Image is of legal adviser to Israel’s foreign ministry Tal Becker and British jurist Malcolm Shaw at the ICJ hearing.
The ICJ case against Israel might not achieve much for the Palestinian cause directly, given that Israeli politicians have explicitly stated that the Hague will not stop them - and I believe them. The Resistance will be what stops them, and they are doing quite well for themselves. Hezbollah has hit highly sensitive and important Israeli military sites over the last couple weeks, and in general persist in several border attacks every day. The battles in Iraq and Syria also continue. Hamas remains largely intact, and is successfully forcing Israeli forces in the northern Gaza Strip to retreat, and other parts of the Gazan Resistance are continuing to battle down in Khan Yunis. And, last but not least, Yemen is firmly dedicated to the blockade, warding off another ship literally minutes before I started writing this paragraph.
What the ICJ is battling over isn’t Palestine and Israel - not really - but the legitimacy of international law itself, and to what degree victimized countries can rely on it to solve problems, versus needing to take more militant routes for justice. In a weird sense, it might be an L for Israel either way. If international law sides with Palestine, then when Israel refuses to stop, it will invalidate international law. If international law sides with Israel, then it will invalidate international law. There is no conceivable way for the West to come out of this looking good.
The South African portion detailing Israeli atrocities against Gaza was largely ignored by the western media. They have instead, obviously, decided to focus on the Israeli portion. Their defense appears to amount to “We didn’t do it, Hamas did it. And if we did do it, it doesn’t matter, because that’s just urban warfare for you. Please get this whole thing thrown out on a very dubious technicality so we don’t have to advance to the next stage.”
From Craig Murray, who has been physically going to the Hague:
It is important to realise this. Israel is hoping to win on their procedural points about existence of dispute, unilateral assurances and jurisdiction. The obvious nonsense they spoke about the damage to homes and infrastructure being caused by Hamas, trucks entering Gaza and casualty figures, was not serious. They did not expect the judges to believe any of this. The procedural points were for the court. The rest was mass propaganda for the media.
…I am sure the judges want to get out of this and they may go for the procedural points. But there is a real problem with Israel’s “no dispute” argument. If accepted, it would mean that a country committing genocide can simply not reply to a challenge, and then legal action will not be possible because no reply means “no dispute”. I hope that absurdity is obvious to the judges. But they may of course wish not to notice it…
What do I think will happen? Some sort of “compromise”. The judges will issue provisional measures different to South Africa’s request, asking Israel to continue to take measures to protect the civilian population, or some such guff. Doubtless the State Department have drafted something like this for President of the court Donoghoe already.
I hope I am wrong. I would hate to give up on international law. One thing I do know for certain. These two days in the Hague were absolutely crucial for deciding if there is any meaning left in notions of international law and human rights. I still believe action by the court could cause the US and UK to back off and provide some measure of relief. For now, let us all pray or wish, each in our way, for the children of Gaza.
The weekly update is here on the website.
The Country of the Week is South Africa! Feel free to chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants. More detail here.
The bulletins site is here!
The RSS feed is here.
Last week’s thread is here.
Israel-Palestine Conflict
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA daily-ish reports on Israel’s destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.
English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news (and has automated posting when the person running it goes to sleep).
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.
English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.
Various sources that are covering the Ukraine conflict are also covering the one in Palestine, like Rybar.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Sources:
Defense Politics Asia’s youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don’t want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it’s just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists’ side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR’s former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR’s forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster’s telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a ‘propaganda tax’, if you don’t believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
Latest unconfirmed report:
A shark has tactically ascertained the location of the Hexbear undersea cable. After identification of this asset, it proceeded to carry out a kinetic offensive against this cable with its teeth, disabling the Hexbear servers for approximately 9-10 hours. In unrelated news, two Hexbear moderators slipped off a ladder in the middle of the southern Pacific Ocean after trying to climb up to our big beautiful boat. Connection with our HQ at Liberal Mountain has been re-established, and we are monitoring the situation.
Here we go:
https://nitter.net/revolutionaryem/status/1748873388595040545
This is amazing.
Ships in the Red Sea are going a step further by signaling to Yemen that not only are they not involved with Israel, but with the US too.
“NO ISRAEL/US INVOLVED”
The blockade on the US is in effect.
I just got back from Ukraine, where I was visiting some friends. Everything we have heard about what’s happening in Ukraine is a lie. The reality is darker, bleaker, and unequivocally hopeless. There is no such thing as Ukraine “winning” this war.
- By their estimates, they have lost over one million of their sons, fathers and husbands; an entire generation is gone.
Nazis and destroying the demographics of their own people, name a better duo
- Even in the Southwest, where the anti-Russian sentiment is long-standing, citizens are reluctant or straight-up scared to publicly criticize Zelensky; they will go to jail.
- In every village and town, the streets, shops, and restaurants are mostly absent of men.
- The few men who remain are terrified of leaving their homes for fear of being kidnapped into conscription. Some have resorted to begging friends to break their legs to avoid service.
- Army search parties take place early in the morning, when men leave their homes to go to work. They ambush and kidnap them off the streets and within 3-4 hours they get listed in the army and taken away straight to the front lines with minimal or no training at all; it is “a death sentence.”
- It’s getting worse every day. Where I was staying, a dentist had just been taken by security forces on his way to work, leaving behind two small children. Every day, 3-5 dead bodies keep arriving from the front lines.
- Mothers and wives fight tooth and nail with the armed forces, beg and plead not to have their men taken away. They try bribing, which sometimes works, but most of the time they are met with physical violence and death threats.
- The territory celebrated as having been “won back” from Russia has been reduced to rubble and is uninhabitable. Regardless, there is no one left to live there and displaced families will likely never return.
- They see the way the war has been reported, at home and abroad. It’s a “joke” and “propaganda.” They say: “Look around: is this winning?”.
- Worse, some have been hoaxed into believing that once Ukrainians forces are exhausted, American soldiers will come in to replace them and “win the war”.
There is no ambiguity in these people. The war was for nothing - a travesty. The outcome always was, and is, clear. The people are hopeless, utterly destroyed, and living in an unending nightmare. They are pleading for an end, any end - most likely the same “peace” that could have been achieved two years ago. In their minds, they have already lost, for their sons, fathers and husbands are gone, and their country has been destroyed. There is no “victory” that can change that.
Except the peace offer then (see under the The Objectives and Strategy of Russia section) was incredibly favorable for Ukraine (and naive on Russia’s part), basically just security guarantees and no NATO membership, without any territorial changes. That ain’t happening anymore.
Make no mistake, they are angry with Putin. But they are also angry with Zelensky and the West. They have lost everything, worst of all, hope and faith, and cannot comprehend why Zelenky wishes to continue the current trajectory, the one of human devastation. I didn’t witness the war; but what I saw was absolutely heart-breaking. Shame on the people, regardless of their intentions, who have supported this war. And shame on the media for continuing to lie about it.
also lmao at the fucking community note
um actually the US says that only a few Ukrainians have died (based on propaganda fed to them by the Ukrainians)people keep calling me alarmist for suggesting that world war 3 has already started. “but context,” they say, “countries don’t declare wars anymore, so it can’t be world war 3. it’s merely an expanding series of interrelated special military operations with a global scope.”
or “fam, this is an arby’s,” they say.
The U.S. should at least receive sanctions as happened with Germany, a country that is still paying compensation for the Holocaust.
On Monday, South African lawyers handling the Genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced that they are preparing a separate lawsuit against the United States and the United Kingdom for complicity in Zionist war crimes.
The new legal action would aim to bring those complicit in the genocide before civil courts, said Wikus Van Rensburg, who said that the team of South African lawyers has maintained contact with American and British lawyers to finalize the new judicial action.
Even if the U.S. does not accept the ICJ ruling, it should at least receive sanctions as happened with Germany, a country that is still paying compensation for the Holocaust.
The United States must now be held accountable for the crimes it committed,’ says Van Rensburg, who is leading the 47-lawyers team.
“We intend to bring legal proceedings against the U.S. Government based on overwhelming evidence that the U.S. Government has, and is, aiding, abetting and supporting, encouraging or providing material assistance and means to Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces. This conduct by the U.S. Government has enabled and continues to enable Israel to engage in international crimes against the Palestinian people,” the South African lawyers said in a letter sent to US President Joe Biden on January 2.
“These crimes resulted in, among others, the displacement of the Palestinian people from their homes and property, destruction of Palestinian property, theft of Palestinian land and which facilitate and assist Israel in committing the ongoing and current war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide , and intentional killing of innocent civilians, including men, women, children and babies as well as the elderly and disabled.”
“The U.S. Government has recently used purported emergency authority provisions to provide 14,000 tank shells, among others, to Israel without Congressional review. In particular, the U.S. Government has indicated that it supposedly used the Arms Export Control Act (presumably P.L. 90-629 as amended through P.L. 117-263, Enacted December 23, 2022, as amended through P.L. 117-263) emergency declaration for the tank rounds worth approximately US$106.5 million for delivery to Israel early in December 2023," they added.
“The tank shells so supplied by the U.S. government to Israel is part of a bigger sale for which Congressional approval will be sought for the larger arms package worth more than US$500 million and comprises of, amongst others, 45,000 shells for Israel’s Merkava tanks, which tanks are regularly deployed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which offensive has killed thousands of civilians’ and which continues to kill civilians on a daily basis,” the lawyers pointed out.
South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana stressed that lawyers are complying with the “rule of law” by going to an institution established by the United Nations.
“Of course, Israel’s supporters, including the UK, will say our request is nonsense. However, there is global support for our view that our case was substantial,” he stated.
Acting precisely in that sense, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron expressed that the accusations are “nonsense.” Meanwhile, White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said the lawsuit is “counterproductive and completely baseless.”
it’s always the weirdest things that stick in your craw, right? like i’ve always been fairly, perhaps obnoxiously critical of the anti-US countries, and extremely disapproving of religious policies therein
but the way motherfucking reddit MFs talk about yemen & the houthis, on god the fury in my heart is unreal. were these motherfuckers alive for the past 10 years??? my entire conscious existence has been a parade of headlines about crises in yemen punctuated by US support for blockading and bombing them to kingdom come. HOW could you possibly think the US did not provoke them? HOW could you think the only people putting their fucking lives on the line to oppose the GENOCIDE in Gaza are in the wrong? these dumbasses would declare an attack on a US base in Iraq (illegally invaded, illegally occupied, illegally retained bases in) a fucking war crime because the US soldiers there haven’t killed an Iraqi in the last year (and that probably isn’t even true)
How are redditors so fucking dumb? They are saying “heh, Iranian missiles are so bad that they can’t even sink the ships”
My dude, if they wanted to destroy the ships they absolutely could. Maybe their goal isn’t to put civilian lives at risk?
Why is the Westoid brain always so focused on killing and hurting as many people as possible?
I suddenly remembered that time when the US “mistakenly” bombed Syrian Arab Army positions in Deir ez-Zor, which was being besieged by ISIS. Moments after the bombing ISIS launched an attack that was barely repelled.
Sus
Biden can bomb Yemen without any approval from Congress. But smol bean Biden can’t do anything but threaten Texas with a lawsuit to stop Operation Lone Star.
And if airstrikes working in Yemen, Biden on South Lawn said: “Well, when you say ‘working’ – are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes.”
Source is the Twitter account of the White House Bloomberg correspondent
CW NSFW blood everywhere - dead summary executed bodies shot in the back.
“To Western governments: it is so disturbing to see you not condemning the horrendous, unspeakable crimes that ISR occupation commits in Gaza daily, IN THE SAME WAY as you did for the crimes on #Oct7,” Albanese said in a social media post on Saturday.
“The West’s double standards is what got us here. Time to end it.”
raided an apartment building, lined up all the men, made all the women strip, separated them and mowed down all the men execution style.
Macron is managing to exceed his previous levels of fascism to a point that is remarkable. In speeches recently:
- He said that France needed a “demographics rearmament” - meaning “make babies, you fucks”.
- He said that “order goes along with progress, authority with emancipation, they’re inseparable, it’s always been true”.
- He wants all schoolchildren to wear uniforms.
Also he recently said in Davos that France would make it much harder to obtain unemployment benefits - that’s after a battery of similar measures those past few years that already made it incredibly harder. They also opened a denunciation online platform where employers can signal when someone unemployed refused a new job, in order to eventually remove their unemployment benefits.
Love the new “Houthis are slavers” talking point liberals are trying to grasp at. Yemen has the second lowest prevalence of slavery among Arab states. KSA, Turkey, Kuwait, and UAE are in the global top 10 for slavery prevalence, and Jordan is in the top 25. Will we be cutting off our relations with these slave states?
