And about bloody time too, I say.
It is now blatantly obvious that wanted war criminal, illegitimate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his berserk blood-thirsty Zionist regime are officially going full Samson option.
In the past few weeks, homicidal Israel has expanded its sickening, evil, ethnic cleansing holocaust in Gaza to include bombing Iran and Syria – reigniting a civil war in the latter.
All part of the Zionist regime’s expansive, imperial, neo-colonial “Greater Israel” project.
THE WORLD IS WAKING UP TO GENOCIDAL APARTHEID ISRAEL
Thankfully, it appears more and more countries around the world are finally waking up and uniting against corrupt, psychopathic, mass-murdering, maniac Benjamin Netanyahu, and the neo-Nazi, genocidal, apartheid Zionist regime.
Heck, I hear even pro-Zionist US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is slamming Israel for their tendency to insult, assault and spit on…Christians. (No, I’m not making that up.)
FORMATION OF THE HAGUE GROUP
On 31 January, nine nations – Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa – convened by Progressive International met in The Hague, the Netherlands, to form The Hague Group.
Their mission: “Pursue collective action through coordinated legal and diplomatic measures to hold Israel accountable for grave violations of international law against the Palestinian people, and bring Benjamin Netanyahu to justice.”
THE HAGUE GROUP EMERGENCY CONFERENCE
On 15 and 16 July, Hague Group members from 30 countries across the world converged for an emergency conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bogota, Republic of Colombia. They were united by a single purpose: end Israel’s impunity, uphold international law and cease the genocide in Gaza.
The conference was called in response to Israel’s ongoing and escalating violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the crime of genocide.
The emergency meeting, co-chaired by South Africa, centred on the legal obligations of states as determined by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July 2024; to stop all actions that assist the illegal situation created by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory and support the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination.
In his address, Zane Dangor, director-general of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said: “The impunity continues unabated. We are legally obligated not to condone internationally wrongful acts of the government of Israel.“
Among the key attendees were ex-British Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and UNHRC Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestine Territory, Francesca Albanese.
‘EACH STATE MUST SUSPEND ALL TIES WITH ISRAEL’ – ALBANESE
In her statement addressing the conference, Francesca Albanese said: “The occupied Palestinian territory today is a hellscape. In Gaza, Israel has dismantled even humanitarian aid, to deliberate, starve, displace or kill a population they have marked for elimination.”
She then called on all member states of the Group to fulfil their obligations under International Law.
“I am here to recount to you – uncompromisingly and dispassionately – the cure for the root cause”, she said. “We are long past the time to deal with the symptoms. The Hague Group has committed to obligations under international law.”
“Obligations, not sympathy, not charity.” She said. “Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the State of Israel; military, strategic, political, diplomatic and economic, and make sure that their private sectors and other service providers do the same.”
Albanese recently came under fire from Israel, the US and their Western pro-Zionist lapdog “allies” for her astute, clear-eyed report on Israel’s unhinged genocide in Gaza.
THE RAPPORTEUR’S REPORT: ‘ANATOMY OF A GENOCIDE’
Albanese filed her report Anatomy of a Genocide with the UN Human Rights Council on 1 July 2024.
The report thoroughly documents Israel’s holocaust in Gaza and cites the ICJ’s order that Israel prevent and punish genocide and ensure humanitarian aid – which Israel has ignored.
The report summary states (extract):
“After five months of military operations, Israel has destroyed Gaza. Over 30 000 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 13 000 children and over 12 000 are presumed dead and 71 000 injured or mutilated.
“Seventy percent of residential areas have been destroyed. Eighty percent of the population has been forcibly displaced. Thousands have been detained and systematically subjected to severe ill-treatment. The incalculable collective trauma will be experienced for generations to come.”
The report concludes: “There are reasonable grounds to believe that Israel has committed genocide.”
(Duh! Ya think?)
In that report, and a follow-up video for Double Down News released on 17 July this year, Albanese also revealed how Israel’s economy thrives off the genocide in Gaza – particularly through weapons, intel and data companies.
And what was the response by the so-called free and democratic US to Francesca’s report? For doing her job? For documenting and criticising Israel’s holocaust?
MARCO RUBIO SANCTIONS ALBANESE – FOR ISRAEL
On 9 July, bible-thumping, AIPAC-funded, rabid pro-Zionist and Eschatological Israel apologist, US Secretary of State, loco Marco Rubio released a press statement titled:
Sanctioning Lawfare that Targets U.S. and Israeli Persons.
In it, Rubio announced sanctions on UNHRC Rapporteur for Palestine OT, Francesca Albanese.
Why? Well, according to Rubio…
“Albanese has directly engaged with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries, making this action a gross infringement on the sovereignty of both countries,” the statement read.
Rubio claimed Albanese spewed “unabashed antisemitism”, expressed support for terrorism and open contempt for the US, Israel, and the West.
It’s worth noting that Rubio’s sanctions on Albanese came the day after Donald Trump welcomed indicted war criminal Netanyahu to the White House – for the third time in less than six months. (Which was also around the same time that Trump’s Department of Justice and FBI did a u-turn on releasing the Epstein client list.).
STRONG PUBLIC BACKLASH TO US SANCTIONS ON ALBANESE
Responding to the US sanctions in a text to Al Jazeera, Albanese said: “No comment on mafia-style intimidation techniques.” But she did query why she had been sanctioned for exposing a genocide and denouncing the system.
“They never challenged me on the facts,” she said.
Following Rubio’s announcement of US sanctions on Albanese, many were quick to point out the hypocritical, tyrannical fascism being displayed by the US – as usual.
Human Rights Lawyer and ex-UN official, Craig Mokhiber responded to Rubio on X: “This is a lawless, vile act, Rubio. Your arrogance will catch up to you. The impunity that you are enjoying now will be gone within a few years, and you will be held accountable for your violations of human rights. There are millions who will work to ensure it.”
ISRAEL PRESSURED THE US TO SANCTION FRANCESCA
Indie news publisher Chris Menahan posted a video on X of Israeli Likudnik politician, Danny Danon, openly ordering Trump, last April, to sanction and ban Albanese from the US for “promoting hate”. And Trump did – through Rubio. Demonstrating, once again, Israel and the AIPAC lobby’s stranglehold on POTUS and the US government.
In another response to Rubio’s sanctions, Iranian-born Swedish writer and activist, Trita Parsi, founder of the Quincy Institute and the National Iranian American Council, posted two photos on X, side by side. The first was of Syria’s de facto (HTS) leader, jihadi ex-terrorist Ahmed al-Sharaa (also known as al-Julani). The other photo was of UNHRC Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
Above the images, Parsi wrote: “The man below is the founder of Al Qaeda in Syria. The US just took his organisation off its terror list and lifted sanctions (and a $10M bounty) on him. The woman below is the UN rapporteur on Israel and Palestine. The US is about to impose sanctions on her.
Let that sink in.
In his article titled, The Persecution of Francesca Albanese, Pulitzer Prize-winning journo Chris Hedges wrote: “The sanctioning by the Trump administration of Francesca Albanese is an ominous harbinger of the end of the rule of international law.” He also predicted, “When the history of the genocide in Gaza is written, one of the most courageous champions for justice and adherence to international law will be UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.”
‘ALBANESE, NOT TRUMP, FOR THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE’ – FALK
In a recent article by Truthout, Marjorie Cohn wrote: “In the height of irony, war criminal Netanyahu nominated serial lawbreaker Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. But it is Albanese who deserves that prize.”
Richard Falk, who served as UN Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestine from 2008 to 2014, told Truthout that Albanese (above Trump) deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, not punitive targeted sanctions by the US.
“This was an intimidating attack on Albanese, an unpaid civil servant, for her brave truth-telling and expert knowledge – fully in accord with expectations of the job to report periodically to the UNHRC and General Assembly,” Falk said.
“Her well-documented reports have broken the mainstream silence in the West on Israel’s genocidal assault, carried out before the eyes and ears of the world, shocking many by its transparency and sadism over more than 20 months. She has also exposed shameful patterns of U.S. complicity with Israeli criminality,” he added
HG DECLARATION: EXTREME MEASURES AGAINST ISRAEL
By the end of the conference, The Hague Group affirmed that the international community has “a legal and moral obligation to act, and ensure that the orders of the ICJ are fully respected and implemented”.
In a declaration issued after the meeting, the Group agreed to six specific measures aimed at “restraining Israel’s assault on the Occupied Palestinian Territories”, including an arms embargo, a review of contracts with companies that benefit from Israel’s actions in Gaza, and complying with arrest warrants issued by the ICC against Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The declaration also called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, unrestricted access for humanitarian aid, and the international prosecution of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
‘A MILESTONE IN DEFENCE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW’ – PETRO
The 12 countries committed to the measures are Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and South Africa.
The declaration marked the strongest joint statement yet by the group, which has aligned itself with South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ.
Of the emergency meeting, Riyad Mansour, Minister of the State of Palestine, said: “This conference and others that will follow are the beginning of a new stage in the struggle of the Palestinian people.“
Colombian President Gustavo Petro hailed the outcome as “a milestone in the defence of international law and human dignity”.
NO MORE ‘GOOD’ OR ‘BAD’ ISRAEL – ALL ARE COMPLICIT
In her speech at The Hague Group conference, Francesca Albanese warned that the world is facing a “critical test”.
She also insisted that there was no more “good” or “bad” Israel.
“It is impossible to disentangle Israel’s state policies and economy from its longstanding occupation. It has been inseparable for decades. This is the complicity. Now, that economy has turned genocidal. There is no good Israel, bad Israel,” she argued.
‘ISRAEL WORSE THAN APARTHEID SA’ – ALBANESE
To illustrate her point, Albanese suggested the HG delegates and members consider this moment as if they were back in the 1990s deliberating the case of apartheid South Africa.
She asked: “Would you have proposed selective sanctions on SA for its conduct in individual Bantustans? Or would you have recognised the state’s criminal system as a whole?”
“And here, what Israel is doing is worse.
“This is not just a legal matter – it is a moral one.
“The time for action…is now,” she added.
DO YOU THINK THE HAGUE GROUP WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IN STOPPING THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA AND HOLDING APARTHEID ISRAEL TO ACCOUNT?
Let us know by leaving a comment below or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
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