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It’s Time to Review International Law

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to members of the Security Council during a meeting to address the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City, New York, US, April 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

JNS.orgThe International Committee of the Red Cross explains the purpose of the rules of war by stating, “The rules of war or international humanitarian law are a set of international rules that set out what can and cannot be done during an armed conflict. The main purpose of international humanitarian law is to maintain some humanity in armed conflicts, saving lives and reducing suffering. To do that, international humanitarian law regulates how wars are fought.”

“The rules of war are universal,” it claims. “The Geneva Conventions (which are the core element of international humanitarian law) have been ratified by all 196 states.”

In his 1927 Nobel lecture, the German pacifist politician Ludwig Quidde wrote, “The security of which we seek is to be attained by the development of international law through an international organization based on the principles of law and justice.”

As early as the mid-19th century, the international community realized that without a set of standards in international warfare, millions of people would die unnecessarily. Thus, international laws were adopted to protect civilians in war and prevent war itself.

The rules of war were based on the assumption that both sides would observe them. Sadly, only democracies and other free societies tend to obey these rules. Indeed, for the most part, they do not go to war with each other at all. Tyrannical or authoritarian regimes, however, are another story. As a result, one side in almost every modern war has purposely ignored international humanitarian law.

In Israel’s Declaration of Independence, it reached out in peace to its Arab neighbors but found itself at war with almost all of them at various times. Palestinian terrorism, however, has been a greater challenge. This is because of the asymmetry and double standard involved: Israel is expected to observe the rules of war while its opponents are not.

The reason for this is that international humanitarian law itself is flawed. It was designed to apply to states that both observe it. It does not address the situation of a democratic nation at war with a non-state enemy that does not accept such laws.

In its current war with Hamas, Israel faces an enemy that not only does not observe international humanitarian law but deliberately violates it. Hamas uses its own people as human shields, targets Israeli civilians and engages in such abhorrent atrocities as weaponizing rape.

Yet António Guterres, U.N. secretary-general, has absurdly said “clearly, the response to terrorism and violent extremism must respect human rights and comply with international law. That is not just a question of justice but of effectiveness.” International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, who is currently engaged in the persecution of Israel’s leaders, has said: “This is the time to comply with the law. If Israel doesn’t comply now, they shouldn’t complain later.”

Guterres and Khan both ignore the fact that observing international humanitarian law while fighting an enemy that rejects that law is all but impossible. French diplomat Stephane Hessel understood this when he said, “As long as Palestinian violence exists but not a Palestinian state, Israel is in danger because it cannot obtain assistance from the international community against an entity that is not subordinate to international law.”

Thus, Israel is held to a standard that is not just unfair but essentially impossible to meet. Then, it is attacked for allegedly failing to meet the impossible standard.

The world must make a choice: It can either reform international humanitarian law in order to address the problem of terrorist entities that reject it or the world must recognize that Israel fights its wars as morally as it realistically can.

Either one will ensure that the risible double standard by which the world judges Israel is finally rejected.

The post It’s Time to Review International Law first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with government officials in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.

On the contrary, said Khamenei, the United States uses its power to give “10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza’s children.”

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen.”

His remarks, said Khamenei, “aren’t even worth responding to.” They are an “embarrassment to the speaker and the American people,” Khamenei added.

“Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime — a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted,” he said at an event at a religious center in Tehran, according to state media.

Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.

“Which should we believe?” Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran. “On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.”

Tehran would continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. “We are not seeking war,” Pezeshkian said.

While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes…” he said.

Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington’s constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.

“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.

Pezeshkian said Iran would not “back down from our legitimate rights”.

“Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region,” he said.

A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.

The post Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday

Doha, Qatar. Photo: StellarD via Wikimedia Commons.

A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar’s Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.

He said the two sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”

Nono said Hamas was “keen to exert all the effort needed” to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was “no certain offer on the table.”

The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek “operational control” in some areas of the war-torn enclave.

The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza’s growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.

The post Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

i24 NewsChief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down temporarily as an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct by United Nations investigators is nearing its final phase, Reuters reported on Friday citing sources from the international court.

Khan allegedly forced sexual intercourse upon a member of staff on multiple occasions, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, linking the allegations to Khan’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant.

A statement is expected later today announcing that Khan is going on administrative leave, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office.

The post Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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