After the Gaza War: Why Palestine Would Be a Lawless and Militarized State

Despite compelling logical and historical arguments against a two-state solution, louder and louder demands for a Palestinian state are being voiced worldwide. In response, Israel and its allies should remind global governments and populations that “Palestine” has no intention of ever living peacefully alongside Israel, but intends instead to replace the Jewish State in orchestrated and increasingly violent increments. Any pre-independence Palestinian commitments to remain demilitarized could quickly and even legally be undermined.

Israel Must Confront the Jihadist Desire for Immortality

Israel’s security policy decision-makers must take into account the desire of Israel’s terrorist adversaries to achieve immortality through violence. Israel must be cautious about projecting conventional human rationality upon Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and others of their mindset if it is to combat them effectively.

The Gaza War and International Law: An Informed Assessment

In its obligatory war against Palestinian terror – a criminal process encouraged and sustained by Iran – Israel is acting within the bounds of pertinent international law. Though this assessment is difficult to acknowledge by many who can see only the tangible effects of Israeli military counterterrorism, it is offered here from the informed standpoint of authoritative legal standards. Palestinian civilian casualties of Operation Swords of Iron are the predictable and indeed intended result of Hamas’s perfidy. It is beyond legal question that the original Hamas terror acts of October 7, 2023, which included murder, rape, and hostage-taking, represent egregious, Nuremberg-level violations of humanitarian international law.

International Law and WMD Attacks on Israel

In the years ahead, Israel could face the growing prospect of WMD terrorism – i.e., attacks involving chemical, biological, or even nuclear weapons. In this connection, it is vital that Israeli officials do their utmost to prevent perfidious enemy manipulations of humanitarian international law. This is especially urgent with regard to enemy use of "human shields," an illegal form of military deception that could be used to deter Israeli retaliation. Perfidy can originate with both state and sub-state foes, and could conceivably involve primitive nuclear devices such as "dirty bombs" (weapons that do not involve genuine chain reactions, but instead attach conventional explosives to fissile materials).

Are Israeli Raids on Syrian Targets Legal?

Israel's recent raids against Syrian targets are lawful and law-enforcing. Facing an increasingly dangerous Hezbollah, Jerusalem correctly understands that even a failed state has legal obligations not to assist in terrorist assaults against Israel. These obligations, concerning Syria in particular, are authoritatively codified in treaty-based and customary international law. Moreover, in consequence of Syria's active and unambiguous complicity with Hezbollah, Israel has a corresponding obligation to prevent and/or mitigate such terrorist crimes. This obligation, which Israel is undertaking well within the limitations of humanitarian international law, is owed both to citizens of the Jewish State and to the broader community of nations.

The Levy Report: Reinvigorating the Discussion of Israel’s Rights in the West Bank

The Commission to Examine the Status of Building in Judea and Samaria (the “Levy report”) reinvigorates the discussion of the legitimacy of Israel’s position regarding settlements under international law, after many years in which Israel has been silent about its legal rights.

The Iranian Nuclear Threat to Israel: Legal Remedies and Remaining Options

Israel should not expect stable coexistence with a nuclear Iran. Instead, it must enhance active defense, improve nuclear deterrence and target selected Iranian infrastructures.

Is It Time to Update the 1985 US-Israel Free Trade Agreement, in View of EU Neighborhood Policy?

The 25-year-old Israel-US Free Trade Agreement remains solid, and it is not in Israel’s interests to open its terms for renegotiation.

Warfare Through Misuse of International Law

International law is being manipulated by radical Arab and Islamic ideologues, dictators and tyrants, to subvert real justice and attack Israel and Western democracies; to achieve objectives that they cannot pursue militarily. This "lawfare" must be countered with determination and no apologies.

Proportionality in the Modern Law of War: An Unenforceable Norm, or the Answer to Our Dilemma?

Proportionality has become a common term, widely used by human rights organizations, politicians, soldiers and laypersons, but its precise legal meaning is little understood. The goal of this paper is to clarify the parameters of the use of the term and identify the problems confronting attempts to apply it. The final section of the paper mentions various solutions to these problems and alludes to the concepts application in the context of the present war between Israel and Hizballah.