Netanyahu accuses ICC of anti-Semitism in pursuit of war crimes probe

[webfact]

Netanyahu accuses ICC of anti-Semitism in pursuit of war crimes probe

By Jeffrey Heller

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, lights a Hanukkah candle at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem's old city, December 22, 2019. Sebastian Scheiner/Pool via REUTERS

 

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the International Criminal Court of anti-Semitism on Sunday over its chief prosecutor's plan to pursue a war crimes probe in the Palestinian Territories.

 

The right-wing leader, who is fighting for his political life in a March election, made the allegation with Judaism's holy Western Wall as a backdrop during a candle-lighting ceremony marking the start of the eight-day Hanukkah holiday.

 

"New edicts are being cast against the Jewish people - anti-Semitic edicts by the International Criminal Court telling us that we, the Jews standing here next to this wall ... in this city, in this country, have no right to live here and that by doing so, we are committing a war crime," he said.

 

"Pure anti-Semitism," Netanyahu said, raising an argument likely to strike a chord with many Israelis who believe that criticism, especially in Europe, of Israeli policies towards the Palestinians has its roots in anti-Jewish sentiment.

 

The Hague-based International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said on Friday she would launch a full investigation into alleged war crimes in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip as soon as the court's jurisdiction had been established.

 

Israel captured those areas in the 1967 Middle East war and withdrew troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized on Sunday the International Criminal Court's plan to investigate alleged war crimes in the Palestinian Territories. Emer McCarthy reports.

 

Bensouda's announcement opens the possibility of charges being filed against Israelis or Palestinians. Israeli media, however, largely portrayed it as a bid to subject Israeli leaders and military officers to arrest and trial if they travel overseas.

 

Netanyahu's accusations appeared to be centred on a scenario in which Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where the Western Wall stands within the walled Old City, could be viewed by the court as war crimes.

 

ICC prosecutors have said a preliminary investigation on the West Bank focused on "reported settlement-related activities engaged in by Israeli authorities".

 

The Palestinians and many countries consider the settlements to be illegal. Israel disputes this, citing security needs and biblical and historical connections to the land.

 

The Palestinians have welcomed Bensouda's decision.

 

Netanyahu said on Friday the ICC had no jurisdiction to investigate events in the Palestinian Territories, arguing it could only examine petitions submitted by a sovereign state.

 

The ICC has the authority to hear cases of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the 123 countries that have signed up to it.

 

Israel has not joined the court but the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank, has done so. The Gaza Strip is run by the PA's rival, the Islamist Hamas group.

 

(Reporting by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Frances Kerry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-23

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[thaibeachlovers]

Seems it's always anti semitism if something doesn't go the way Netanyahu wants.

[ezzra]

15 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Seems it's always anti semitism if something doesn't go the way Netanyahu wants.

Let's see now, what do you call a hundred of instances where jews and Israelis are targeted all over the world with hate crimes and the BDS targeting israel products? or several countries Iran, Turkey Russia just to name a few, that invades and occupy other countries and territories that's ok, Russia air bombing civilians in Syria it's ok, China imposing a million muslim Uighurs in entertainment labour camps, nevermind that, the UK Corbyn who made is his platform to pender the Palestinians and terrorist groups by calling them 'my friends'... i can go on and on and on, yes, it is an anti semite, hateful and dark ages mentality behaviour whether it goes netanyahu ways or every other which way... 

[GalaxyMan]

5 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Let's see now, what do you call a hundred of instances where jews and Israelis are targeted all over the world with hate crimes and the BDS targeting israel products? or several countries Iran, Turkey Russia just to name a few, that invades and occupy other countries and territories that's ok, Russia air bombing civilians in Syria it's ok, China imposing a million muslim Uighurs in entertainment labour camps, nevermind that, the UK Corbyn who made is his platform to pender the Palestinians and terrorist groups by calling them 'my friends'... i can go on and on and on, yes, it is an anti semite, hateful and dark ages mentality behaviour whether it goes netanyahu ways or every other which way... 

You ignore and miss the point. Anything that doesn't go the way Bibi wants it to go, he calls antisemitism, which distracts from all of the actual instances of antisemitism, of which there are far too many. The man is his own and Israel's worst enemy.

Edited December 23, 2019 by GalaxyMan

[ezzra]

4 minutes ago, GalaxyMan said:

You ignore and miss the point. Anything that doesn't go the way Bibi wants it to go, he calls antisemitism, which distracts from all of the actual instances of antisemitism. The man is his own and Israel's worst enemy.

Shame on you for posting such vile content whether you're a Jew or not, this kind of hateful attitude will not endear you to any cause or narrative , Again, a shame on you...

Edited December 23, 2019 by ezzra

[GalaxyMan]

2 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Shame on you for posting such vile content whether you're a Jew or not, this kind of hateful attitude will not endear you to any cause or narrative , Again, a shame on you...

The only shame I feel is that Netanyahu is the face of, the leader of Israel. We deserve better.

[Eindhoven]

43 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Let's see now, what do you call a hundred of instances where jews and Israelis are targeted all over the world with hate crimes and the BDS targeting israel products? or several countries Iran, Turkey Russia just to name a few, that invades and occupy other countries and territories that's ok, Russia air bombing civilians in Syria it's ok, China imposing a million muslim Uighurs in entertainment labour camps, nevermind that, the UK Corbyn who made is his platform to pender the Palestinians and terrorist groups by calling them 'my friends'... i can go on and on and on, yes, it is an anti semite, hateful and dark ages mentality behaviour whether it goes netanyahu ways or every other which way... 

 

 

Oh please...was waiting until you piped up trying to defend the indefensible. Here you try deflection. Sad.

 

Have the Uighurs filed a claim with the ICC? The Syrians? Corbyn is not allowed to defend the rights of the Palestinians??!!

 

thaibeachlovers has it right, but it's certainly not just Netanyahu who depends on that tactic.

 

 

 

 

[Rimmer]

A pretty nasty troll post has been removed

[thaibeachlovers]

57 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Let's see now, what do you call a hundred of instances where jews and Israelis are targeted all over the world with hate crimes and the BDS targeting israel products?

That's, IMO, revenge for what Israel does in Palestinian territory. Set the Palestinians free in their own country and the hate against Israel will stop, IMO.

[Bluespunk]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the International Criminal Court of anti-Semitism on Sunday over its chief prosecutor's plan to pursue a war crimes probe in the Palestinian Territories.

BS

[Bluespunk]

10 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

That's, IMO, revenge for what Israel does in Palestinian territory. Set the Palestinians free in their own country and the hate against Israel will stop, IMO.

I don’t agree with Netanyahu’s BS in the OP, but anti Semitic hatred towards Judaism was happening for centuries prior to the establishment of Israel. 
 

It is rooted in religious intolerance, hate and bigotry that long predates the current Israeli state. 
 

Israel should accept changes to its own borders and allow the creation of a Palestinian state, but don’t try to kid us that will end the hatred towards Israel.
 

That bigotry is much older and deeply ingrained than the mere existence of Israel.  

Edited December 23, 2019 by Bluespunk

[ezzra]

15 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

 

 

Oh please...was waiting until you piped up trying to defend the indefensible. Here you try deflection. Sad.

 

Have the Uighurs filed a claim with the ICC? The Syrians? Corbyn is not allowed to defend the rights of the Palestinians??!!

 

thaibeachlovers has it right, but it's certainly not just Netanyahu who depends on that tactic.

 

 

 

 

Let's face it and tell the truth, this is NOT about the Palestinians is it? the jews were persecuted, hated and ostracized all through history long before there were any palestinians around, so what were the excuses than huh? the terms palestinas become to be known  after the 6 days way in 1967, where were the palestinians than? citizens of Jordan that's where...

[GalaxyMan]

26 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

That's, IMO, revenge for what Israel does in Palestinian territory. Set the Palestinians free in their own country and the hate against Israel will stop, IMO.

Yes, a lot like the payback that Bin Laden gave the USSA. Same situation, different actors.

[RichardColeman]

18 minutes ago, ezzra said:

the jews were persecuted, hated and ostracized all through history long before there were any palestinians around

With respects any group of people who declare themselves the sole people of God and look down on non-sole people of God are pretty much asking for trouble - and that counts just as much for Jews, as Islam, and most other religions or race groups.

Edited December 23, 2019 by RichardColeman

[TooBigToFit]

All religious people are nuts. And most all are total hypocrites in their own supposed beliefs.

 

[Enoon]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

Let's face it and tell the truth, this is NOT about the Palestinians is it? the jews were persecuted, hated and ostracized all through history long before there were any palestinians around, so what were the excuses than huh? the terms palestinas become to be known  after the 6 days way in 1967, where were the palestinians than? citizens of Jordan that's where...

 

They used to be known as the "Philistines" and have been around as long as the "Israelites".

 

"The term is generally accepted to be a translation of the Biblical name Peleshet (פלשת Pəlésheth, usually transliterated as Philistia). The term and its derivates are used more than 250 times in Masoretic-derived versions of the Hebrew Bible, of which 10 uses are in the Torah, with undefined boundaries, and almost 200 of the remaining references are in the Book of Judges and the Books of Samuel."

 

They were a Semitic people.

Semitic - Wikipedia

 

But they seem to have given up the language.

 

Greeks and Romans formalised the name:

Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين‎ Filasṭīn, Falasṭīn, Filisṭīn; Greek: Παλαιστίνη, Palaistinē; Latin: Palaestina; Hebrew: פלשתינה‎ Palestina) is a geographic region in Western Asia usually considered to include Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and in some definitions, parts of western Jordan.

The name was used by ancient Greek writers, and it was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina,

 

It appears that their land was not part of the lands that "God", through his "Prophet", Moses (blessings be upon "His" Head) told the original Israelites to conquer.

 

Genesis 15:18-21:

In that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates;

the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,

and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,

and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girga***e, and the Jebusite.'

 

But a newer generation of Hebrews "re-interpreted" the "contract" and decided to take possession.

 

Perhaps because, like the Hebrews, they were exiled:

 

"The Philistines were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan between the 12th century BC and 604 BC when they were exiled to Mesopotamia by King Nebuchadnezzar II."

 

........and the Hebrews thought it was a case of "vacant possession".

 

Sounds like it:

 

A land without a people for a people without a land - Wikipedia

 

Don't quote me, but I believe that, in Israel, there is a body of Fundamentalist Hebrews that are dissatisfied because many Modern Hebrews have ignored the old texts.

 

Palestine/Philistia:

 

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2019 by Enoon

[Enoon]

57 minutes ago, Enoon said:

 

 

They were a Semitic people.

Semitic - Wikipedia

 

But they seem to have given up the language.

 

Correction:

 

Semitic language spoken.

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2019 by Enoon

[Baerboxer]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Seems it's always anti semitism if something doesn't go the way Netanyahu wants.

 

The ICC like the UN are highly selective in whom they criticize and want to sanction.

 

What about all the human rights violations, civil liberty violations and persecution of other religions in some Muslim states. Should they also not be investigated?

 

See which countries are on certain UN committees if you want a laugh.

 

Islam has always got on well with totalitarian states, with the exception of China, communist and national socialist etc. Wonder why that is?

[stevenl]

8 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

The ICC like the UN are highly selective in whom they criticize and want to sanction.

 

What about all the human rights violations, civil liberty violations and persecution of other religions in some Muslim states. Should they also not be investigated?

 

See which countries are on certain UN committees if you want a laugh.

 

Islam has always got on well with totalitarian states, with the exception of China, communist and national socialist etc. Wonder why that is?

We're talking war crimes here, not 'persecution of other religions in some muslim states'.

[Sujo]

11 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

The ICC like the UN are highly selective in whom they criticize and want to sanction.

 

What about all the human rights violations, civil liberty violations and persecution of other religions in some Muslim states. Should they also not be investigated?

 

See which countries are on certain UN committees if you want a laugh.

 

Islam has always got on well with totalitarian states, with the exception of China, communist and national socialist etc. Wonder why that is?

Which generally happens to minorities within their country.

Israel does all its dirty work outside its borders. Hence, war crimes.

[spidermike007]

Netanyahu is an unhinged extremist, who screams anti-semitism every time someone, or some organization or government criticizes Israeli policy, actions, or aggression. It is beyond inane. He totally lacks any credibility, at this point. And Israel seems to have no interest at all, in finding a solution to this dreadful problem, and improving the conditions for the Palestinians, one iota. 

[legend49]

6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Seems it's always anti semitism if something doesn't go the way Netanyahu wants.

Just another man child copying his mate.

[nobodysfriend]

5 hours ago, ezzra said:

the jews were persecuted, hated and ostracized all through history

And why this ?

Serious question , I do not know why ... ?

[Cory1848]

3 hours ago, Enoon said:

 

They used to be known as the "Philistines" and have been around as long as the "Israelites".

 

"The term is generally accepted to be a translation of the Biblical name Peleshet (פלשת Pəlésheth, usually transliterated as Philistia). The term and its derivates are used more than 250 times in Masoretic-derived versions of the Hebrew Bible, of which 10 uses are in the Torah, with undefined boundaries, and almost 200 of the remaining references are in the Book of Judges and the Books of Samuel."

It’s awfully hard to trace such lineages definitively, and the mixing of peoples over centuries often leaves no clear lines of ancestry. Some historians argue that Palestinian Arabs are largely the descendants of the Hebrew peasants who occupied the land in biblical times, then converted to Islam during the Arab invasions. Coupled with the theory that Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jews, who make up most of Israel’s population, are descendants of the Khazars, a medieval Turkic people whose leadership adopted Judaism and whose central Asian khanate was ultimately absorbed by the expanding Russian state, and you have the rather delicious if absurd situation that the present conflict is between proto-Turks (present-day Israeli Jews) and ancient Hebrews (present-day Palestinian Arabs). (Unfortunately, the Khazar theory has been thoroughly debunked by genetic research.)

 

In any event, a modern-day Palestinian Arab identity has clearly developed over the past century that cannot be denied, certainly helped along by the conflict with the Israeli state, and this is simply part of the organic development and transformation of human societies/cultures, that’s happening all over the place, all the time.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

 

The ICC like the UN are highly selective in whom they criticize and want to sanction.

 

What about all the human rights violations, civil liberty violations and persecution of other religions in some Muslim states. Should they also not be investigated?

 

See which countries are on certain UN committees if you want a laugh.

 

Islam has always got on well with totalitarian states, with the exception of China, communist and national socialist etc. Wonder why that is?

Topic is Netanyahu and the ICC, not the UN or Islam.

[Cory1848]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

Netanyahu is an unhinged extremist, who screams anti-semitism every time someone, or some organization or government criticizes Israeli policy, actions, or aggression. It is beyond inane. He totally lacks any credibility, at this point. And Israel seems to have no interest at all, in finding a solution to this dreadful problem, and improving the conditions for the Palestinians, one iota. 

I agree with you on Netanyahu; I used to have some respect for his intelligence, but his slavish devotion to the Trump administration has been disappointing. I do, however, believe that there are substantial progressive elements in Israel, if they could only somehow win an election or two. But it seems that Israel is not immune to the current global love affair with tribalism.

[candide]

Netanyahu accuses the ICC of being anti-Semitic but one thing is certain: they are not pro-Muslim. Let's see the list of cases:

Abu Garda, Al Bashir, Al Hassan....

https://www.icc-cpi.int/cases

[Jingthing]

I think it may be more of a case of (justified) anti-BIBI-ism than antisemitism. That said it's definitely a fact that a lot of the hostility towards the existence of Israel and Israel's right to defend itself is rooted in Jew hatred. 

[Spike1938]

8 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Seems it's always anti semitism if something doesn't go the way Netanyahu wants.

I am Jewish and I agree that Netanyahu's government is behaving criminally towards the Palestinians. The ICC actions are correct and are not anti semitic. They, the Israelis, must never forget the Holocaust and not create one of their own which they are well along doing.

Edited December 23, 2019 by Spike1938

[Proboscis]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

Let's see now, what do you call a hundred of instances where jews and Israelis are targeted all over the world with hate crimes and the BDS targeting israel products? or several countries Iran, Turkey Russia just to name a few, that invades and occupy other countries and territories that's ok, Russia air bombing civilians in Syria it's ok, China imposing a million muslim Uighurs in entertainment labour camps, nevermind that, the UK Corbyn who made is his platform to pender the Palestinians and terrorist groups by calling them 'my friends'... i can go on and on and on, yes, it is an anti semite, hateful and dark ages mentality behaviour whether it goes netanyahu ways or every other which way... 

I don't think that my Jewish friends would like to be compared with the horrible regimes in Syria, China etc. If I were to do so (as a non-Jewish person), I would expect to be described as anti-semitic.

 

However, to be critical of the Republic of Ireland government (where Catholics amount to 95% of he population) is not to be anti-Catholic. And to be critical of the Israeli government is not to be anti-semitic.