Another Rift between Biden and Netanyahu

A series of airstrikes by the IDF forces of Israel that resulted in the death of seven aid workers of the World Central Kitchen is the latest tragedy threatening to widen a rift between Biden and Netanyahu.

Palestinians inspect a vehicle with the logo of the World Central Kitchen, wrecked by an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, April 2. A series of airstrikes killed seven aid workers from the international charity, leading it to suspend delivery Tuesday of vital food aid to Gaza.Ismael Abu Dayyah/AP

Jacob Magid Follow writing in the Times of Israel reports that US President Joe Biden indicated to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Thursday, April 4, 2024 phone call that Washington’s policy regarding the war in Gaza will fundamentally change if Israel doesn’t implement a series of concrete steps to address the humanitarian crisis and protect aid workers, adding that an immediate ceasefire was essential for meeting those aims.

Biden “made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers,” according to a White House readout after the leaders held their first call since an accidental IDF strike on a World Central Kitchen convoy on Monday killed seven aid workers.

“He made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps,” the White House warned, adding that both recent Israeli strikes on aid workers along with the overall humanitarian situation in the Strip are “unacceptable.” (Follow, n.d.)

The article cites an interview with Sen. Chris Coons who told CNN:

“I think we’re at the point where President Biden has said and I have said… [that] if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to order the IDF into Rafah at scale — [if] they were to drop 1,000-pound bombs and send in a battalion to go after Hamas and make no provision for civilians or for humanitarian aid that I would vote to condition aid to Israel,” (Follow, n.d.)

Haroon Siddique, Legal affairs correspondent for the Guardian, reports that the number of signatories warning UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over a possible breach of international law in arming Israel rises to more than 750. The 17-page letter and legal opinion, also signed by four former court of appeal judges, more than 70 KCs, more than 100 partners and directors of law firms, and dozens of law professors, has added to already mounting pressure on the government to suspend arms sales in the wake of the Israeli airstrike that killed seven international aid workers, three of them British, on Monday, April 1, 2024.

Citing both the international court of justice’s conclusion that a plausible risk of genocide exists in Gaza, and the UK’s obligations under the 1948 genocide convention, the letter states that halting weapons sales is a “‘means likely to deter’ and/or ‘a measure to prevent’ genocide”.

It also calls for the government to work towards a permanent ceasefire, impose sanctions against those inciting genocide against Palestinians, restore funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. (Siddique, n.d.)

Fatima Al-Kassab and Lauren Frayer, in an article for NPR, report that a majority of Britons want the U.K. to halt arms exports to Israel.

British jurists wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak:

"The provision of military assistance and material to Israel may render the U.K. complicit in genocide as well as serious breaches of [International Humanitarian Law]." (Al-Kassab & Frayer, n.d.)

Last month, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. In an NPR interview, the U.N.'s special rapporteur on human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, said one way to enforce that is to halt weapons sales to Israel.

"The only way to stop the weapons from killing people, while a cease-fire is being negotiated, is to stop the supply of weapons," Lawlor said. "This has done long-term credibility damage to the West." (Al-Kassab & Frayer, n.d.)

If Sunak were to halt U.K. arms exports to Israel, it wouldn't be the first time – nor would Britain be the first Israeli ally to do so. The British government briefly restricted all such sales in 1982, after Israel's invasion of Lebanon. In 2009, it also revoked some licenses.

In recent months, Canada, Belgium, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands have all announced they're suspending arms exports to Israel. Israel's biggest weapons suppliers, the United States and Germany, have not done so. (Al-Kassab & Frayer, n.d.)

On Friday, March 29, 2024, the United Nations' Human Rights Council is scheduled to consider a draft resolution calling for a global arms embargo on Israel, citing the "plausible risk of genocide in Gaza."

Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber, in a Reuters article, reports that the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on March 29, 2024 calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

The resolution stressed "the need to ensure accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in order to end impunity".

It also expressed "grave concern at reports of serious human rights violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law, including of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory".

Twenty-eight countries voted in favour of the resolution, 13 abstained and six opposed the resolution, including the United States and Germany. (Tetrault-Farber, n.d.)

The actions of the IDF and the inaction on increasing aid to civilians in Gaza has increased tension between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Biden that is also reflected in dissatisfaction in allied countries and fear of complicity in genocide in connection with a possible future judgement against Israel by the international Court of Justice.

References

Al-Kassab, F., & Frayer, L. (n.d.). Why a majority of Britons want the U.K. to halt arms exports to Israel. NPR. Retrieved April 5, 2024, from https://www.npr.org/2024/04/04/1242745977/uk-israel-arms-sales 

Follow, J. M. (n.d.). Biden warns Netanyahu US policy on Gaza war will shift unless major changes made. Times of Israel. Retrieved April 4, 2024, from https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-netanyahu-holds-call-with-us-president-american-officials-say-biden-is-pissed/ 

Siddique, H. (n.d.). Fourth former UK supreme court judge signs letter over Israeli actions in Gaza. the Guardian. Retrieved April 5, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/04/another-former-supreme-court-judge-signs-letter-genocide-law-breach-sunak-gaza-catastrophe 

Tetrault-Farber, G. (n.d.). UN rights body demands Israel be held accountable for possible war crimes. Reuters. Retrieved April 5, 2024, from https://www.reuters.com/world/un-rights-body-adopts-resolution-israel-accountability-possible-war-crimes-2024-04-05/ 

Support for One in Five Canadians with tax rebate less than carbon tax.

The political firestorm in Canada to “Axe the Tax” appears to be aimed at repeal of the carbon pricing policy of the Trudeau government. The 20% of Canadians for whom the tax free Climate Action Incentive Payment (CAIP), as a carbon tax rebate, is less than the amount they will spend in carbon taxes may require a change in lifestyle. The concept that users of more carbon pay more carbon tax is operative in Canada.

Rebate > Tax :Tax > Rebate

Mia Rabson of The Canadian Press writing in an article reported by the Financial Post addresses the question of what the increase in carbon tax could cost in some Canadian households.

Gasoline: Going from $65 per tonne to $80, means the carbon price on a litre of gasoline will now be 17.6 cents per litre, up 3.3 cents per litre from before. That means filling a 50 litre tank from empty will cost about $8.80 in carbon price, about $1.65 more than before.

Diesel: As of today the price for a litre of diesel will include 21.39 cents in carbon price, up from 17.38 cents.

Propane: The price for propane will now include 12.38 cents a litre in carbon price, up from 10.08 cents. A standard 20-pound barbecue propane tank will cost about $2.20 in carbon price to fill, compared with $1.78 over the last year.

Natural gas: On average in Canada, households use about 2,280 cubic metres of natural gas in a year, mostly for heat. At $80 per tonne, the carbon price will add 15.3 cents to a cubic metre of natural gas, up from 12.4 cents previously. That amounts to an annual carbon price bill for natural gas of about $347 on average, compared with $282 over the last year.

Food and clothing and other goods: There are indirect costs of carbon pricing, as companies that pay the price themselves increase the cost of their goods and services to keep pace. The amounts vary by industry, but Statistics Canada estimated that carbon pricing increased the price of food by about 0.3 per cent and the price of clothes by two per cent since its inception. The effect of the latest increase has yet to be determined. (Rabson, 2017)

The price increase summary by the Financial Post shows that driving fuel efficient cars and trucks, perhaps EV’s or Hybrids, and electrifying with heat pumps will reduce the carbon tax assessment for the one in five not receiving a rebate.

Building large homes and flying to vacation get-a-ways are two choices that some of the 20% are encouraged to reconsider as the carbon rebate covers less of their tax burden.

Clutch, with mission is to deliver a delightful car⁠-⁠buying experience to Canadians, has a web page to learn more about the carbon tax rebate, including why it exists, variances among provinces, and how it can help our wallet and the planet. The one in five Canadians who have a rebate that does not cover their tax are reminded to consider the impact of provincial government policy on the levy they pay.

For example, Quebec and Nova Scotia (previously implemented) a cap-and-trade system allowing provincial (or municipal) governments to set caps for carbon emissions by industry. Companies can then buy and sell carbon credits in an open market when they are over or below the cap. Some provinces also attempted to limit the increase in fuel and heating costs through lower individual taxes on gas, oil, propane, and natural gas. This helps alleviate the financial burden on residents and puts it upon the government through lowered taxes. Carbon taxes vary between provinces because provincial governments, and to some degree, individual municipalities, can set their own carbon taxes as long as they meet the federal government's requirements. (A Quick Guide to the Carbon Tax Rebate in Canada, 2024)

Canadian economists have released an open letter to add professional knowledge to the important discussion of the role of carbon tax in reducing GHG emissions in our efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Five claims by carbon tax critics are addressed by presenting evidence.

Solutions for the one in five Canadians who pay more carbon tax than their Climate Action Incentive Payment (CAIP) covers may lie in decisions to decrease their transportation and heating costs and emissions.

References

A Quick Guide to the Carbon Tax Rebate in Canada. (2024, February 27). Clutch Blog. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://blog.clutch.ca/posts/carbon-tax-rebate-canada 

Rabson, M. (2017, November 9). Carbon tax 101: What the increase could cost you and your household. The Financial Post. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/oil-gas/carbon-tax-increases-april-1-2024 

Concern and Warning for Support of Israel

Amnesty International reminds that the ruling issued by the International Court of Justice ordered six provisional measures including for Israel to refrain from acts under the Genocide convention, prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide, and take immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. Crucially, the Court also ordered Israel to preserve evidence of genocide and to submit a report to the Court, within one month, of all measures taken in line with its order.

Warning of Famine

Julian Borger in Washington, Toby Helm, Lorenzo Tondo and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem, writing for the Guardian, report that when the US allowed a ceasefire resolution to pass at the UN, the warning was clear – and concern is rising elsewhere. 

Gilad Erdan, the Israeli envoy to the UN, sat before the security council to rail against the ceasefire resolution it had just passed, he cut a lonelier figure than ever in the cavernous chamber. The US, Israel’s constant shield at the UN until this point, had declined to use its veto, allowing the council’s demand for an immediate truce – even though it contained, as Erdan furiously pointed out, no condemnation of the Hamas massacre of Israelis that had begun the war.

A red line for the US until Monday, had made a ceasefire conditional on a release of hostages. 

But after nearly six months of constant bombing, with more than 32,000 dead in Gaza and a famine imminent, those red lines were allowed to fade, and the American ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, kept her hand still when the chair called for votes against the resolution. (Borger et al., 2017)

There were other signs that the west was changing its position, at least in terms of its rhetoric. 

On Tuesday, Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, announced that Berlin would be dispatching a delegation to remind Israel pointedly of its obligations under Geneva conventions, and warned the country not to proceed with a planned offensive on the city of Rafah, in the very south of Gaza. It was a notable change in tone from a country that has been Israel’s second biggest supporter and arms supplier.

UK, foreign secretary David Cameron has been ratcheting up his criticism of Israel – particularly over its blocking of aid into Gaza – while at the same time being ultra-careful to deflect questions as to whether the Foreign Office now believes Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been breaching international humanitarian law. Trying to strike that balance has created real and increasingly obvious strains within the British government, and the Tory party.

The number of trucks crossing into Gaza rose slightly to about 190 a day – less than half the peacetime daily total. Israeli inspectors were still turning back 20 to 25 each day, NBC News reported, citing an Egyptian aid official, on grounds as arbitrary as the wooden pallets bearing the food not being exactly the right dimensions. Israel has banned UNRWA, the main UN relief agency in the region, from using the crossing. A US state department official told Reuters on Friday that famine had already taken hold in some parts of Gaza, echoing a similar finding last week by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. (Borger et al., 2017)

Alicia Kearns – a former employee of the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence – told a Tory fundraising event in north London on 13 March that Cameron’s department has been given legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law, but has chosen not to make it public.

Indeed, even if the legal advice suggested there was a “risk” of Israel having been in breach, it would have to stop exports. Some say the UK would even have to cease sharing intelligence with the US because the US might hand it on to Israel.

In a recent letter to Cameron, the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, homed in on this same point about arms exports, referring to criterion 2c of the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, which requires the government to “not grant a licence if it determines there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law”. (Borger et al., 2017)

The Leaders Brief in the Economist recommends that America should help Israel find a better strategy.

Today Israel has destroyed perhaps half of Hamas’s forces. But in important ways its mission has failed.

There is still a narrow path out of the hellscape of Gaza. A temporary ceasefire and hostage release could cause a change of Israel’s government; the rump of Hamas fighters in south Gaza could be contained or fade away; and from the rubble, talks on a two-state solution could begin, underwritten by America and its Gulf allies. It is just as likely, however, that ceasefire talks will fail. That could leave Israel locked in the bleakest trajectory of its 75-year existence, featuring endless occupation, hard-right politics and isolation. Today many Israelis are in denial about this, but a political reckoning will come eventually. It will determine not only the fate of Palestinians, but also whether Israel thrives in the next 75 years. (At a Moment of Military Might, Israel Looks Deeply Vulnerable, 2024)

If you are a friend of Israel this is a deeply uncomfortable moment. In October it launched a justified war of self-defence against Hamas, whose terrorists had committed atrocities that threaten the idea of Israel as a land where Jews are safe. Today Israel has destroyed perhaps half of Hamas’s forces.

First, in Gaza, where its reluctance to help provide or distribute aid has led to an avoidable humanitarian catastrophe, and where the civilian toll from the war is over 20,000 and growing. The hard-right government of Binyamin Netanyahu has rejected plans for post-war Gaza to be run by either the Palestinian Authority (pa) or an international force. The likeliest outcome is a military reoccupation. If you add the West Bank, Israel could permanently hold sway over 4m-5m Palestinians.

Israel has also failed at home. The problems go deeper than Mr Netanyahu’s dire leadership. A growing settler movement and ultra-Orthodox population have tilted politics to the right and polarised society. Before October 7th this was visible in a struggle over judicial independence. The war has raised the stakes, and although the hard-right parties of the coalition are excluded from the war cabinet they have compromised Israel’s national interest by using incendiary rhetoric, stoking settler violence and trying to sabotage aid and post-war planning. Israel’s security establishment is capable and pragmatic, but no longer fully in charge. (At a Moment of Military Might, Israel Looks Deeply Vulnerable, 2024)

Julian Borger in Washington and Ruth Michaelson in Istanbul, writing for the Guardian, report on an Israeli proposal to disband the Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA, even as Aid officials warn that transferring UNRWA’s functions to other bodies with famine looming would be disastrous

Some UN officials see the Israeli plan as an attempt to portray the UN as unwilling to cooperate if there is famine in Gaza, which humanitarian organisations have warned is impending. On Thursday the international court of justice, which is examining genocide charges against Israel, ordered the Israeli government to take “all necessary and effective measures” to ensure the large-scale delivery of aid to Gaza “in full cooperation with the United Nations”. (Borger & Michaelson, 2017)

Some inside the UN, other aid agencies and human rights groups also see the Israeli proposal as the culmination of a long Israeli campaign to destroy UNRWA.

Israel has claimed that up to 11% of UNRWA employees are affiliated with Hamas or Islamic Jihad, and that as many as 30 took some part in the 7 October attack on Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed.

Israel has yet to provide evidence for the allegations, which led to the suspension of $450m in funding by 16 major donors at a time when the 2.3 million people in Gaza were sliding towards famine.

Earlier this month, the US Congress voted for a spending bill that included a clause blocking future US financing of UNRWA, but other national donors have resumed their funding in the weeks since the UN launched two inquiries. One is an investigation of the specific Israeli allegations, which reported a month ago that it was yet to receive evidence from Israel for its allegations but was hopeful about future cooperation.

The second inquiry, chaired by the former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna and supported by three Nordic research agencies, is a broader review of the agency’s integrity. An interim report by the Colonna inquiry on 20 March said UNRWA had a “significant number of mechanisms and procedures” to ensure its neutrality but that critical areas still needed to be addressed.

The IDF halted cooperation with UNRWA as Australia, Canada and Sweden, Finland and Japan said they would resume funding the agency. (Borger & Michaelson, 2017)

The Economist explains post reports that some parts of the Gaza strip are already experiencing “catastrophic hunger.”

On March 18th the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (ipc), a UN-backed initiative responsible for a scale that measures hunger, said that 30% of Gaza’s population is experiencing catastrophic food insecurity. It was able to analyse 95% of the population, about 2.1m people, and concluded that none of them were “food secure”. Since it was established 20 years ago the IPC has declared only two famines: in Somalia in 2011, and in South Sudan in 2017. Unless there is a ceasefire and faster supplies of aid, the ipc believes it will have grounds to declare a third in Gaza’s northern governates by May, and in southern Gaza by July. (Gaza Could Face a Famine by May. What Does That Mean?, 2024)

Since more than forty years, Médecins Sans Frontières has delivered emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare. MSF's work is based on humanitarian principles and they offer a practical guide to humanitarian law.

In internal or international armed conflicts, humanitarian law authorizes relief actions that are of an exclusively humanitarian and impartial nature if civilians are suffering undue hardship owing to a scarcity of supplies essential for their survival, such as foodstuffs and medical supplies (APII Art. 18.2; GCIV Arts. 17, 23, and 59; API Art. 70).

This right to relief and supply has also become an obligation in customary international humanitarian law. Rule 55 of the customary IHL study provides that “parties to the conflict must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need, which is impartial in character and conducted without any adverse distinction, subject to their right of control.” (Doctors Without Borders, n.d.)

Many nations, including the United States, who have been long time supporters of Israel are increasingly wary of the military action by the IDF, and political moves against UNRWA that may intensify the starvation of civilians in Gaza and bring Israel and nations supporting the war into violation of International Humanitarian Law and the possible consequences in the International Court of Justice. 

References

At a moment of military might, Israel looks deeply vulnerable. (2024, March 21). The Economist. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/03/21/at-a-moment-of-military-might-israel-looks-deeply-vulnerable 

Borger, J. (n.d.). Israel-Gaza live: UN security council passes resolution calling for immediate ceasefire, as US abstains. the Guardian Live. Retrieved March 25, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/mar/25/israel-gaza-live-unrwa-aid-north-gaza-un-security-council-vote-ceasefire-middle-east-latest#top-of-blog 

Borger, J., Helm, T., Tondo, L., & Kierszenbaum, Q. (2017, November 9). Israel alone? Allies’ fears grow over conduct – and legality – of war in Gaza. the Guardian. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/31/israel-alone-allies-fears-grow-over-conduct-and-legality-of-war-in-gaza 

Borger, J., & Michaelson, R. (2017, November 9). Israel lodges proposal with UN for dismantling of Palestinian relief agency. the Guardian. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/31/israel-plan-un-dismantle-palestinian-relief-agency-unwra 

Doctors without borders. (n.d.). Doctors without borders | The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/article/3/famine-1/ 

Gaza could face a famine by May. What does that mean? (2024, March 26). The Economist. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2024/03/26/gaza-could-face-a-famine-by-may-what-does-that-mean 

Israel-Gaza live: UN security council passes resolution calling for immediate ceasefire, as US abstains. (n.d.). the Guardian Live. Retrieved March 25, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/mar/25/israel-gaza-live-unrwa-aid-north-gaza-un-security-council-vote-ceasefire-middle-east-latest#top-of-blog