8/14/2019 Lawfare 5tjt

1/118 January 15, 2010 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES

B Y S A M U E L S O K O L

ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT

In a speech entitled Challenges forIsraeli Foreign Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Foreign MinisterDanny Ayalon asserted that the Arab-Israeli conflict has entered into itsfourth phase, that of a political and legalcampaign to delegitimize Israel, knowncolloquially as lawfare. Lawfareincludes such tactics as boycotts andsanctions as well as legal actions meantto erode the international standing andlegitimacy of Israel.

Ayalon blamed such attacks, which hebelieves emanate from the Palestinian

Authority, as directly damage[ing] our

relations with the Palestinians and any possibility of a smooth and viable politi-cal process. Speaking before assembleddiplomats and the foreign press corps, hesaid that Israels foreign policy is underattack from both internal and externalforces. There were different tactics thatwere used by our enemies in order toget rid of us, Ayalon explained.Elaborating, he detailed four distinctphases through which he believes theconflict has passed. The first phase, mili-

tary aggression, is exemplified by the fullscale wars leading up to the 1973 YomKippur invasion of Israel. The Arabs couldnot take on the IDF militarily so they next tried to take Israel on economically,he continued, detailing the boycottefforts of the 1970s. The third phase of theconflict was terrorism, which Israel stillexperiences. Ayalon said that Israel hasfound some good defense measures andthat in the future Israel should be moreconcerned about long-term incomingballistic missiles from Lebanon andGaza. According to the DFM, deterrence isthe solution to this problem.

However, Ayalon did not explain howattacks against Israeli civilians in theaftermath of the removal of roadblocksdo not constitute a continuation of tradi-tional terrorism. In the end of 2009, twosuicide bombers were apprehended trav-eling from the Palestinian Authority tocarry out attacks in Ashkelon andJerusalem.

When asked by the Five Towns JewishTimes if Israel intends to take steps tolimit European intervention in its inter-nal political discourse through the fund-ing of indigenous radical NGOs, Ayalon

enigmatically responded, We are work-ing on it.Israels latest challenge is lawfare, he

said, where the trenches are in Geneva inthe Council of Human Rights, or in New

York in the General Assembly, or in theSecurity Council, or in the Hague, the ICJ[International Court of Justice]. Therecent difficulties that Israeli soldiers andofficials have encountered in the UnitedKingdom are examples of the new type of warfare. The UKs universal jurisdiction

law gives local courts the power to try for-eign nationals and leaders for crimesagainst humanity committed outside of Britains borders. Private individuals havebrought suit against members of Israelidelegations.

The Times Online reported that Diya al-Din Madhoun, a Hamas apparatchik, hastaken responsibility for much of this newactivity with the statement that this hasabsolutely become our policy.

An arrest warrant was issued inDecember against opposition leaderand former foreign minister TzippiLivni which she described as an abuseof the British legal system. ForeignOffice Minister Ivan Lewis has saidthat the British government will workto amend the laws applicable in theLivni case.

An IDF delegation recently cancelled a

planned trip to meet with top British mil-itary officials after they were informedthat they could not be guaranteed thatarrest warrants would not be issuedagainst them.

Baroness Patricia Scotland, the British Attorney General, expressed disgust at thepractice of using British courts to attackIsraelis and stated in a speech at theHebrew University in Jerusalem that shewould attempt to reform the law, makingan emendation that she be given approvalover the issuance of warrants against peo-ple suspected of crimes against humanity.British premier Gordon Brown has alsocondemned these legal attacks.

Ayalon said that he believes thatBritain understand[s] the severity, thescope of the problem, because it is notjust directed against Israel, its directedagainst any and all democracies whichdefend themselves against terrorism andthat Israel is in very intense talks withour friends in London.

Calls for a boycott of Israel haveincreased in recent years, as part of whatthe Israel-based NGO Monitor organiza-tion terms the Durban Strategy. The strat-egy is named after the controversial 2001

Durban Conference on Racism and its2009 review conference, termed a racisthate fest against the Jewish people andthe Jewish state by Alan Deshowitz. TheDFM advanced the idea of providing eco-nomic assistance to poorer nations as away of gaining support in internationalbodies such as the United Nations. O

Samuel Sokol can be reached at samuelsokol5tjt@gmail.com and can be followedonline at twitter.com/samuelsokol and at torahfromzion.blogspot.com.

DFM Ayalon:Lawfare Is TheFourth Front

The trenches are inGeneva in the Councilof Human Rights, or in

New York in theGeneral Assembly, or

in the Security Council, or in theHague, the ICJ.