When do ‘international investigations” turn into kangaroo courts? When the infamous UN Human Rights Council and politicized NGOs like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch manipulate them to promote radical anti-Israel campaigners like Jean Ziegler, the UN export and winner of the “Khaddafi prize for Human Rights". These counterfeit “investigative commissions” write their conclusions before they see any evidence, and the outcome is the same – Israel is pronounced guilty of “war crimes” and similar false charges.

As a result, the response from Amnon Vidan, the head of Amnesty International’s Israel chapter, to the carefully argued and detailed determination of the IDF Military Advocate General is not serious. The finding showed that in its efforts to stop Hezbollah’s missile attacks during the 2006 war, the weapons used by the IDF, including cluster munitions, was consistent with international law, and that no better options were available.  This report contradicted the flood of allegations made by Amnesty and Human Rights Watch on this issue. But rather than considering the evidence, Vidan brought out the NGO’s preferred weapon by calling for an “independent international investigation”, as if such a body exists.

If the human rights claims of Amnesty officials, in general, and the heads of the Israel branch, in particular, expect to be taken seriously, they will have to come up with realistic alternatives. When it comes to Israel, “international investigations” are only good for double standards, demonization, and the continuing exploitation of human rights norms.  And with Amnesty’s own record of false and non-verifiable allegations, and failure to condemn Hezbollah aggression, use of human shields and other basic violations of international law, this NGO has lost its moral standing in the region.