Lawfare is the exploitation of courts and international law to harass Israeli officials and corporations that do business with Israel and advance false charges of “war crimes,” “crimes against humanity,” and other alleged violations of international law.
FIDH’s Palestinian NGO members – Al-Haq (represented on FIDH’s international board), Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), and Al Mezan – clearly are closely linked to the PFLP terror group, and promoted the genocide canard from the first days of the war.
In the aftermath of the barbaric Hamas massacre of October 7, rather than use law and international justice frameworks to support the victims of the atrocities, supposed human rights NGOs have sought to use lawfare to spread anti-Israel propaganda and to target allied support for Israel in an effort to harm the IDF’s ability to defeat Hamas.
On May 20, 2024, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan announced that he was seeking arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, alongside three Hamas leaders. International, Palestinian, and Israeli NGOs celebrated the decision, demonizing Israel with allegations of “apartheid” and “crimes against humanity.”
Importantly, as part of the NGO Durban Declaration and accompanying BDS campaigns, advocacy organizations have sought to turn the ICC into a court of universal jurisdiction. Like their exploitation of the UN and other international frameworks, these NGOs seek to use the ICC for demonization and to brand Israeli officials as “war criminals.”
On May 20, 2024, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that he was pursuing arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. Khan alleged that both “bear criminal responsibility” for the war crime of “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.” Many anti-Israel NGOs initiated the “starvation as a weapon” narrative immediately following Hamas’ brutal assault on October 7.
On February 12, 2024, the Dutch Court of Appeal ruled that the Netherlands must cease transfer of US-owned F-35 fighter jet components to Israel. The appeal was initiated by four pro-BDS NGOs – Oxfam Novib, PAX, Rights Forum, and Amnesty International – which had sued the Dutch government to stop the transfers and had lost in District Court.
NGOs funded through German development programs (Entwicklungshilfe) with the stated aim to promote “human rights” and “international law” have failed to condemn these blatant violations of human rights and humanitarian principles.
On December 29, 2023, South Africa instituted proceedings against the State of Israel before the ICJ, alleging that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. South Africa relied on a number of highly biased NGOs with links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group.
NGO Monitor analyzes HRW's expanded demonization of Israel, calling for boycotts and lawfare, and focusing on lobbying Europe to pressure and isolate Israel. HRW also continued to downplay antisemitism under the guise of protecting free speech
Al-Haq board members and officials have made highly disturbing comments that are consistent with the NGO’s broader goal of eliminating Israel.
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