image source, EPA
In today’s press tour, we discuss the most prominent articles regarding the developments of the ongoing war in Gaza and its repercussions, and we start with the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, which published a report titled “The Israeli army is preparing for a legal attack after the war in Gaza.”
The newspaper says that with the Gaza Strip opened to foreign journalists and human rights organizations, the day after the war, the army expects demands to issue international arrest warrants against Israeli soldiers, officers and officials.
The Yedioth Ahronoth report notes that the Israeli army destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of buildings and homes in the Gaza Strip, and confiscated hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land to establish a future buffer zone on the fence with Gaza, despite the objection of the United States.
The report continues by saying that the Israeli army will have to justify and explain its actions in the Gaza Strip after the war or risk being “accused of war crimes,” especially if the International Criminal Court receives evidence proving that civilian sites were indeed destroyed without any practical justification.
The report notes that the army began preparing for this “international legal war,” as it “recruited dozens of legal advisors, and the head of the international law department in the Military Prosecutor’s Office, Lieutenant Colonel Roni Katsir, and his assistants have become among the busiest elements in recent months.”
The report stated that “the International Law Department in the Military Prosecutor’s Office will grow significantly, and will soon become a department led by a brigadier general with dozens of military lawyers.”
He pointed out, “Since the first day of the war, representatives of the Military Prosecutor’s Office have accompanied every action and attack of the army in Gaza, and have prepared secret files containing irrefutable evidence justifying attacks, especially on terrorist strongholds in buildings such as mosques, schools, and clinics.”
The newspaper pointed out that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, based on an explicit and exceptional request from the United States, handed the US Department of Defense a letter of commitment from Israel stipulating the use of weapons provided by the United States in accordance with international law.
The newspaper considered that “this is one of the security apparatus’s initial moves in dealing with the legal battle against the Israeli army and the state, which will expand with the end of the war in Gaza.”
The newspaper says, “Military officials are concerned that the consequences of the fighting may endanger officers and soldiers abroad, as well as restrict the army’s future operational freedom, which depends, among other things, on international legitimacy and recognition of Israel’s right to defend itself.”
The newspaper quotes an unnamed source in the Israeli army as saying, “International legal pressure on Israel began gradually even before the war, when in 2019 the International Criminal Court supported conducting an investigation against Israel, and then announced in 2021 that it had the authority to do so.”
The source in the Israeli army added to the newspaper, “Now pressure is increasing from many countries to take legal measures against the Israeli army and the state, and not just from South Africa.”
“The possibility of Israel facing the accusation of causing a famine has become closer.”
image source, Getty Images
We turn to the British newspaper The Guardian, which published an article by chief international correspondent Peter Beaumont entitled “The accusation of man-made famine against Israel is supported by mounting evidence.”
The writer says that the possibility of Israel facing “accusations of war crimes” has become closer; After the United Nations condemned the restrictions imposed on the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip.
The writer believes that the accusation by the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations that “Israel may commit a war crime by deliberately starving the people of Gaza” will lead to a significant increase in the possibility of legal prosecution, including before the International Court of Justice.
The writer believes that Israel caused a “man-made famine” in Gaza, and that there is evidence to support these allegations. Israel is already facing a complaint about genocide from South Africa before the International Court of Justice, in addition to the fact that Israeli politicians incited genocide in their public statements, According to the writer.
The writer explains that, unlike other issues related to Israel’s behavior in its war against Hamas, which need to be scrutinized and investigated by international humanitarian law, the “war crime of starvation” seems to be defined simply and clearly, according to the writer.
Peter Beaumont points out that the focal point in any case indicating that Israel caused a famine is the data issued by the United Nations Gaza Famine Review Committee, which is staffed by international food security experts who “adhere to the international gold standard in assessing food crises.” “.
The writer says that this committee is designed to be impartial in its analysis, and has already warned that the Palestinians face “catastrophic levels of malnutrition.”
He adds that the committee concluded that “a very limited number of trucks carrying food aid are allowed to enter the northern Gaza Strip and its governorates.”
The ICRC’s report is supported by an analysis prepared independently by Oxfam USA and Human Rights Watch, which accused Israel of “systematically blocking aid access.”
The author concludes by saying that the possibility of Israel being exposed to legal prosecution related to “deliberately starving the population” may increase due to public statements made by Defense Minister Yoav Galant early in the war, in which he called for imposing “a complete siege on Gaza, no electricity, no food, no water.” “.
“Doha Negotiations, Hamas’ victory and Israel’s loss”
image source, EPA
And to the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds, which published an opinion article by the journalist and former Israeli hostage negotiator, Gershon Baskin, entitled “The Doha Negotiations, Hamas’ Victory and Israel’s Loss.”
The writer says that the resumption of negotiations on the ceasefire and the hostage agreement in Doha is a very good thing. Hamas’s latest response was flexible and indicates its possible desire to reach an agreement.
The writer believes that Israel must do its utmost to return all the hostages, but he points out that there is little chance that the Netanyahu government will agree to end the war while the senior leadership of Hamas in Gaza is still alive, as there is no willingness in Israel to grant any kind of victory to Hamas.
Gershon Baskin says that the two-state solution is the way to defeat “extremists,” and it is a solution that will enjoy “the support of the majority of the Palestinian people and all moderate Sunni Arab countries.”
The writer continues by saying that there must be a clear and coherent Israeli strategic plan that recognizes the necessity of handing Gaza over to Palestinian rule that opposes armed struggle and resistance, recognizes the danger of extremist Islamic rule, and is prepared to ensure that there is no armed group in Gaza, other than the legitimate Palestinian police and security force.
The writer believes that any Palestinian government enjoying international legitimacy will not be able to achieve stability and security in the Gaza Strip, without first introducing a military force into the Gaza Strip, perhaps supported by a decision from the Arab League.
Regarding the appointment of the new Palestinian Prime Minister, Muhammad Mustafa, the writer says that Mustafa’s choice received immediate approval from Netanyahu and his National Security Advisor because they know that he will not succeed in forming a government that can effectively govern.
He concludes by saying that “the political goals of ensuring that Hamas does not control Gaza and threaten Israel again forever cannot be achieved except by reaching a comprehensive end that includes ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian people and establishing the Palestinian state,” according to the writer.
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