OMNI WAR
WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #163, FEBRUARY 7, 2024
Compiled by Dick Bennett.
NORMAN G. FINKELSTEIN. I Accuse! HEREWITH A PROOF BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT THAT ICC CHIEF
PROSECUTOR FATOU BENSOUDA WHITEWASHED ISRAEL.
OR Books, 2019. Publisher’s description:
“Mr. Finkelstein['s]… research is certainly thorough.
His characterizations, too, can be brilliant, and he spares nobody…” —The Economist
“A compelling examination of a
decision that unsettled many international lawyers and a reminder of the extent
to which Palestinians have been let down by international institutions.”
—Morning Star
“One of the world’s most
effective critics of Israel... Intense and eloquent.” —Mondoweiss.
This finely-honed indictment by a writer widely
acknowledged for his forensic skills is directed at Fatou Bensouda, the
Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. It sets out how she
defiled her office by refusing to investigate credible allegations of Israeli
criminality.
On 31 May 2010, Israeli forces
attacked a humanitarian flotilla bound for Gaza. By the end of the action, nine
passengers on the flotilla’s flagship, the Mavi Marmara, were
dead (a tenth passenger died later from his injuries). Scores of others were
injured, and hundreds more endured torture and inhuman treatment.
The Union of the Comoros, where
the Mavi Marmara was registered, referred the Israeli
attack to the ICC. The Chief Prosecutor ruled that the incident was not of
sufficient gravity to warrant an official investigation. Bensouda could only
reach this conclusion by grossly misrepresenting the facts of the case and
removing the assault from its context—the illegal Israeli blockade and the
humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Though she declared the case
closed, an unprecedented pushback from within the ICC has forced the Chief
Prosecutor to revisit it. The challenge now posed by this volume comes down to
this: If justice is to prevail, ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda must either
investigate alleged Israeli crimes or resign.
2023 what did she do?
208 pages • Paperback
GAZA
inThe Nation
The December 18, 2023 number provides
five articles against the eradication of Gaza and demands for a ceasefire. Here are 2 of the articles.
D. D.
Guttenplan (for The Nation). “Stop the War.” “An immediate cease-fire remains the
essential first step…”
Spencer Ackerman. “Forever Wars.” “The ‘rules based international order” is all
about US hegemony.”
Elie Mystal. “Biden on the Brink.” The “Trump would be worse” argument isn’t
attractive to Biden’s supporters who oppose his Israel-Palestine policies.
GAZA: HAMAS
I was a
member of Americans for Middle East Understanding to read its publication, The
Link, each number containing a single article. One was on “Hamas” by Khalid
Amayreh in 2008. It provides a thumbnail
history of Hamas from its beginning to that year. amayreh@p-ol.com
END OMNI WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #163, FEBRUARY 7, 2024