Watch this briefing by Misgav Institute Senior Fellow Arsen Ostrovsky to the FIDF (‘Friends of the Israel Defense Forces’) following the recent ICJ & ICC decisions, how international law is being weaponized against Israel and the unprecedented extent to which the IDF has gone to avoid harm to civilians.
June 2, 2024,
Prof. Kobi Michael: Israeli control over Rafah crossing and the entire Philadelphi corridor allows the IDF to cut off terrorists’ main supply route and a major source of taxation for Hamas.
The interview took place on the I24 channel on May 30. 2024.
Arsen Ostrovsky: “International law is clear that, when terrorists like Hamas embed themselves in civilian areas, they turn those sites into legitimate military targets and that any civilian death or harm that arises is therefore the sole responsibility of Hamas, especially in circumstances where the IDF went to extraordinary lengths to abide by the principles of proportionality and distinction, while taking every possible precaution to minimize harm to potential civilian casualties.
The fact of the matter is, war is ugly and devastating. But not every error or unintentional loss in civilian life is necessarily a war crime. We must not forget that, whereas Israel takes every precaution to avoid harm to civilians, Hamas has an utter disregard for human life, whether it be Palestinian or Israeli.
The international community would therefore be far better served to direct their outrage at Hamas, which continues to embed themselves in civilian areas and cynically use Palestinians in Rafah and across Gaza as human shields.”
Published in JNS, May 29, 2024.
Dr. Raphael BenLevi: “Israel’s previous actions in Lebanon included attempts to directly influence Lebanese politics, either by supporting Christian factions in the First Lebanon War, or in the 1990s using IDF strikes in order to pressure the Lebanese government to kick out the Syrians. Today, Lebanon is a Hizballah-dominated state. Israel isn’t capable of solving Lebanon’s politics but what is clear is that Israel taking direct and significant action against Hizballah is Lebanon’s only hope to change its current trajectory toward becoming another Islamic Republic.”
Watch Misgav fellow, Dr. Raphael BenLevi’s full discussion with FDD’s Richard Goldberg, and WINEP’s Hanin Ghaddar on the possible war between Israel and Hizballah, hosted by Jonathan Silver of Mosaic Magazine.
Published in Mosaic, May 29, 2024.
Prof. Kobi Michael: Hamas used to have huge quantities of long-range rockets throughout the Gaza Strip. Israel succeeded in destroying and dismantling most of Hamas’ arsenal, but most importantly, we destroyed their capacity to manufacture more rockets. These rockets [used in] the attack against the Tel Aviv area on Sunday afternoon are some of their remaining capacity in Rafah, and this is one of the reasons for the [IDF] ground operation there, to destroy all their remaining capacity to attack Israel.
Published in The Medialine, May 27, 2024.
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Prof. Kobi Michael: Hamas fired rockets to central Israel for the first time in months They have soma capacities about long-range rockets. Now that the IDF is getting closer to their centers of gravity, they don’t have any other option than to use them.
The interview took place on the I24 TV channel on May 26, 2024.
Arsen Ostrovsky was interviewed on South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) Radio about the ICJ decision, in which he explained why it was such a perversion of justice and how South Africa was effectively serving as chief legal counsel for Hamas.
24.5.2024.
Prof. Kobi Michael discusses how the ICJ’s decision could affect Israel’s military operations in Gaza, specifically in Rafah. The interview took place on the I24 TV channel on May 24, 2024.
Asher Fredman on the Prospects for a US-Saudi-Israel deal: President Biden would like a grand deal whereby Israel ends the war in Gaza, leaves Hamas in power and recognizes a pathway to a Palestinian state, Hamas releases some of the hostages, Saudi Arabia normalizes ties with Israel, and Biden gets a diplomatic win, quiet and lower gas prices before the elections. A true bilateral US-Saudi defense pact, without Israel, is unlikely.
The interview took place on the I24 TV channel on May 22, 2024.
https://youtu.be/wYKDGUjKNZA
Prof. Kobi Michael: Israeli operation in Rafah appears to assuage US concerns over humanitarian situation. The US wants ‘to cease the war in the Gaza Strip at any price, even at the cost of crucial Israeli interests.
The interview took place on the I24 TV channel, May 22, 2024.