Compiled by Dick Bennett https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2024/02/omni-war-watch-wednesdays-163-february.html
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
ABOUT THE AUTHOR READ AN EXCERPT IN THE MEDIA
GAZA in The 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