Gaza's Gravediggers

Israel apologists have infiltrated the ICC and the ICJ as well as the UN, maintaining the world in a perpetual stalemate so that both Israel’s genocide and America’s imperialism can continue unabated.

This week I thought I’d do something a little different. Besides writing this blog for over eleven years, I’m also a book reviewer/book doctor and disgruntled novelist. This post is what I call an “extended book review,” one in which I don’t have to worry about the word count, etc. (Don’t be surprised if you see an abbreviated review elsewhere online later. Or post one yourself.)

I was given the chance to read Norman Finkelstein’s upcoming release, Gaza’s Gravediggers, and I can’t keep his insights to myself any longer. It documents the how and when and where of the why Israel is able to get away with committing a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people with little to no consequences. (And frankly, I don’t think Israel really cares about the consequences of being labeled bloodthirsty neo-Nazis just as long as nobody demonstrates the gumption to shut down their infernal killing machine.)

Finkelstein has done us all a huge favor by methodically researching the recent International Court of Justice cases in regards to the genocide claim made first by South Africa. It’s all there in black and white, the details of how Israel apologists have infiltrated that court as well as other high positions in the International Criminal Court and the United Nations. The world is maintained in a perpetual stalemate so that both Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people and America’s imperialism can continue unabated.

If you want to invest in one book (and why just one?) that records for posterity the manipulation of international law behind this ultimate crime against humanity, then Gaza’s Gravediggers is it. —C.A. Matthews

Gaza’s Gravediggers
by Norman G. Finkelstein
O/R Books
Release date September 1, 2026 in the US, September 3 in the UK
Preorder by clicking  here

“Why isn’t the United Nations (UN) or the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or the International Criminal Court (ICC) doing anything to stop the terrible genocide happening to the Palestinian people?” is a remark one often sees online nowadays. The frustration expressed about the lack of action to end the violence is heartfelt.

The world’s leading forensic scholar and professor of political theory and the Israel-Palestine conflict, Norman Finkelstein, isn’t afraid to tackle this question head on. His meticulously documented critique of recent UN/ICJ/ICC activities reveal how a deplorable element has infiltrated these international bodies, creating a stalemate that has caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands, a number which grows daily.

To fully understand why the genocide of Palestinians continues, the reader should read the appendix chapter first. Here Finkelstein takes a closer look at the 2010 attack on the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in a flotilla of six vessels traveling toward Gaza. The ship was carrying humanitarian aid to end Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which had been going on for some time at that point. Ten flotilla members were killed on May 31, 2010 by Israeli commandos (nine on the day, one died later from his injuries).

The Union of the Cormoros flagged ship was sailing in international waters when, in the middle of the night, IDF troops rappelled from helicopters onto the Mavi Marmara’s deck where they shot and killed the ten humanitarians. The six hundred activists on board gave consistent sworn testimonies of what happened during the boarding—of how they were subject to torture and taken to Israel against their will. But what sounds like an open and shut case of piracy was constantly muddled by the ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

As Finkelstein puts it, “Bensouda faithfully did Israel’s bidding to the point that her brazen whitewashing triggered a veritable civil war within the ICC.” Bensouda referred all her inquiries to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) report given on the situation while ignoring other reports that cited the sworn testimonies of flotilla members. Their interviews consistently told the same story of how the flotilla members were peaceful and never instigated any violence. It was the Israeli commandos who had used lethal force throughout the boarding and takeover of the Mavi Marmara.

What was the ICC Chief Prosecutor’s motivation to give only one side of the story when all of the forensic evidence—including the bullet holes on the ship and the bullet wounds on the victims—more than proved the survivors’ testimony? Perhaps it was the same motivation that inspired ICJ Judge Julia Sebutinde to write a dissenting opinion on the January 2024 Order to Provide Provisional Measures to protect the rights of Palestinians in Gaza at imminent risk of irreparable harm.

The remainder of the ICJ judges agreed with South Africa, the country which brought the case to the court, claiming that a “plausible genocide” was occurring. They contended that the Palestinians have rights to be protected from an imminent risk of irreparable harm under international humanitarian law as well as the Geneva Convention, a document which clearly defines what a genocide is.

However, Judge Sebutinde argued in her dissenting opinion that Palestinians did not have such rights and that South Africa did not prove that Israel was plausibly committing genocide. This is a bizarre conclusion to make considering how thorough the South African legal team had been in providing more than a sufficient amount of very strong evidence, evidence that came from United Nations agencies and other respected international NGOs. Their evidence was more than enough to convince the majority of the ICJ judges.

What is even stranger than declaring Palestinians do not have basic human rights was how Judge Sebutinde wrote her dissenting opinions—she plagiarized Israeli materials! Over 33% was apparently copied and pasted from some rather dubious documents written by Israeli apologists. As Finklestein observes, “...[Sebutinde] was at pains to impress (but upon whom?) that there was no daylight between her own position and that of the State of Israel.”

In February and March 2024, South Africa requested additional provisional measures and the court agreed. Oddly enough, this time Judge Sebutinde went along with the majority’s decision which reconfirmed the provisional measures of January 2024 and totally contradicted her first dissenting opinion.

In an about face move, in May 2024 Judge Sebutinde dissented from South Africa’s “Urgent Request for the Modification and Indication of Provisional Measures.” On this occasion, the South African legal team presented evidence that Israel’s assault on Rafah, the only remaining entrance for humanitarian aid into Gaza, could mean the end of basic public services, including medical care. Forgetting her last judgment, this time Judge Sebutinde sided exclusively with Israel.

Was Judge Julia Sebutinde warned by Israel that if she didn’t reverse her position on the Provisional Measures something might happen to her? Was she being paid to go against the majority the third time South Africa brought their requests to the ICJ? Finkelstein points out that her professional conduct as a jurist is in doubt. It is highly probable she is an Israeli operative.

Judge Sebutinde’s dissenting opinions were poorly constructed and possibly written by others. Apparently they were not reviewed or checked for errors and repetition before she presented them to the court. However, by injecting the element of doubt into all the ICJ’s decisions on the matter, Judge Sebutinde presented an opportunity to the international community—particularly to Western powers—not to intervene or stop Israel’s genocide in Palestine.

Why did Judge Sebutinde and Chief Prosecutor Bensouda (and their Israeli handlers) think they could get away with manipulating the international justice system? It could be simply they felt competent that their adding a modicum of doubt to the proceedings would work because this kind of behavior had always worked in Israel’s favor. The US and other Western powers are either aligned with Israel or afraid to defy it. Give them any excuse not to cross Israel, and they’ll take it and run with it.

Still, why didn’t the court eject this “depraved and preposterous Israel shill from its midst?” Finkelstein notes that since the South African genocide case against Israel that Judge Sebutinde has been promoted to the court’s vice-presidency. She is the first African woman to reach this position. The optics to vote her out wouldn’t look good, so Israel’s operative in the ICJ remains.

Finkelstein provides other examples of ICJ and United Nations “shills” who have provided cover for Israel by using their esteemed positions to deflect attention away from its possible war crimes. In April 2024, former president of the ICJ, Judge Joan Donahue, in a BBC interview muddied the waters of public opinion by stating the ICJ hadn’t found Israel was plausibly committing genocide, directly contradicting the court’s finding. Her interview scrambles the facts and confuses the public’s perception of what the ICJ actually did decide. Could this have been the sole purpose of Judge Donahue speaking with the BBC?

To all observers of the ICJ proceedings, South Africa’s legal team presented a sound case with evidence that met the bar. If they hadn’t, the majority of judges wouldn’t have ordered provisional measures. So why would these measures to protect the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza be ordered if a plausible genocide wasn’t occurring? It makes no sense to say the ICJ hadn’t found Israel had plausibly committed genocide but ordered the provisional measures anyway. The sound bites Judge Donahue provided the BBC work well as hasbara, Israeli propaganda used to deflect the world’s attention away from its genocidal actions.

Another example of how a lack of evidence against Palestinians is slanted to make them appear as villains can be found in the Independent International Commission of Inquiry, chaired by the former UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay. The Commission released reports regarding the happenings of October 7, 2023. No matter how the Commission tried to prove that Hamas members had perpetrated sexual violence on that day, the commission could only produce evidence that these types of crimes have been routinely perpetrated by Israel.

But a lack of evidence of a crime doesn’t mean a crime didn’t happen, right? The UN Commission condemned Hamas for committing sexual assault crimes anyway, but not Israel. This was the UN’s stance until recent revelations of the rape of Palestinian prisoners using trained rape dogs in Israeli prisons came to light. Only now have United Nations representatives spoken out and given evidence of how the IDF has committed sexual violence against Palestinians. Independent media provides further evidence of how the Israeli people themselves have condoned these heinous actions. Mainstream media for the most part, reflecting the hasbara, continues to deny rape as a weapon in the Israeli’s arsenal.

Finkelstein doesn’t hold back on how he feels about Israel’s crimes. He provides a multitude of tables containing legal details of the various opinions and sources cited. One very long table compares and contrasts the “original opinions” of Judge Sebutinde with the rather dubious material she plagiarized. (She even included the originals’ typos!)

Gaza’s Gravediggers is both informative and infuriating. Finkelstein more than reveals how respected international institutions such as the United Nations, the ICC, and the ICJ have been compromised by the Zionist agenda. He demonstrates how they have been infiltrated by insiders loyal to Israel, who are willing to put that nation’s interests above others instead of providing justice for all.

To prevent another genocide like the one being committed upon the Palestinian people by Israel from happening ever again, we must understand why our international institutions are vulnerable to deceit and manipulation. We must be wary of how their employees are vulnerable to bribery and blackmail. Finkelstein’s text serves this purpose well.

Gaza’s Gravediggers warns that humanity must learn from its mistakes if we are to survive as a species. This is a book that should be on every reader’s shelf for both current and future reference.

Conscientious Objectors: Call the G.I. Rights Hotline at 1-877-447-4487 or the Center for Conscience & War at 1-800-379-2679.

Support Independent Journalism—Read!

Gaza’s Gravediggers https://orbooks.com/catalog/gazas-gravediggers/

Reverse Canary Mission: Holding Zionists accountable for their support of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine https://www.reversecanarymission.org

What Happens ‘When the World Sleeps’ (w/ Francesca Albanese) | The Chris Hedges Report https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/what-happens-when-the-world-sleeps

UN Panel Reaffirms Israel Commits Genocide https://popularresistance.org/un-panel-reaffirms-israel-commits-genocide/

UNHRC demands Israel immediately release abducted Gaza hospital director amid life-threatening condition https://www.presstv.co.uk/Detail/2026/07/07/771754/UNHRC-urges-immediate-release-of-abducted-Gaza-hospital-director-amid-life-threatening-condition

Israel kills 4-month-old Palestinian baby by denying passage through checkpoint https://palestinewillbefree.substack.com/p/israel-kills-4-month-old-palestinian-baby-by-denying-passage-through-checkpoint

Terrorism rises by 560% in the West Bank — and most perpetrators walk free https://palestinewillbefree.substack.com/p/jewish-terrorism-rises-560-percent-west-bank-most-perpetrators-walk-free

iatrocide in real time: the IMA OUT! campaign https://marginaliasubversiva.substack.com/p/iatrocide-in-real-time-the-ima-out

Holy Land Hustlers https://mandissent.com/p/holy-land-hustlers

Congress Is Quietly Preparing To Merge the U.S. Military With Israel’s Armed Forces |Tucker Carlson with Dennis Kucinich https://mandissent.com/p/congress-is-quietly-preparing-to

Gaza’s malnourished children ravaged by chickenpox outbreak amid Israeli siege https://palestinewillbefree.substack.com/p/gaza-malnourished-children-chickenpox-outbreak-israeli-siege

The Israeli Spy Behind PragerU’s Plan to Rewrite American Education To Indoctrinate Children https://www.mintpressnews.com/the-israeli-spy-behind-pragerus-plan-to-rewrite-american-education-to-indoctrinate-children/291039/

Is America Truly Becoming a “Zionocracy?” https://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/is-america-truly-becoming-a-zionocracy/

Two and a Half Centuries of War – A Timeline https://consortiumnews.com/2026/07/06/two-and-a-half-centuries-of-war-a-timeline/

Follow the Gold: How Darfur’s Mines and Dubai’s Traders Bankroll the War https://mandissent.com/p/follow-the-gold-how-darfurs-mines

Lindsey Graham Was Worse Than You Think — Let’s Count The Ways https://realleecamp.substack.com/p/yes-always-speak-ill-of-dead-war

How the Global Food Economy Is Killing Children https://thetricontinental.org/newsletterissue/child-death-and-food/

Cut the Pentagon, Save the Planet: The $1.5 Trillion Climate Solution We Can’t Ignore https://codepink.substack.com/p/cut-the-pentagon-save-the-planet

Guilty until proven innocent: Cops abusing Flock cameras x.com/JasonBassler1/status/2073790756599607725

SCOTUS Ruling Could Be Bad News for Flock — But Won’t Stop Mass Surveillance https://truthout.org/articles/scotus-ruling-could-be-bad-news-for-flock-but-wont-stop-mass-surveillance/

Whitmer’s Data Center Push Isn’t Just Bad for Michigan – It’s Bad for the World https://scheerpost.com/2026/07/11/whitmers-data-center-push-isnt-just-bad-for-michigan-its-bad-for-the-world/

It’s A Race Between Revolutionary Consciousness And The Implementation Of Police Robots https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/its-a-race-between-revolutionary

Cops in Florida who beat a young Black man to face no charges – so the community steps in https://www.thecanary.co/trending/2025/07/25/william-mcneil-jr/

The Trust Fall: Julian Assange (watch the film free) https://www.thetrustfall.org/watch

PEN America Sells out. Again. https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/pen-america-sells-out-again

Switzerland has turned its train tracks into solar power plants https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/switzerland-train-tracks-solar-panels