As Israeli voters went to the polls, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared he would oppose the creation of a Palestinian state. In what The New York Times called a “racist rant,” he also proclaimed, “right-wing rule is in danger” because “Arab voters are streaming in huge quantities to the polling stations.” James Besser, Washington correspondent for Jewish newspapers for 24 years, wrote that Israeli voters, “more clearly aware of Netanyahu’s intent than ever,” have chosen “the apartheid path.”
Netanyahu cov lus tau ntsib nrog kev npau taws hauv Tebchaws Meskas thiab thoob ntiaj teb. Obama cov thawj coj tau tawm tsam los ntawm kev hais tias Tebchaws Meskas yuav "rov ntsuas" nws txoj cai rau cov neeg Ixayees. Thiab, qhov tseem ceeb, Tus Thawj Saib Xyuas Tsev Dawb Denis McDonough tau hais rau J Street lub rooj sib tham tias "txoj haujlwm uas tau siv sijhawm ntev txog 50 xyoo yuav tsum xaus, thiab cov neeg Palestinian yuav tsum muaj cai nyob hauv thiab tswj hwm lawv tus kheej hauv lawv tus kheej lub tebchaws. ”
Netanyahu cov lus tsim lub sijhawm kub rau Barack Obama radically hloov nws txoj cai ntawm kev txhawb nqa tsis ncaj ncees rau cov neeg Ixayees txoj kev ua txhaum cai tsis tu ncua.
Israel Builds Illegal Settlements
Cov neeg Ixayees tau hla West Bank (xws li East Jerusalem) los ntawm kev ua tub rog hauv xyoo 1967 thiab tau tuav nws hauv kev ua tub rog txij thaum ntawd los. Security Council Resolution 242, dhau xyoo 1967, hais txog "kev tsis lees paub ntawm kev tau txais thaj chaw los ntawm kev ua tsov ua rog" thiab hu rau "kev tshem tawm ntawm cov tub rog Ixayees los ntawm thaj chaw nyob hauv kev tsis sib haum xeeb tsis ntev los no." Txawm li cas los xij, cov neeg Ixayees tseem nyob hauv thaj chaw Palestinian nws tau txais hauv "Kev Ua Tsov Rog Rau Hnub."
Since 1967, Israel has transferred more than a half million of its own citizens into these territories. Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank, which is occupied Palestinian territory. A state that is occupying territory that is not its own cannot build settlements on that territory and transfer its own citizens into them. Under the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court (ICC), such action constitutes a war crime. Article 8.2(b)(viii) of the statute defines “the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies” as a war crime.
The ICC can investigate and prosecute these crimes. Yet, in order to prevent such investigation and prosecution, the United States has consistently opposed Palestine becoming a party to the Rome Statute. Congress passed a law that would automatically discontinue the United States’ $400 million annual aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) if Palestine were to bring charges against Israel in the ICC. Palestine will join the ICC on Plaub Hlis Ntuj 1. If Palestine files charges in the ICC, Obama should find indirect ways to provide funding to the PA to prevent its collapse.
Raws li National Emergencies Act, tus thawj tswj hwm muaj lub hwj chim tshaj tawm cov lus teb thaum muaj xwm txheej ceev rau ib qho teeb meem txawv teb chaws. Obama yuav tsum xaiv Israeli chaw nyob rau qhov xwm txheej ceev. Tom qab ntawd nws tuaj yeem tswj hwm lossis txwv tsis pub muaj kev pauv pauv txawv teb chaws uas ncaj qha lossis tsis ncaj qha rau kev nthuav dav ntawm cov chaw tsis raug cai.
Kaum ob lub koom haum raug xaiv los ua 501(c)(3) cov koom haum tsis muaj txiaj ntsig los ntawm Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funnel kaum tawm lab nyiaj daus las txhua xyoo rau Israeli chaw nyob tsis raug cai. Kev siv nyiaj tsis raug cai ua txhaum cai IRS cov lus qhia. IRS yuav tsum ua tib zoo tshawb xyuas cov haujlwm ntawm cov koom haum no.
Israel Committed War Crimes During Operation Protective Edge
In July 2014, Israel invaded Gaza and killed more than 2,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians. Nearly 10,000 Palestinians were wounded, more than 2,000 of them children. Tens of thousands of Palestinians lost their homes and infrastructure was severely damaged. Numerous schools, United Nations (UN) places of refuge, hospitals, ambulances and mosques were intentionally targeted. Israel used the “Dahiya doctrine” to apply “disproportionate force” and cause “great damage and destruction to civilian property and infrastructure, and suffering to civilians populations,” as defined in the 2009 UN Human Rights Council (Goldstone) report. These acts constitute evidence of war crimes under Article 8 (2)(a) of the Rome Statute.
Flavia Pansieri, tus thawj coj ntawm UN tus thawj coj loj rau tib neeg txoj cai, hais tias hais tias tib neeg txoj cai ua txhaum cai "roj roj thiab tsim kev tsis sib haum xeeb" hauv thaj chaw nyob hauv Palestinian, ntxiv tias, "[h] kev ua txhaum cai ntawm tib neeg hauv West Bank, suav nrog East Jerusalem, yog ob qho tib si ua rau thiab qhov tshwm sim ntawm kev ua tub rog thiab kev ua phem tsis tu ncua, hauv cov txheej txheem iab iab nrog kev cuam tshuam dav rau kev thaj yeeb nyab xeeb thiab kev nyab xeeb hauv cheeb tsam. "
Nevertheless, the United States has opposed the investigation and prosecution of these crimes in the ICC. The United States has joined Israel in boycotting the UN Human Rights Council’s investigation of international law violations during the July 2014 attack (known as Operation Protective Edge). The US government should support this process and the ICC investigation.
The United States provides Israel with $3.1 billion in military assistance each year. Under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), countries that receive US military aid can only use weapons for legitimate self-defense and internal security. Cov neeg Ixayees tsis ua raws li kev tiv thaiv tus kheej thaum lub sij hawm tiv thaiv Edge thiab nws cov kev ua tau mus deb dhau kev tiv thaiv sab hauv. Obama yuav tsum ncua kev xa tawm yav tom ntej ntawm riam phom uas tau piav qhia hauv AECA.
Moreover, under the Leahy Law, military units that commit human rights abuses cannot receive US training or weapons, and individuals who commit human rights abuses are denied US visas. The US State Department’s annual report has documented Israeli violations.
Thiab Txoj Cai Kev Pabcuam Txawv Tebchaws ntawm 1961 txwv tsis pub muaj kev pabcuam rau txhua lub tebchaws "uas ua raws li tus qauv ntawm kev ua txhaum cai thoob ntiaj teb lees paub txog tib neeg txoj cai."
Obama yuav tsum tswj cov cai no.
Israel Maintains the Illegal Barrier Wall
Israel constructed a wall that encroaches on Palestinian land. The International Court of Justice (ICJ, or the World Court) – the legal arm of the UN system – concluded that the construction of that wall and its associated regime impedes the liberty of movement of the inhabitants of the occupied Palestinian territory as guaranteed under Article 12 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The ICJ also determined that the wall impedes the right to work, to health, to education and to an adequate standard of living as required by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The ICJ ruled that Israel should dismantle the wall, make reparation for the damage it has caused and return the land, orchards, olive groves and other immovable property it seized to construct the wall – or compensate the aggrieved persons for the damage suffered.
The US government should tell Israel to dismantle the wall in accordance with the ICJ’s ruling.
The Pentagon Admits Israel Has Nuclear Weapons
After 50 years of denial about Israel’s arsenal of nuclear weapons, the US Defense Department has finally admitted that Israel has nuclear weapons. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, prohibits US military assistance to countries that acquire or transfer nuclear reprocessing technology outside of international nonproliferation regimes; yet this law has been honored in its breach.
While the United States prods other countries to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), requiring international inspections, Israel refuses to sign the NPT, thereby avoiding inspections.
Obama should enforce the law.
US Policy of Opposing Security Council Resolutions Critical of Israel
Tebchaws Asmeskas muaj txoj cai tawm tsam txhua qhov kev daws teeb meem hauv UN Security Council uas rau txim rau cov neeg Ixayees txoj kev ua tsis raug cai ntawm Palestinian thaj chaw, lossis qhov ntawd txhais cov kev txwv ntawm kev daws ob lub xeev.
Tseeb tiag, Tebchaws Meskas tau tawm tsam qhov kev daws teebmeem thaum Lub Ob Hlis 2011 uas yuav tau rau txim rau lub tsev ntawm Israeli chaw nyob hauv Palestinian thaj chaw. Thiab thaum lub Kaum Ib Hlis 2014, Tebchaws Meskas tau tawm tsam tsab ntawv daws teeb meem uas xav kom cov neeg Ixayees tshem tawm ntawm West Bank tsis pub dhau peb xyoos.
Obama has put all of his eggs in the “peace process” basket. But now that Netanyahu has stripped away all pretense of negotiating for a Palestinian state, Obama must drop his opposition to such resolutions in the council. A senior White House official told The New York Times that the Obama administration might lend its support to a resolution “embodying the principles of a two-state solution that would include Israel’s 1967 borders with Palestine and mutually agreed swaps of territory.” The 1967 borders are those that existed before the “Rau-Hnub Tsov Rog,” uas cov neeg Ixayees coj West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights, Sinai Peninsula thiab Yeluxalees.
Obama Has a Duty to Enforce the Law
The US Constitution requires that the president “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” Netanyahu has dropped any pretense of good faith. It is high time for the US government to halt its longstanding policy of turning a blind eye to Israel’s many violations of the law. Obama has a constitutional duty to enforce the law.
Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, a former president of the National Lawyers Guild, and deputy secretary general of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers. Her most recent book is “Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues.”
ZNetwork tau txais nyiaj tsuas yog los ntawm kev ua siab zoo ntawm nws cov neeg nyeem.
Pab Nyiaj