The UN Has Failed The Hostages, Yet Again
by Michael Pushenko The UN Has Failed The Hostages, Yet Again In the adoption of Resolution A/ES-10/L.34/Rev.1 on the 9th of June 2025, the UN General Assembly yet again demonstrated a complete absence of moral and legal clarity. The Resolution presents a highly polarised approach towards the war between Israel and Hamas, expressing frustration with […]
Palestinian statehood conference postponed
The UN High-Level conference on Palestinian statehood planned for 17-20 June in New York was postponed at the last minute – indefinitely – due to the escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict. In the lead-up to the conference, the Trump Administration was highly-critical of the conference (which is intended to “implement” Palestinian statehood), and especially of […]
Designation of IRGC as terror organization in Europe
While Iran’s nuclear program has been severely damaged, and many of their leaders have been eliminated, neither the Ayatollah regime nor its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been destroyed or defeated. For decades, global peace and security have been threatened by the ongoing and relentless commitment of the regime in Tehran to export its […]
Israel’s Humanitarian Aid Policy in Gaza Does Not Amount to Starvation—Let Alone Genocide
Humanitarian Aid in Gaza – June 13, 2025 BRIEFING Key Findings by Israel’s Supreme Court (March 2025) Facts on the Ground – Humanitarian Facilitation, Not Obstruction Place Responsibility Where It Belongs – On Hamas and its State Backers Hamas Violates International Humanitarian Law Hamas U.S.-Backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation This Is Not A Case Of Humanitarian […]
Refuting the conclusion that Israel is in breach of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement
The media-leaked EU report on Israel’s compliance with Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement is deeply flawed, built on a defective factual assessment. This report, apparently drafted ahead of the upcoming EU Summit scheduled for June 26, 2025, relies heavily on UN sources and Human Rights Watch—both of which have faced criticism for well-documented […]
thinc. Senior Fellow Dr. Matthijs de Blois gives expert testimony in Czech Republic about Jerusalem Embassies
By Dr. M. de Blois, Senior Fellow thinc. It was a privilege to speak at the Parliament of the Czech Republic – first to celebrate on 28 May 2025 in the Chamber of Deputies the ‘Day of Jerusalem’, and then on 29 May to speak at a public hearing in the Senate. It was encouraging […]
URGENT PRESS RELEASE – 3 June 2025. Creating a judenrein Islamic Palestinian state will not bring peace
By Andrew Tucker, Director thinc. The United Nations will hold a High-level international conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in New York on June 17-20, 2025. Chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, the aim of the Conference is “to help end the occupation and materialize the […]
Understanding Genocide in International Law: Does Israel Fit the Definition?
Written by Paulina Guerrero, thinc. researcher Genocide, as defined under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention), is characterised by specific “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.” These acts include: “[…] (a) Killing members of […]
Hamas Casualty Reports are a Tangle of Technical Problems
thinc. Senior Fellow Professor Gregory Rose has co-authored, with Professor Lewi Stone, a very important report published by Henry Jackson Society on the casualty figures in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas Ministry of Health in Gaza began releasing datasets in the first month of the Hamas war with Israel in October 2023. The data analysed in […]
thinc. makes written Statement to ICJ concerning Israel’s relations with UNRWA
By Andrew Tucker, Director thinc. On 1st May, The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation delivered a written statement to the ICJ regarding the matter of obligations of Israel in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations, international organisations and third states in and in relation to areas termed occupied Palestinian territory. This Statement is submitted in […]
ICC investigation into the situation in Palestine: Appeals Chamber admits Israel’s appeal on jurisdiction
By Alessandro Spinillo, thinc. ICC investigation into the situation in Palestine: Appeals Chamber admits Israel’s appeal on jurisdiction and remands the matter to the Pre-Trial Chamber to rule on the substance of Israel’s jurisdictional challenge. In an important decision, on April 24, 2025, the ICC Appeals Chamber reversed the Pre-Trial Chamber’s ruling that rejected Israel’s […]
South Africa´s genocide claims against Israel: currently status
Written by Paulina Guerrero, thinc. researcher In December 2023, South Africa initiated proceedings against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip. South Africa instituted the proceedings by filing a request to […]
Dreaming the Dream of a Free Lebanon
Image: A Christian Militia on Patrol along the Lebanese border in 1977 during the Lebanese Civil War. Attribution: Dan Hadani/Wikimedia Commons By Robert Nicholson on March 20, 2025. Link to the full article: Dreaming the Dream of a Free Lebanon – Providence The last time I saw Fawaz Najim alive was in Galilee, not far from […]
Dear UNRWA, citizens of Palestine can’t also be Palestinian refugees
Image: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, left, poses with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations headquarters Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen) Written by Steve E. Zipperstein Published on Times of Israel Blogs: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/dear-unrwa-citizens-of-palestine-cant-also-be-palestinian-refugees/ For the past 76 years, UNRWA has operated in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, serving Palestinian […]
The Israel-Hamas War: Self Defense, Necessity and Proportionality
By Steven E. Zipperstein, thinc. Senior Fellow On October 7, 2023, Hamas, the governing authority in Gaza since June 2007, launched a surprise attack against southern Israel. Hamas terrorists fired thousands of rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilian targets, and simultaneously invaded Israeli territory from the land, sea and air. The terrorists brutally slaughtered at least […]
Hamas, the hostages and the “occupation” myth
By Andrew Tucker, Director thinc. The horrific scenes over the past days of Hamas militants proudly handing over Israeli hostages – alive and dead – to the Red Cross have shocked the world. It is hard to imagine any more brutal or grotesque infringement of international law and morals. But why is there no international […]
Hostage-Taking as a War Crime: The Tragic Fate of the Bibas Family and Israel’s Ongoing Grief
By Silvia Fainaro, thinc. International law strictly prohibits the taking of hostages under the Geneva Conventions (1949) and the International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages (1979). Hostage-taking is considered a war crime and a crime against humanity when committed during armed conflicts. The Fourth Geneva Convention specifically protects civilians, stating that no person may […]
International law organization urges Italy and all EU member states to list IRGC as terror organization
On Tuesday February 25th, 2025, at a meeting in the Italian Senate in Rome, The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation (thinc.) urged the Italian government to make sure that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is listed as a terror organization in the EU. thinc. is a global network of international lawyers that carries out research, […]
Is Just Statecraft Useful for Statecraft?
By Robert Nicholson on February 14, 2025, Published on “Providence“. There’s probably some irony in the editor-at-large of Providence engaging in critiques of the just war tradition, the intellectual pillar of our magazine from day one. Yet I’ve critiqued that tradition in the past and will do so in the future, knowing that my colleagues understand the importance of […]
Smoke & Mirrors: The United States, Ireland & Israel
By Alan Shatter The initial weeks of Donald Trump’s return to the White House have irrefutably confirmed the reinstated President is intent on rapidly advancing what he perceives to be in the United States interests through the exercise of raw American power unhindered by diplomatic niceties. America First means what is says on the tin […]