Netanyahu Visit: Crimes and Lies

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Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is in Washington, D.C. Major protests begin Wednesday at 11 a.m. around the Capitol, prior to Netanyahu’s address there, which is reported to begin at 2 p.m.

Al Jazeera reports: “At least 70 people were killed in an Israeli attack on eastern Khan Younis which began minutes after the Israeli military issued mass evacuation orders. … UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine] chief Philippe Lazzarini said that Israeli forces shot at a UN convoy heading to Gaza City on Sunday despite the movement being approved by Israeli authorities. Israel’s Knesset passed three bills banning UNRWA, and designating it a ‘terrorist organisation.’”

RICHARD SILVERSTEIN, richards1052@gmail.com, @richards1052
Silverstein writes at Tikun Olam. In “Netanyahu Lied, Gazans Died: Most Hamas Fighters Now Outside Rafah” Silverstein reports that Netanyahu continued pushing for an invasion of Rafah even though Israeli military officials assessed that the majority of Hamas’s forces were no longer there. On May 24, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah, which it refused to do.

The International Criminal Court head prosecutor has filed for an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for “Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime. … Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime.” Silverstein wrote the piece “Mossad Mafia Threatens ICC Prosecutors, Journalists.

In a piece from 2016, “Netanyahu: Ethnic Cleanser,” Silverstein noted that in 1989, Netanyahu advocated for Israel to conduct “mass expulsions” of Palestinians while the world was focusing on the Tiananmen Square protests.

CNN reported recently of Netanyahu adding new demands in negotiations: “The new demand could potentially upend progress in hostage negotiations and raises further questions about Netanyahu’s commitment to Israel’s own proposal for a deal that has become the basis for detailed negotiations.”

HASSAN EL-TAYYAB, hassan@fcnl.org, @HassanElTayyab
Director of Middle East policy for the Friends Committee on National Legislation, El-Tayyab is participating in a news conference at the National Press Club this morning along with Israeli and U.S. military veterans, calling for a ceasefire. For contact with the veterans, contact Jacob Thomas, jacob@commondefense.us.

Some background on Netanyahu:

In its application to the International Court of Justice, South Africa quoted Netanyahu’s words to show genocidal intent: “‘We’re facing monsters, monsters who murdered children in front of their parents. … This is a battle not only of Israel against these barbarians, it’s a battle of civilization against barbarism.’ On 28 October 2023, as Israeli forces prepared their land invasion of Gaza, the Prime Minister invoked the Biblical story of the total destruction of Amalek by the Israelites, stating: ‘you must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible. And we do remember.’” [PDF]

See from The Intercept from 2015: “Benjamin Netanyahu’s Long History of Crying Wolf About Iran’s Nuclear Weapons,” which notes: “In his 1995 book, Fighting Terrorism, Netanyahu asserted that Iran would have a nuclear weapon in ‘three to five years.’”

Also in 2015, Netanyahu claimed, “There have been no new settlements built in 20 years.” (From “Democratic think tank lets Netanyahu lie unchallenged.”) The International Court of Justice in its recent ruling on the legality of Israel’s prolonged occupation stated [PDF] that the Israeli settlements have continued to be built and that they must be dismantled.

In 2002, Netanyahu spoke before a Congressional committee: “There is no question whatsoever that Saddam is seeking, is working, is advancing towards to the development of nuclear weapons. … Once Saddam has nuclear weapons, the terror network will have nuclear weapons. … If you take out Saddam, Saddam’s regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region.”