War crimes, aggressive policies isolating Israel: Academic

Press TV has conducted an interview with Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a professor at Al-Azhar University from Gaza, to discuss a recent decision by the Israeli army to appoint a new military advocate general.

What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: A new military advocate general for the Israeli regime thinks that Israelis are sensing a shift in the world’s spectrum and the perception that they have against the Israeli crimes that have been committed against the Palestinians.

Abu Saada: I believe that the new appointment of the new Israeli military advocate general comes at a critical time at this point for two reasons: one thing is that Israel comes under extreme international pressure from human rights organizations and human rights activists for its administrative detention against Palestinian prisoners and also as a result of Israeli ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners and probably the new appointment has come in order for Israel to deal with this international criticism from human rights organizations and human rights activists who are accusing Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Secondly, I believe that this new appointment definitely is not a coincidence, it comes after Palestine became a full member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) has stated many times that they are going to file many suits against Israel because of its war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially crimes against the Palestinians during the last war against Gaza which led to the deaths of more than 2,200 Palestinians and also the injury of more than 10,000 Palestinians and a lot of destruction and damage.

This appointment also comes at the continuation of Israeli killing and Israeli aggression against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Press TV: Would you say that global conditions now, with what you just mentioned the wars on Gaza, the constant rights violation of Palestinians carried out on a day to day basis by Israelis, international criticism of the settlement expansion programs and also of course wave of boycott divestment and sanctions gaining stream that Israel is quite isolated today?

Abu Saada: I totally agree with you. Politically speaking, Israel is isolated and this extreme Israeli… (regime) led by Netanyahu has isolated Israeli further and further and the current Israeli …(regime) coalition which is made of only 51 percent of Israeli Knesset  is considered one of most extreme Israeli (…) regime in the history of Israel and this (…) regime has led to the alienation and isolation of Israel because a number of ministers in this (...) regime are stating publicly that the call for the killing of the Palestinian wives and Palestinian children like the Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked and other ministers like Naftali Bennett, minister of education, who is calling for expansion of Israeli settlement and deportation of the Palestinians.

This (…) regime is definitely facing international criticism, is facing political isolation. Now whether this Israeli (…) regime will be able to succeed in trying to contain this damage by its aggression against Palestinians in many ways, it is very much doubted I think it is going to take much more than changing the Israeli military advocate general.

I believe that Israel will have to shift policy with regard to the Palestinians, with regard to settlement expansion also with regard to its attitude towards the agreement between the international community led by 5+1 with Iran.

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