Must-See

Late Friday 5th February 2021, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) made its long-awaited decision on the question whether it has “jurisdiction” to prosecute Israeli and Palestinian leaders for crimes committed “on the territory of Palestine”. The decision is extremely controversial and pushes the boundaries of international law.

Feb102021

Articles

Existential conflicts cannot be solved: a new framework for resolving the Israeli–Palestinian dispute

In this essay the author, Dr. Bren Carlill presents a sobering argument: ‘existential’ conflicts cannot be resolved. Only when the objectives of both sides soften to become ‘territorialist’ can the Israeli–Palestinian dispute be negotiated.

Jan202021

Commentaries

Report on trends in the delegitimisation of Israel

The International Legal Forum recently published a report ’Summary of Trends & Key Events of 2020 – Looking Ahead Towards 2021‘. A report full of pratical insights w.r.t. anti-Semitism and delegitimization.

Jan62021

Blogs

Israel, the PA and the Coronavirus Vaccine

The claim that Israel is withholding Covid-19 vaccines from Palestinians is false. This ILF brief sets out Israel’s obligations and what it does beyond that to alleviate Palestinian suffering brought upon them by their own leadership.

Dec242020

Op-eds

Europe’s ruling on ritual slaughter is factually wrong and legally problematic

By Mark Goldfeder

Dr. Mark Goldfeder opines that the ruling is factually wrong, legally problematic, discriminatorily hypocritical and systemically dangerous.

Dec242020

Blogs

‘Realistic idealism’ – reflections on the Abraham Accords

The recent normalization agreements between Israel and a number of Arabic states seem to indicate that a growing number of Arabic/Islamic states prefer to switch from the idealistic ‘perpetrator-victim’ paradigm to a more realistic approach – a switch from a situation of captivity and stagnation to a future of peace, prosperity and security.

Dec42020

Newsletters

The latest Newsletter: EU product labeling

Newsletter 20/5, November 2020 Are products from Israel really “made in Israel”? – Newsletter 20/4, November 2020 Trump, Biden, international law and politics – Newsletter 20/3, July 2020 The status of the “occupied” territories – Newsletter 20/2, June 2020 Annexation – Newsletter 20/1, May 2020 ICC and Israel’s Magna Carta

Oct152020

Blogs

Serbia Agrees to Move its Embassy to Jerusalem; Kosovo Agrees to Recognize Israel

In a remarkable ceremony in the White House on 4th September 2020, presided over by US President Trump, Serbia and Kosovo signed agreements to normalize their economic relations. The US-brokered agreements were hailed by the US President as “historic”. In reality they do not constitute a comprehensive “normalization” agreement, but resemble little more than an agreement to carry out a list of previously-agreed projects.

Oct122020

Commentaries

Advocate General: Ban on Ritual Slaughter Contravenes European Law

On 10 September Advocate General Hogan delivered his much anticipated Opinion in an important case concerning ritual slaughter pending before the Court of Justice of the EU. The case concerns the judicial review of a Decree by the Flemish Region that requires animals to be stunned prior to slaughter to reduce their suffering, thereby effectively prohibiting the slaughter of animals according to Jewish and Muslim rites. The case was brought before the Belgian Constitutional Court, which decided to stay the proceedings and request the CJEU to give a preliminary ruling on the compatibility of the Flemish legislation with European law. AG Hogan suggests that the Flemish Law proscribing slaughter of animals without stunning, including religious slaughter rites, is incompatible with EU law. He proposes that Member States should be allowed to adopt stricter rules than those contained in EU law on animal slaughter, but the prescribed derogation protecting religious rites must be protected.

Oct62020

Blogs

A Layperson’s Guide to Some Basic Concepts in International Law and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

By Darius Lee

International law can be confusing even for lawyers and law students who are trying to grasp its basic concepts. What do terms like “conquest”, “belligerent occupation”, “annexation”, “statehood”, “non-self-governing territory” and “the right to self-determination” mean? To the average non-lawyer, these terms might sound like a completely foreign language. In this article, we hope to provide a simple layperson’s guide to some basic concepts in international law, and their relevance to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jun182020

Blogs

The Knesset - Israel's parliament building

Open Letter Signed by International Law Experts on 10 June 2020

By Andrew Tucker, Director at thinc. On the 10th of June, over 100 international lawyers issued an Open Letter to the Israeli government, stating that Israel’s policy proposal is “clearly unlawful, and will most likely have adverse consequences, including … consequences of an internationally wrongful act … [and] a high likelihood of violent…

May292020

Reports

Ritual Slaughter Ban violates Religious Freedom

Report to the UN: Ritual Slaughter Ban – a Violation of Religious Freedom

By Dr. Cynthia Day Wallace

Together with the International Legal Forum, thinc. has made a submission to the ‘Report to the UN General Assembly on Eliminating Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief’ to report that the Ban on Ritual Slaughter as recently issued in Belgium violates the Freedom of Religion and threatens the existence of Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe and beyond.

Apr242020

Articles

San Remo – the Zionist Vision becomes International Law

It is widely believed that the State of Israel was born as a result of UN Resolution 181 of 1947. The truth is that the legal rights of the Jewish people and Israel as a nation were founded in international law well before the very existence of the United Nations, dating back to international legal instruments agreed shortly after World War I, at Villa Devachan in San Remo, Italy, on 25 April 1920.

Dec132019

Blogs

ICC Examination of Israeli Settlement Policies as War Crimes in “Palestine”: a Grave Mistake

By Matthijs de Blois and Andrew Tucker

On 5 December 2019 the Office of the Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court issued its annual Report on Preliminary Examination Activities 2019. In this report, the Prosecutor, Ms. Fatou
Bensouda, gave a summary of the status of the twelve “situations” under examination by her office. She has indicated strongly that the Office intends to move forward soon to officially investigate Israeli leaders for war crimes and possibly also crimes against humanity relating to the “situation in Palestine”. In our view, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC is making a grave mistake.

Oct272019

Books

Israel on Trial

In 2018, the State of Israel turned 70, but it has never been fully accepted as a member of the international community. Notwithstanding peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, conflict between Israel and some of its neighbors in the region is looming. And peace between Israel and the Palestinians seems as far away as ever. Why?

Oct92019

Blogs

BDS, anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism

The Israeli government has called the BDS movement the second most serious existential threat to Israel. Second only to the threats issued by Iran to destroy Israel. Israel is not overreacting. The BDS movement is both dangerous and misleading. As Canadian PM Trudeau recently remarked, it is also anti-Semitic.

Sep302019

Blogs

The Gaza Flotilla Case Continues

By Dr. Cynthia Day Wallace

In a Judgment of 2 September 2019 the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court orders the Prosecutor to reconsider her decision not to investigate the Gaza flotilla case. The wanderings of this case through the avenues and alleys of the procedural provisions of the Rome Statute of the ICC seems to become a journey without end.

Aug212019

Blogs

ACLJ to International Criminal Court: Jewish Settlements in Judea and Samaria Are Not “War Crimes”

By Skip Ash

On May 20, 2019 we reported that the ICC is considering looking into whether Israel has committed war crimes in its dealings with Palestinians. Now, the ICC is even considering initiating an investigation into the legality of Jewish settlements in the so-called “West Bank”, suggesting that such settlements constitute a war crime against Palestinians. The fact is, but for political motives, the ICC would not even be considering these issues.

Aug162019

Blogs

Lord Denning, Donald Trump and the Golan Heights

In today’s society, there is a prevalent trend when it comes to “equity and justice” as regards the nation of Israel. There is a widespread predisposition against any act or situation involving Israel, which is invariably portrayed in a negative light and all too readily pre-judged as contrary to international law, often with no supporting evidence. Looking at the age-old ties of Israel with the Golan, and considering that the Heights are a strategic necessity for the national defense of Israel, justice would require that Israel’s ancient territory of the Golan be reconstituted under Israeli sovereignty.

Jun102019

Reports

Peace Palace - Seat of the ICJ -The Hague, The Netherlands

Jogászok Hágai Nyilatkozata az izraeli-palesztin konfliktusról

thinc. is pleased to announce that a translation of ‘The Hague Statement of Jurists on the Israel-Palestine conflict’ is now available in Hungarian. Many thanks to Dr. István Mészáros and Dr. Dávid Surjányi. With this translation the Statement is now available in four languages with a global reach – English, Spanish, Norwegian and Hungarian. Additionally…

May312019

Reports

Jerusalem and the future of the Two-state Solution

From 8 – 9 January 2019, a seminar has taken place in the House of Parliament of the Czech Republic in Prague about the role and policies of the EU vis-a-vis the status of Jerusalem and the future of the Two-state Solution under international law. The Proceedings of the seminar are available from this site.

May212019

Blogs

Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ and the ‘Two-State Solution’

The so-called ‘Two-state Solution’ appears to be up for grabs. Basically, the Two-state Solution says that the Palestinians have a right to a state covering all of the so-called West Bank, including ‘East Jerusalem’ as their capital. Years of failed negotiations have given way to the growing sentiment that the two-state solution is simply no longer feasible.

Mar152019

Nederlandstalige publicaties

The Japanese Garden in The Hague, The Netherlands

Wie Wind Zaait, Zal Storm Oogsten.

By Dr. Matthijs de Blois, senior fellow at thinc. Introductie On 8 January 2019, the Netherlands Institute of International Relations – Clingendael – has sent a Policy Brief to the Permanent Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Dutch Parliament, entitled: ‘Wie wind zaait, zal storm oogsten: bezetting en de Staat Israël’. In this Policy…

Jan112019

Blogs

The future of the Two-state Solution

On 13 September 2018, the 25th anniversary of the ‘Oslo Accords’ was passed. The Dutch government has always been a supporter of these accords. Unfortunately, the implementation of the Oslo Accords has stalled and the belief in the Two-state Solution is waning. Positions on both sides of the conflict harden and the situation among the…

Dec112018

Articles

The Legal Status of Jerusalem: Is Trump Right?

President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has been subject to intense international scrutiny. Amid the debate, what does the law suggest? Read here what Professor Gregory Rose of the School of Law at the University of Wollongong, Australia, wrote about it.

Nov262018

Training programs

Summer School 2019

10 DAY SUMMER SCHOOL 2019 For INTERNATIONAL LAW and INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Students, Graduates and Practitioners International Law and the Israel-Palestine Conflict Wednesday 26 June – Friday 5 July 2019 Jerusalem – Israel The Israel-Palestine conflict is perhaps the oldest and most complex conflict in the world. The State of Israel came…

Sep122018

Reports

Haag-uttalelsen fra jurister om den israelsk-palestinske konflikten

By Matthijs de Blois and Andrew Tucker

12 September 2018; thinc. is pleased to announce that on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the “Oslo Accords” the Senter mot antisemittisme (Center Against Anti-Semitism) in Oslo has issued a translation of ‘The Hague Statement of Jurists on the Israel-Palestine conflict’ in Norwegian. With this translation the Statement is now available in…

Aug22018

Articles

The Status of Jerusalem

The status of Jerusalem is one of the main legal issues in the debate on Israel and its relationship to the Palestinian Arabs. The speech of the American President, Donald Trump, and the fierce reactions it provoked, as well as the recent resolutions of the UN General Assembly (GA) illustrate this. In order to…

Jan112018

Blogs

The boy who cried wolf?

On the 21st of December 2017 the UN GA again adopted a resolution on Jerusalem within a month of its previous resolution on the same topic . The most recent resolution came in response to the speech of the President of the United States on the 6th of December 2017, in which he recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced the removal of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv and its relocation to Jerusalem.

Nov302017

Reports

The Hague Statement of jurists resonates in New Zealand

By Avi Bell and Eugene Kontorovich

Today the New Zealand Herald headlines “NZ’s backing of UN resolution condemning Israel’s Palestine settlements ’embarrassing’”. The current NZ Government is determined to fully restore the friendly relations with Israel after the former Minister of Foreign Affairs had endorsed UNSC Res 2334 in December 2016, which led to a diplomatic freeze between New Zealand and…

Nov172017

Articles

Palestine, Uti Possidetis Juris, and the Borders of Israel

Israel’s borders and territorial scope are a source of seemingly endless debate. Remarkably, despite the intensity of the debates, little attention has been paid to the relevance of the doctrine of uti possidetis juris to resolving legal aspects of the border dispute. Uti possidetis juris is widely acknowledged as the doctrine of customary international…

Nov162017

Agenda

Agenda 2018-2020

We have chosen one of the oldest powder kegs in the world, the conflict between Israel, the Palestinians and some nations in the region, as point of departure, because we see it as the most glaring case of the consistent and unabated misuse of law, and the pivot of worldwide political action. We are convinced…

Nov142017

Articles

A Report Full of Dynamite

… this is how Dr. Matthijs de Blois, Senior fellow of thinc., characterises the report of the Special Rapporteur of the UN on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, the Canadian law professor S. Michael Lynk. The Report has the clear objective to heighten the pressure of the “international community” on Israel.

Nov102017

Blogs

The Importance of Studying the Position of Israel under International law