Publications

On November 21, 2024, nearly six months after Prosecutor Karim Khan submitted a request for arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber approved the request and issued the warrants. At the same time, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Hamas commander, Mohammed Deif, who was reportedly killed in July, although his death has not yet been officially confirmed. For Israel, this decision to issue the warrants establishes a...

Israel has utilized its military action in the Gaza Strip and has successfully dismantled the military arm of Hamas. However, it has not achieved the release of the hostages, and it has not destroyed—or at least neutralized—Hamas’s control over Gaza. In response, several generals in the IDF reserves recently proposed a plan for taking control of northern Gaza, evacuating the civilian population, and laying siege to the area (the “Generals’ Plan”). While the plan contributes to the ongoing debate about the future control of Gaza, it...

Since the beginning of the war, the UN has been releasing reports and updates regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza, showing a dire picture of a shortage of humanitarian aid, a severe nutritional crisis, and even the spread of famine in the area. A close examination of these reports, based on the UN’s own clarifications, shows that they portray an inaccurate and partial picture of the aid entering the Gaza Strip. The reports are based on incomplete data from sources in Gaza and disregard significant portions of aid shipments...

On January 26, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gave its decision on the request submitted by South Africa on December 29, 2023, in the case against Israel concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention) in the Gaza Strip. The ICJ did not accept Israel’s request to dismiss the case and issued provisional measures, pending the court’s final judgment on the case. The court also rejected South Africa’s main request to order Israel to halt its...

Much confusion surrounds the debate over the nature and extent of Israel’s obligations toward the civilian population in Gaza. Several important questions must be addressed: Is Gaza an occupied territory? Is it permitted to prevent the supply of electricity to Gaza? Can Israel lay siege to Gaza as part of its war against Hamas? Is there a duty to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza? Is advising civilians in Gaza to evacuate to the south a form of internal displacement?

On the morning of Saturday, October 7, 2023, on the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret and Simhat Torah, Hamas launched a murderous terror attack against Israel. In a series of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Hamas killed more than 1,400 people, the vast majority of them civilians; wounded more than 3,300; and took around 200 people hostage or captive. The numbers are still growing. Although this attack was directed toward Israeli civilians, it should be cast as a crime against humanity at large. The brutality and atrocities...

Over the past seven months, Israel’s current government has undermined the status of women through legislation, coalition decisions, and inflammatory public discourse fueled by controversial statements from senior officials. Not only is this disturbing from a moral standpoint, but it also has potential national security implications for Israel.