GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 287

Houthis Hit Israel

Drone Strike In Tel Aviv

We learn from a report from i24news.tv that a drone sent from the Houthi rebels in Yemen killed one man and wounded seven others:

One man was killed and several others wounded in the coastal Israeli metropolis of Tel Aviv by a drone launched by Yemen's Houthi jihadists early on Friday. The alert sirens were not activated. 

A local police statement gives us more details of the attack:

"Early this morning, emergency personnel received a report of an explosion that took place here in the heart of Tel Aviv," a police spokesperson said. "Emergency personnel rushed to the scene, including bomb disposal experts who are still working at the scene to investigate what exactly took place. We're talking about a number of individuals who were harmed by this explosion. At this time, we also have reports of one fatality.”

Apparently the IDF didn’t intercept it citing this as the reason:

The Israeli military's preliminary inquest into the failure to intercept the deadly attack suggested it was caused by a "human error."

We don’t know for certain, but the rebels said they were behind it:

Houthi military spokesperson said the group were "Triumphing for the oppression of the Palestinian people and their mujahideen, and in retaliation to the Zionist enemy’s massacres against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."

In a separate i24news.tv report we read that Defense Minister Gallant held briefing after the attack to assess what happened and what they will do about it:

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday held an operational situation assessment following the deadly UAV attack that took place overnight.

Minister Gallant was briefed on the details of the incident and discussed efforts to reinforce Israel’s air defense systems, as well as the operational and intelligence measures that will be conducted in light of the attack.

The briefing was attended by the IDF Chief of the General Staff, Head of the Operations Directorate, Head of the Intelligence Directorate, IAF Chief of Staff, and Head of the IDI’s Research Division.

Here is what Gallant said:

Gallant said upon completing the discussion that “The State of Israel has been at war on its southern and northern borders as well as additional arenas, for over nine months. The year 2024 is marked by war – we must be prepared for every scenario and every arena. We must be prepared for defensive and offensive actions.

"The defense establishment is working to reinforce all defense mechanisms and will bring to justice anyone who harms the State of Israel," he added. "I held an operational situation assessment this morning to review the steps required to strengthen our defense arrays in light of events overnight, as well as the intelligence and operational activities required against those responsible for the attack.”

International Court Rules Against Israel

We hear in an article from The Jerusalem Post that Israeli settlements in the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and Gaza are illegal:

Israel’s “occupation” of the West Bank and east Jerusalem is illegal and should end as soon as can be arranged, the International Court of Justice said as it issued its first-ever advisory opinion on the matter Friday afternoon at The Hague.

“By eleven votes to four,” ICJ President Nawaf Salam said, the 15-member judicial panel is of the opinion that, “the state of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful.”

The opinion added what areas they are talking about and Israel should do about it:

This includes, he explained, “Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them.”

Those same eleven judges, he said, are of the opinion that “Israel has an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible.”

It is non-binding, but others can still use it to justify actions that are:

The wide-ranging opinion was the first of its kind. It looked at Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem, but focused primarily on the latter two regions. Although its non-binding, it could be used as the basis for global action against Israel either at the International Criminal Court, the United Nations, or by the country's allies.

Some of the court’s conclusions would help strengthen the ICC as it examines the possibility of war crimes suits against Israelis, on the issue of settlement activity. The opinion also opens the door to the possibility of apartheid charges against Israel in the future, strengthens divestment calls against the Jewish state, and could give incentive to the country's allies to make changes to the contours of their existing or future bilateral agreements with Israel due to worries of running afoul of international law. Of concern in particular is Israel’s trade relations with its allies.

The court basically says to not recognize Israel’s claims on the territories:

“By 12 votes to three,” Salam said, the ICJ is of the option that “all state states are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of Israel” in that territory, Salam stated.

They want international action taken now:

Those same judges, Salam said, held that this same obligation was incumbent upon international organizations such as the United Nations.

Salam added that those twelve judges also advised the United Nations, especially the General Assembly and the Security Council, to consider the “precise modalities and further action required to bring an end as rapidly as possible” to Israel's presence “in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

They also wants the areas to be evacuated by all Israelis and for Israel to pay for things:

The judges voted 14 to one, Salam said, to “make reparation for the damage caused to all natural or legal persons concerned” in the “Palestinian Territory.” Those 14 judges also advised that Israel had an “obligation to cease immediately all new settlement actives and to evacuate settlers” from the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

It Took Time

According to the article, the court took it’s time ruling on the request:

The case stems from a 2022 request for a legal opinion from the General Assembly, predating the war in Gaza that began in October.

Israel isn’t taking this ruling lying down:

Israeli leaders argue the territories are not occupied in legal terms because they are on disputed lands, but the United Nations and most of the international community regard them as occupied territory.

A lot of people wanted the court to do something:

In February, more than 50 states presented their views before the court, with Palestinian representatives asking the court to find that Israel must withdraw from all the occupied areas and dismantle illegal settlements.

Israel wanted anyone to know that any ruling would only get in the way of resolving the conflict:

Israel did not participate in the oral hearings but filed a written statement telling the court that issuing an advisory opinion would be "harmful" to attempts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Some nations didn’t think the court should rule at all, including the US:

The majority of states participating asked the court to find the occupation illegal, while a handful, including Canada and Britain, argued it should refuse to give an advisory opinion.

The United States, Israel's strongest backer, urged the court to limit any advisory opinion and not order the unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian territories.

The US position was that the court should issue no decision that could hurt negotiations toward a two-state solution on a "land for peace" principle.

Israel ignored a previous ruling:

In 2004 the ICJ gave an advisory ruling that an Israeli security barrier running through portions of the West Bank was illegal and Israeli settlements were established in breach of international law. Israel dismissed that ruling.

The rulings aren’t changing anyone’s mind on either side and I tend to believe that that they are getting in the way of any meaningful changes. In the end, the best way to solve the land issue is to defeat the terrorists pushing for the land and killing for it as well. Once that happens the next change is for those pushing for the land to simply admit that the land has always been Israels and to either agree to live with the Jews governing it or relocate in lands that support Hamas. It shouldn’t be that difficult, but yet it is.