Nitsana Dahan-Leitner who works in the Tel Aviv offices of Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center discusses the challenges Israel will face from the United Nations in coming weeks.

Her calm, almost tranquil appearance hides the fierce opposition Israel is likely to face from its UN Human Rights Council and three-member Commission of Inquiry. This was mandated by the UN in order to "investigate as well as in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel all alleged breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law up until and including the 13th of April, 2021."

While Israel has faced vigorous UN investigations in the recent past however, the major differentiator is that the present UN inquiry was established as a continuous investigation to investigate Israel's IDF. The commission has not been given an deadline for its duration.

Darshan-Leitner explains, "The UN Human Rights Council probe is not being made up out of thin air," and he established Shurat HaDin back in 2003. "It is connected to the activities of the International Court of Justice in The Hague."

nitsana darshan leitner created the ICC. The court is able to prosecute people for crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, as well as the crime of aggression.While Israel initially supported the idea of an international court, it was concerned that the court might become an instrument which could be used against it. Israel, the US and a host of other nations have not ratified or signed the statute and have no legal obligation to adhere to the decisions of the International Court of Justice.

Fatou Bensouda (the ICC prosecutor at The Hague) announced in March 2021 that she was going to start a war crimes probe against Israel and Hamas.

A ruling by the International Court against Israel may have major ramifications. A majority of European nations and Scandinavians are members of the court and are legally required to follow the decisions of the court. If the ICC has ruled that IDF troops had committed war crimes, then any Israeli serving in IDF military operation could face the possibility of being arrested. The threat of harsh economic sanctions could be leveled against the Jewish state and its banking sector.

https://vfi-usa.org/register-now-zoom-presentation-inside-the-cover... could also be exposed to other risks like sanctions, embargoes of weapons, and even boycotts. El Al and other Israeli transporters might not be allowed to operate in certain countries, for example.

Bensouda's term ended as prosecutor in June 2021 and was replaced by Karim Khan, who is a British barrister. Bensouda had 14 investigations which were inherited by the prosecutor who replaced her. Eight of the investigations were still in progress. Darshan Leitner explains that he classified all the items on his docket in the planning stage to the dismay of Palestinians. This was a tactful way for him to state that the cases were not worthy of the court’s time or weren't urgent enough.


Darshan Leitner stated that "this caused a lot of anger to the Palestinian Authority." "They couldn’t understand why the arduous efforts they have made to get the prosecutor open an investigation were not successful."

The PA requested the establishment of a commission at the International Court of Justice. This would enable Karim Khan who was not able to accept the PA's request to reactivate ICC investigation against Israel in the past, to change his mind.

Darshan Leitner claims that the PA continues to blame Israel for war crimes and apartheid since the time of the report. Amnesty International released a report in February that claimed Israel of committing apartheid violations within and outside the Green Line. The report said that Israel "has created and maintained an oppression institution against Palestinians" and charged Israel with racial discrimination against Palestinians from 1948.

Darshan Leitner claims that Palestinian claims against Israel at International Criminal Court are focused on two specific areas. The IDF military operations and the issue of Israeli settlements. http://www.behrmanhouse.com/RL/nitsana-darshan-leitner-throwing-the... of these areas they claim constitute war crimes.

The Palestinians are pushing Karim Khan Karim Khan, the head of the ICC prosecution, to prioritise the probe into Israel under the "apartheidaccusation. This is a fresh claim that was never part of the initial investigation Bensouda carried out. Yet, "whatever gets them this investigation underway, it doesn't matter what you claim or if it is true," she asserts.

KARIM KHAN, new ICC prosecutor. (Credit: Michael Kooren/Reuters)
The latest attempt of the UN's Palestinians to convince the court in The Hague, is Navi Pillay, which is a three-member UN commission of inquiry. It comprises Miloon (India) and Chris Sidoti from Australia.

According to Darshan-Leitner Pillay, Kothari and Sidoti are recognized for their prejudices towards Israel."All three have a documented track record of statements and actions on the same topics they are required to investigate the matter,'" she says. "Pillay herself is accused of being apartheid in Israel and was the inspiration for the antisemitic Durban conference. The other groups aren't far behind."

nitsana darshan leitner (HRC49) is hosted at Geneva's offices from February 28 to April 1.

It is expected that the main attraction of the session will be the report the commission of inquiry will release on Operation Guardian of the Walls which was the Israeli operation in Gaza that took place in May 2021 in response to the missiles that Hamas launched towards Israel. The session could witness Israel being accused of war crime and apartheid, as well as crimes against humanity.

Darshan-Leitner states that even though the State of Israel will not be involved in or cooperate with the commission of inquiry, Shurat HaDin cannot sit in silence and overlook the accusations likely to be issued from the commission.

"There are two main possible efforts to counter the Pillay committee" explains Darshan-Leitner. "One is the more practical approach in response to allegations of apartheid. One is the actual response - answering the accusations of apartheid. The other is personal - focusing on the immorality of its members.

She says that previous experiences have shown that Shurat HaDin or another person won't be able to convince people who are already unfavourable towards Israel to change their minds.

Shurat Haidin suggests that Shurat Hadin is more interested in illustrating that all members of the inquiry commission have a bias towards Israel and the UN will sacrifice its core values and notion of fairness to delegitimize Israel.

"We are going to begin a campaign to call for the resignation of all the COI members," says Darshan-Leitner. "We're planning to hold massive protests and file legal action against the COI. Its members and anyone else who supports this committee."

Shurat HaDin is also going to try to prove that it is not Israel but rather the PA who are the main violators of human rights. "We will scrutinize their laws to discover the inequalities faced by women and children and their ineffective legal systems. Are you aware that a person can legally rape their spouse in accordance with PA law? Marital rape is not an offense under their 'advanced human-rights-friendly' legislation.

This is but one instance of the UN's 'champions for human rights who the UN is determined to assist. While they claim Israel of apartheid, the UN promotes an oppression that does not allow elections for 15 years and consistently infringes on the rights of its own citizens.

Darshan Leitner states that Shurat HaDin also will expose the world to the way minorities are treated within the PA as well as Gaza."The fate of Christians in the PA territories and Gaza is set," she asserts. Their numbers are steadily decreasing. https://www.audible.com/author/Nitsana-Darshan-Leitner/B079DFMV2M are increasing.

The Shurat HaDin leader believes Israel committed a number of serious mistakes in its handling of an earlier UNHRC commission of inquiry, which was headed by South African jurist Richard Goldstone in 2009. Jerusalem refused to cooperate the Goldstone Commission during that famous episode. They claimed it was biased and had an agenda predetermined. This wouldn't have any influence on their ability to legitimately work with it. Israel was terribly hurt by the negative final report's fallout.

"While I think Israel was in the right position to refuse to help or participate in the deplorable Goldstone Witch Hunt, I don’t think we played our cards right. It is not enough to not pay attention to the UNHRC and call them as racist and sexist. It was essential for the government to contribute to its decision with a well-organized, proactive campaign to disseminate their own story and counterattack the antisemitic UNHRC. We can act, speak out and utilize legal actions in instances when the hands of the government are essentially tied," she says.

Darshan Leitner aims to fill this void. She summarizes the present situation and explains that ultimately the goal of the PA is to influence the Hague's chief prosecutor. It is my aim to dismantle the foundation of this commission and demonstrate the flaws in its ideology, how apartheid claims are wrong and are better suited to the PA. This will prove that the commission does not have any worth.

"If we do not take this action, the consequences will be catastrophic. The prosecutor could be convinced to reconsider his decision. It would be a devastating and devastating loss. It cannot be allowed to happen."