fanger
Gold Member
How do you hold a nation legally responsible for acts of terrorism perpetrated either by its citizens or the state itself? One solution is the International Criminal Court, which exists for such matters.
However, the ICC largely avoids taking on cases outside of Africa. Critics accuse the ICC of operating with apolitical agenda in terms of cases it accepts or rejects — sometimes based on financial support — andignoring obvious war crimes. In the Mavi Marmara case linked above, the chief prosecutor rejected the case in 2014, only to be overruled by an appeals panel several months ago. The prosecutor is now appealing the appeal.
This sort of bureaucratic inertia has hobbled it from its inception.
Even if the ICC does eventually accept jurisdiction, given such resistance it appears unlikely there will be a serious attempt by the ICC to hold Israel accountable for these acts.
So far, Palestinian Authority attempts to get the court to accept jurisdiction over Israeli violations of international law have had little success. What other options or legal models may be available?
The aftermath of the May 2010 attack on the Mavi Marmara, part of the first Freedom Flotilla, by the IDF commando force, Shayetet 13, offers an important precedent. The Turkish government sought justice for this massacre in which Israeli soldiers killed 10 Turks, including one Turkish-American. Since Turkey broke off diplomatic relations over the incident, resumption of ties have also become part of the negotiations to resolve the dispute. Last February, the Times of Israel reported that part of the agreement under discussion involves Israel paying $20-million to the families of the victims.
Press reports this week speak of an imminent deal in which Israel and Turkey would resolve their differences, resume diplomatic relations and Israel would end the siege against Gaza. It’s not known what the final outcome will be regarding damages, but certainly Israel will be forced to acknowledge responsibility for the attack and pay compensation to the victims.
This offers an interesting model for pursuing future litigation to hold Israel financially responsible for acts of terror perpetrated by its citizens and its military against Palestinian civilians and citizens of other nations. Over the years, Israeli forces have severely injured or killed nationals of a number of countries in Palestine and elsewhere.
Shurat HaDin: ‘Bankrupting terror one case at a time’
One of the primary practitioners of “lawfare” among pro-Israel NGOs is an Israeli-American legal non-profit called Shurat HaDin (SHD, also known as the “Israel Law Center”). According to The New York Times, the group, founded by non-attorney Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, targets Arab financial institutionsand even the assets of Arab and Muslim states, claiming they fund and/or support “Arab terrorism.” They use two provisions of U.S. law, the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victims Protection Act, in order to pursue their objectives.
In a WikiLeaks cable filed by a U.S. diplomat serving in the embassy in Tel Aviv, the group’s founder conceded that she founded SHD in close collaboration with Israeli intelligence, specifically the Mossad:
It’s Time To Hold Israel, Israelis And American Zionists Financially Responsible For Terrorism
NGOs and law firms must hold individual Israelis, financial institutions and the state itself accountable for anti-Muslim terror. The major Israeli banks have American subsidiaries, which make them even more vulnerable.
However, the ICC largely avoids taking on cases outside of Africa. Critics accuse the ICC of operating with apolitical agenda in terms of cases it accepts or rejects — sometimes based on financial support — andignoring obvious war crimes. In the Mavi Marmara case linked above, the chief prosecutor rejected the case in 2014, only to be overruled by an appeals panel several months ago. The prosecutor is now appealing the appeal.
This sort of bureaucratic inertia has hobbled it from its inception.
Even if the ICC does eventually accept jurisdiction, given such resistance it appears unlikely there will be a serious attempt by the ICC to hold Israel accountable for these acts.
So far, Palestinian Authority attempts to get the court to accept jurisdiction over Israeli violations of international law have had little success. What other options or legal models may be available?
The aftermath of the May 2010 attack on the Mavi Marmara, part of the first Freedom Flotilla, by the IDF commando force, Shayetet 13, offers an important precedent. The Turkish government sought justice for this massacre in which Israeli soldiers killed 10 Turks, including one Turkish-American. Since Turkey broke off diplomatic relations over the incident, resumption of ties have also become part of the negotiations to resolve the dispute. Last February, the Times of Israel reported that part of the agreement under discussion involves Israel paying $20-million to the families of the victims.
Press reports this week speak of an imminent deal in which Israel and Turkey would resolve their differences, resume diplomatic relations and Israel would end the siege against Gaza. It’s not known what the final outcome will be regarding damages, but certainly Israel will be forced to acknowledge responsibility for the attack and pay compensation to the victims.
This offers an interesting model for pursuing future litigation to hold Israel financially responsible for acts of terror perpetrated by its citizens and its military against Palestinian civilians and citizens of other nations. Over the years, Israeli forces have severely injured or killed nationals of a number of countries in Palestine and elsewhere.
Shurat HaDin: ‘Bankrupting terror one case at a time’
One of the primary practitioners of “lawfare” among pro-Israel NGOs is an Israeli-American legal non-profit called Shurat HaDin (SHD, also known as the “Israel Law Center”). According to The New York Times, the group, founded by non-attorney Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, targets Arab financial institutionsand even the assets of Arab and Muslim states, claiming they fund and/or support “Arab terrorism.” They use two provisions of U.S. law, the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victims Protection Act, in order to pursue their objectives.
In a WikiLeaks cable filed by a U.S. diplomat serving in the embassy in Tel Aviv, the group’s founder conceded that she founded SHD in close collaboration with Israeli intelligence, specifically the Mossad:
It’s Time To Hold Israel, Israelis And American Zionists Financially Responsible For Terrorism
NGOs and law firms must hold individual Israelis, financial institutions and the state itself accountable for anti-Muslim terror. The major Israeli banks have American subsidiaries, which make them even more vulnerable.
