thinc. (The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation) is a global network of international law academics, practitioners and experts in related disciplines. Founded in 2017 in The Hague—the global capital of international law—we challenge the misuse of international law to delegitimize the State of Israel and advocate international law for peace and security between Israel and its neighbors.
A flagrant example of such misuse is the recent U.N. General Assembly’s request to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an advisory opinion on the legal status of Israel’s “prolonged violation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” and its “prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.” The thrust of the resolution is that Israel’soccupation of eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal; these territories belong to the Palestinians, who have a right to statehood encompassing the whole of that territory, including “East Jerusalem.”
Since progress in the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has been minimal in the last decades, the P.A. has started to unilaterally pursue international recognition of statehood. Institutions affiliated with the European Union and the United Nations have been mobilized to support their claims. The request for an advisory opinion by the ICJ is one example of the effective outcome of the P.A.’s campaign. The one-sided and prejudiced language of the resolution is a good example of a highly politically motivated resolution dressed up as law. Since the questions posed to the court are one-sided, the advisory opinion, if issued, could be devastating for Israel.
thinc. is here to counterbalance that—i.e., by rendering submissions to the ICJ and helping others to do so.
Interested in learning more about the treatment of the State of Israel and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict within the United Nations and related institutions? If so, you are invited to participate in the annual “Israel on Trial” conference in The Hague on March 29 and March 30. At this conference, leading experts in international law and international relations will explain and unpack the main legal and political issues affecting Israel and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the threats this poses to the sovereignty of the State of Israel and what can be done to challenge these threats.
The keynote speaker is the executive director of UN Watch Hillel Neuer. Other speakers include Professor Wolfgang Bock, Professor Gregory Rose, Dr. Matthijs de Blois and Professor Steven Zipperstein.
More information about the conference can be found in the attached brochure and on the website: www.thinc.info/conference.
