Netanyahu Urges US Lawmakers to Defend Israel Against ICC "War Crimes" Prosecution

As calls grow for additional investigation and possible prosecution, nation's prime minister looks to allies in US Congress for support

by

Jon Queally, staff writer

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to reporters at his office in Jerusalem. (Photo: Reuters)

According to U.S. Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY), the Israeli government hopes that he and his colleagues in Washington, DC will do everything in their power to prevent the International Criminal Court from pushing forward with possible war crimes charges against his nation over its recent attack on the Gaza Strip which resulted in the killing over nearly 1,900 Palestinians, including a large proportion of civilians and hundreds of children.

Speaking to the New York Post from Israel, where he was travelling at the invitation of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (or AIPAC), Rep. Israel described the meeting between U.S. lawmakers in the delegation, AIPAC officials, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The prime minister asked us to work together to ensure that this strategy of going to the ICC does not succeed,” the congressman told the Post. “[Netanyahu] wants the US to use all the tools that we have at our disposal to, number one, make sure the world knows that war crimes were not committed by Israel, they were committed by Hamas. And that Israel should not be held to a double standard.

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Israel PM Presents Evidence of Hamas War Crimes to UN Secy General

NETANYAHU: ALL KNOWN TERROR TUNNELS TO BE DESTROYED BY SUNDAY

• BART CALIFORNIA

by DANIEL NUSSBAUM 2 Aug 2014 36POST A COMMENT

JERUSALEM -- Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press conference at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, announcing that Israel has begun withdrawing troops from Gaza as it is believed that by Sunday, all of Hamas' terror tunnels that Israel knows about will have been destroyed by the Army.

"The IDF has had many achievements and successes since the beginning of the operation, hitting thousands of targets, including command centers, arms factories and terrorists" Netanyahu began. "We have nothing against the citizens of Gaza that have nothing to do with terrorism. The IDF will continue its mission according to Israel's security needs, and only according to them."

The Prime Minister ended his remarks by saying that "there is only one place for decent, civilized people to stand, and that is to stand with Israel."

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Seven Facts About Operation Protective Edge - VIDEO

Benjamin Netanyahu @netanyahu

WATCH AND RETWEET: Seven Facts About Operation Protective Edge youtu.be/qOjdy0bslGk #IsraelUnderFire #ProtectiveEdge

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NETANYAHU SPEAKS TO MOURNING NATION: 'THE ETERNAL PEOPLE ARE NOT AFRAID OF A LONG JOURNEY'

by JORDAN SCHACHTEL 20 Jul 2014, 12:15 PM PDT 77POST A COMMENT

TEL AVIV, Israel—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed his country on Sunday following the deaths of 13 IDF soldiers at the hands of Hamas terrorists. 

The soldiers, part of Israel’s elite Golani Brigade, were killed when a jihadi fired an anti-tank missile from a civilian house at their unit. Israel has lost 18 soldiers since the ground operation into Gaza began. 

“People of Israel, the heart of the whole nation is with the families of the fallen. We feel your pain,” he said. Netanyahu said that those “who fell in the battle for the defense of Israel… There is no more just cause than that for which your sons fell.

"We will finish the mission they started," he continued. "We will restore quiet and security to the country.” He said the citizens of Israel must “be strong in difficult days like these, and those that might still come.

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VIDEO: Netanyahu to Gazans: 'Hamas wants you to die, don't die for Hamas'

PM speaks on CNN and BBC outlining operation's goals of destroying terror tunnels, says Israel will work with international community to demilitarize the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu Orders Military to Get Ready to KICK TERRORIST ASS

By Calev Ben-David and Saud Abu Ramadan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the military to prepare to widen a ground operation against militants in the Gaza Strip that began after days of aerial bombardment.

Israeli soldiers, backed by tanks, heavy artillery, aircraft and warships, moved into the Hamas-controlled enclave late yesterday after 2,100 air strikes over 10 days failed to quash barrages of rockets fired from Gaza at Israel.

At least 272 Palestinians, including dozens of children, and two Israelis have been killed since fighting intensified last week. Ground troops were sent into the densely populated territory of 1.8 million after Israel foiled a raid by militants who crossed the border through a tunnel, Netanyahu said.

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Bloomberg) -

IDF Enters Gaza

by JORDAN SCHACHTEL 17 Jul 2014, 1:23 PM PDT 

Tel Aviv, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister have ordered the Israel Defense Forces into the terrorist-controlled Gaza Strip. The order to fight Hamas on the ground came at 10:30 p.m. local time Thursday.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s office said that the goal of the mission is to destroy Gaza’s network of tunnels that lead into Israel.

“Israel is committed to act to protect its citizens. The operation will continue until its goals are reached: To bring quiet to the citizens of Israel for a long period of time, and to seriously harm Hamas and other terrorist organizations’ infrastructure in the Gaza Strip,” the statement read.

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Accepting truce was a courageous move

twitter.com

Op-ed: Netanyahu did the right thing when he agreed to hold fire. Has Israel's power of deterrence suffered in any way because of a few hours of ceasefire?

Published:  07.17.14, 01:01 / Israel Opinion If an Israeli citizen hadn't been killed Tuesday at the Erez border crossing, one could have said that the first Israeli victim of this war was the deputy defense minister. Protective Edge Failed truce seen as opportunity to thwart tunnel threat / Yossi Yehoshua Analysis: IDF echelon is pushing for a limited ground operation in Gaza in a bid to locate dozens of tunnels Hamas is planning to use for major terror attacks inside Israel. Full analysis Some will say that Netanyahu was just waiting for an opportunity to get rid of Danon. If that's true – and it is true – he found a good reason. When it involved political issues, it was annoying, troubling, but tolerable. But not when it involves security-related issues, in the midst of a war, as the deputy minister in the ministry he is criticizing. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4544592,00.html

VIDEO: Raw: Israel, Gaza Exchange Rocket Fire

Obama Talks to Netanyahu—Did Bibi Tell Barry to Stuff It?

by Roger L Simon

Well, maybe not stuff it, but finally someone may be standing up to America’s ultra-reactionary, fumbling, paleo-narcissistic and now hugely unpopular president — and his name is Benjamin Netanyahu.  If we are to believe theJerusalem Post,  Bibi should be the leader of the free world.  Arrivederci, Barry. Take your favorite nine iron and head off to Maui or the Vineyard or wherever you want to be with our blessings — as long as you stay there.

From the JPOST:

The United States is prepared to facilitate a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, US President Barack Obama told Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu by phone today.

In the call, Obama “reiterated the United States’ strong condemnation of continuing rocket fire into Israel by Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza and reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against these attacks,” the White House said in a readout of the conversation.

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Netanyahu: Hamas will pay a heavy price - MAZELTOV!!!

'IDF to continue with strikes that will exact a very heavy price from Hamas,' defense minister says as IDF spokesperson claims operation to be long.

Ynetnews

Latest Update:  07.09.14, 16:11 / Israel News "The army is ready for all possibilities," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday after holding a meeting of his Security Cabinet as rockets continued to rain on Israel. "Hamas will pay a heavy price for firing toward Israeli citizens. The security of Israel's citizens comes first. The operation will expand and continue until the fire toward our towns stops and quiet returns." Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said that Operation Protective Edge is set to expand, and similar comments were made by the IDF spokesperson, indicating the IDF was still mulling a ground operation in Gaza. Ruters