1) At the INSS, Pnina Sharvit Baruch and Ori Beeri analyse the implications of the UNGA’s December 30th request that the ICJ give its opinion on the legality of the “ongoing Israeli occupation”.
“In international law, the term “occupied territory” describes a factual situation in which territory is captured during an armed conflict, and the occupying power effectively controls it. The international laws of occupation define terms and conditions that apply to the occupying power in its management of the territory. There is no provision in the laws of occupation that refers to the illegality of the occupation itself (as distinct from the violation of the obligations applicable throughout the time of occupation), or a limitation on the duration of the occupation.”
2) At the JCPA, Yoni Ben Menachem reports on Hamas in Turkey.
“Several senior leaders of Hamas and their families now live permanently in Turkey, and some have received Turkish passports. In addition to engaging in terrorism, the Hamas officials have also established their own businesses. Ismail Haniyeh’s son, Hazem, moved his family from Gaza to Turkey, meaning that the Hamas head has transferred almost his entire family from Qatar and Gaza to Turkey. Details of their exit from Gaza were leaked from Egyptian lists of residents departing via the Rafah crossing on Egypt’s border. In response, Gazans expressed outrage on their social media.”
3) NGO Monitor documents the lack of reaction from Palestinian ‘human rights’ NGOs to UNRWA’s discovery of a terror tunnel under a school.
‘On November 29, 2022, UNRWA issued a statement, according to which, it “recently identified a man-made cavity underneath the grounds of an UNRWA school in Gaza.” UNRWA strongly condemned the construction under its facility, calling it “a serious violation of the Agency’s neutrality and a breach of international law,” which “exposes children and Agency staff to significant security and safety risks” and “jeopardize[s] the ability of UNRWA to provide support and protection to the 1.4 million Palestine refugees in need in Gaza.””’
4) Also at the INSS, Carmit Valensi and Orna Mizrahi discuss drug smuggling by Syria and Hizballah.
“Against the background of unprecedented economic crises, a thriving industry of drug production and smuggling has developed in Syria and Lebanon. Syria has become a narco-state under the auspices of the regime, for which drug revenues are a principal source of income; revenues are also important for elements in Lebanon, chief among them Hezbollah. The main drug traded is Captagon, an addictive member of the amphetamine family – also known as “Captain Courage,” “poor man’s cocaine,” and “the jihad drug,” due to its wide use by fighters in Syria, including ISIS.”
