of Israel’s responsibility for the five attacks against Iraqi security forces in mid-2019 and the drone assassination of a security force commander on the Syrian-Iraqi borders. These Israeli attacks were carried out with the knowledge and permission of US forces in Iraq, who allowed Israel to violate Iraqi air space and kill its security members. That attack made the US – who maintain control over Iraqi air space – an accomplice of Israel in attacking the US host country, Iraq.

In December 2019, the Trump administration committed another crime, disregarding the Iraqi government and killing more Iraqis intentionally and without any legal basis. US jets attacked Iraqi forces’ positions on the borders with Syria, killing and wounding 79 officers and members of the Iraqi Army, the Federal Police and the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) brigades 45 and 46. The US singled out an encampment of the Iraqi Security Forces, who are based on the borders to hunt down ISIS militants moving through the Syrian-Iraqi deserts.

These forces are under the direct command of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi. The US accused Iraqi soldiers at this encampment of attacking its K1 base 540 km away. The US had no proof that the dozens of officers its Air Forces killed in its subsequent bombing attack had been behind the killing of an Iraqi born US contractor at the K1 base.  The US even refused to provide any evidence of this when requested to do so by the Iraqi Prime Minister prior to the attack.

Thus, already in 2019, the terms of the US mandate in Iraq had been violated. Then the US very recently committed another crime against Iraq by assassinating an Iraqi commander, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes and three Iraqi officers at Baghdad airport. It further showed its contempt for international law by assassinating an Iranian Major General, Sardar Qassem Soleimani, and four Iranian officers (Brigadier General Hossein PourJafari, Colonel Shahroud Mozaffarinia, Major Hadi Taremi, and Captain Vahid Zamanian) even though the US had not declared war on Iran. Trump boasted provocatively about the assassination, bragging about “killing two for the price of one”.

Further evidence of US contempt for diplomatic protocol was provided by Prime Minister Abdel Mahdi, when he declared that President Trump had phoned him to ask his mediation to de-escalate tension with Iran. Abdel Mahdi said that “Soleimani arrived in Iraq at my request to receive a response from Saudi Arabia to Iran’s peace initiative. Trump killed a foreign officer on a territory he is supposed to protect and an envoy of peace who landed at the request of the Prime Minister”. But that is not all: it was public knowledge, as announced by Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari (11 June 2016), that Soleimani enjoys immunity in Iraq as an advisor – at the official request of Iraq – to fight ISIS.

It is inaccurate to say “Soleimani was plotting against US citizens just as he had done for years”. President Trump and his administration provided no evidence for such a claim. warmongering politicians and academics recall only the US occupation of Iraq and the support of Soleimani for the Iraqi resistance, accusing Soleimani of “having the blood of US soldiers on his hands during the US military occupation of Iraq”.

However, “the Security Council has not explicitly condemned attacks upon coalition forces—that would undercut the inherent right of self-defence against foreign invasion and occupation.” It is argued that “the invasion of Iraq was an illegal act (war)of aggression, and that those responsible for it are war criminals” (Mandel, 2004: McGoldrick, 2004).

Therefore, armed resistance against the occupation forces in Iraq at that time was entirely legitimate. The response of resistance, and its consequences for the US-led occupation forces, who in 2003 acknowledged their status as an occupation force, cannot be called an act of terrorism. Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani cannot be responsible for crimes against an occupier who never found the “Weapons of Mass Destruction” that it had used as a pretext for invasion. The US invaded Iraq with no legal basis, causing mass destruction to the Iraqi population and the country’s infrastructure, killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.

We have now learned from the horse’s mouth why Trump killed Soleimani: the Iranian Major General was “saying bad things” about the US. “How much of this shit do we have to listen to? How much are we going to listen to?” Trump told his donors.

The US continues to allow Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu to violate Iraqi airspace by permitting Israeli jets to bomb Syria from the Iraqi-Syrian borders occupied by the US forces at al-Tanf. Officials in Baghdad said “the US forces have no respect for their agreement with Iraq. For some time now, they have been behaving like an occupation force. This is not the first time this has happened. We inform Syria about it every time this takes place”.

The many crimes committed by the US in the Middle East, its violations of international law, and Iraqi sovereignty, in particular, did not begin with President Trump. But Trump and his team took things to a new level in 2018 when he renounced the nuclear deal known as the JCPOA that is part of UNSC resolution 2231. He didn’t like it because it was “ Barack Obama’s agreement”. Trump thus made the Middle East even more unstable and has brought the region to the brink of war. As he insists on keeping US forces in Iraq, he will one day soon have to explain to Americans why in the face of local resistance to the US occupation US soldiers are dying.

https://ejmagnier.com/2020/01/22/immediate-us-withdrawal-due-to-its-violation-of-the-agreement-and-iraq-sovereignty/

And finally since Pompeo is stealing his thunder, lets pay homage to the real king of lies and sincerety that makes the scene in 8mm where Nicholas Cage discovers the disturbing footage seem believable. 

https://dwahts.blogspot.com/2020/01/benjamin-nethanyahu-lying-psycopathic.html?m=1

Benjamin Nethanyahu: The lying psycopathic warmonger from hell.

If you think I came on a bit strong in the title, you are right. I want to be clear upfront about my feelings towards this horrible little man. I have never seen a more clear cut case for both or either of the terms  "sociopath" and "psycopath"

The warmongering ways of this man go back as long as I can remember but I'm going to start when he first came blustering onto the international stage with this whopper (see clownish short clip below) told with such theatrical gusto that we can only look back and cringe now that we know that he was straight up lying about the WMDs in Iraq in 2002. And he isn't even good at it. His fake sincerety could be bettered by a pond full of wet leather.  That particular lie resulted in the death of at least one million people and destabilized the entire Middle East when terrorism swept through the Levant. In a long line of deliberate fails, also known as lies, he is on record as saying "If you take out Sadams regime, I guarentee you, it will have enourmous positive reverberations around the region" of course it resulted in ISIS instead.

This theme would continue throughout his career, never calling for diplomacy, instead insulting his neighbours to the point where they won't even meet with him half the time because be is calling for war against them before they even meet. His (always false) accusations are characterized by calls for war, or even actual unprovoked strikes, on most of his neighbours. The "self defense" claim that Trump used in the set up and ambush of Iranian general Soleimani reminded me very much of the type of "self defence" Bibi invokes when raining hellfire on Palestinian suburbs as collective punishment for infringements cited as the handywork of bogeyman Hamas, the pretext provider for the Israeli armed forces. Or the more than 100 strikes on Syrian sovereign territory while Syria was battling the Western backed Islamist terrorists, oops sorry I mean rebels....

Here is is the best of Bibi's lies about WMD's in both Iran and Iraq over the course of thirty years, along with his calls for war, mayhem and bloodshed.

Ironically it is Israel that is lying about nuclear weapons, refusing to allow inspectors in to inspect them in their usual arroganct way in what has become a typical substitute for diplomacy in Israel: The toddler tantrum. Israeli lies about WMDs or "imminent attack" as defined by the Bethlehem Doctine (Loosely explained it means just lie and say imminent attack if you want to attack any entity). Lies are regarded as just another tactic or strategy in Israeli foreign relations. All nations lie. Israel is stupid enough to make it official policy, but americans are lazy enough to never bother checking, so Israel can get away with anything the way it seems from where I'm standing.

Case in point, during the six days war in 1967, Israel bombed the entire Egyptian airforce ON THE GROUND preemptively using the Bethlehem Doctrine, annexed the Golan Heights illegally from Syria, and then proceeded to spend two full hours trying to sink the American naval vessel the USS Liberty to blame Egypt and lure its protector into war for her. Ladies and gentlemen, don't utter a word of condemnation, after all Israel has a right to protect herself.

Remembering the USS Liberty. 

USS Liberty Survivors speak

You would almost think she wants to destroy her neighbors carrying on like that, and you would be right. The overarching guiding principle behind Israeli discourse has been Ben Gurions Greater Israel project: https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2016/09/01/ben-gurions-plan-regional-conquest/

I think that sums things up nicely. They have the Golan Heights, they need the rest of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran next and their Kurdistan project will be the "Little Israel"  before the greater Israel takes place, but thats a story for another day.

By the way if those countries sounded famiar to you, they are...

There you have it, you now have a major insight into the seemingly chaotic foreign policy in the Midddle East and I would argue its almost as important as oil and Petrodollar economics, perhaps even more so.

The good news is that its failing. Bibi's days are numbered with corruption charges looming like a guillotine over his head, and the United States has failed in their bid for 7 countries in 5 years thanks to Vladimir Putin and the valiant efforts of Bashar Al Assad and the Syrian people. Lebanon and Hezbollah deserve credit for spanking Israel in Lebanon with Irans backing the key to their success. The Palestinians deserve untold praise because they are on the front lines of a slow - motion genocide.

Now ask yourself, why do you think these parties are all so unpopular???