Israel’s war crimes in Gaza have been becoming more and more blunt with every moment passing. From the United States to Africa, people around the world are protesting against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Amidst the backdrop of a strange silence from the Muslim world, South Africa made headlines by becoming the first country to register a genocide case against Israel in the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC has since then been investigating Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. Recently, the Chief prosecutor of the ICC, who has been investigating the war crimes of the Israeli army in the persistent Israel-Palestine conflict, announced that he had requested the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Defense Minister. He further announced that he also requested the international court to issue similar warrants for three Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and Muhammad Diab Ibrahim al-Masri.
In his statement, Chief Prosecutor Karim Kahn said, “Israel, like all states, has a right to take action to defend its population. That is right, however, does not absolve Israel or any state of its obligation to comply with international humanitarian law.” He further stated that the alleged war crimes committed by the Israeli defense forces were part of a “widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population, pursuant to state policy. These crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day.” According to Khan, the evidence collected by the prosecutor’s office portends that the Israeli government had systematically and intentionally deprived the Palestinian civilians of “objects indispensable to human survival.” As per Khan’s statement, the ounce of all the war crimes committed by the Israeli soldiers lies on Yoav Gallant and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Khan’s announcement was contrary to the ground realities and met severe backlash from all sides. Hamas leaders aptly accused him of equating the war victims with the perpetrators of war. Israel’s army has indiscriminately killed over 36000 people, including journalists, media personnel, and aid workers. Moreover, the Israeli armed forces have also bombed schools, hospitals, mosques, and churches, violating international law and norms. Israel banned humanitarian aid access to the innocent civilians of Gaza as well. Different aid agencies and international welfare organizations have warned the world of severe shortages of medical supplies and fuel, and the widespread hunger crisis in Gaza. On the other hand, different footage and interviews of the formerly released Israeli hostages display that Hamas treated them in accordance with humanitarian norms and laws. Despite this, the request for the issuance of arrest warrants of Hamas leaders seems merely a farce.
Israeli officials and some of their Western allies, especially the United States, have also condemned this request for arrest warrants by the ICC Chief prosecutor, Karim Khan. The deputy attorney general of Israel accused this request of being a “mockery of the heinous charge of genocide” and called this step to be sheerly “divorced from the facts.” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has also rejected this request by calling them “an attempt to deny Israel the basic right of self-defense.” He also held that his government has taken unprecedented measures to ensure that the Palestinians get access to humanitarian aid, a claim contrary to the evidence and reports of numerous international welfare organizations and aid agencies.
Israel’s all-weather ally, the United States, has also condemned the arrest warrants against the Israeli officials. US President Joe Biden called this request for an arrest warrant “outrageous” stating that there is no equivalence between Hamas and the state of Israel. He also rejected the charges of Karim Khan unequivocally. The influence of Israel over the US could be gauged by the fact that some US lawmakers have even threatened the ICC and its Chief prosecutor. Mike Johnson, the US House Speaker, has threatened the ICC and Karim Khan, stating “America should punish the ICC and put Karim Khan back in his place.” The United States’ stance after Khan’s announcement has exposed the US support for liberal values and human rights once again. Israel is the United States’ strongest proxy in the Middle East. The United States perceives Israel as its proxy to divide and control Arab and other Middle Eastern states. This serves as the key reason behind the colossal number of US weapons and arms supplies to Israel.
Karim Khan’s request for warrants has been submitted to the ICC. The judges of the ICC will now evaluate the credibility of Khan’s request for the issuance of these warrants. If the ICC decides to issue the arrest warrants at the request of Karim Khan, the individuals nominated by Khan can be arrested in any of the 124 signatory countries of the ICC. Although the United States has audaciously rejected the ICC warrants, the West seems to be divided over the request. Germany, France, and Spain have reiterated their support for the International Criminal Court. The United States is the only country in the world that has sanctioned the ICC and has also authorized its President to use any available means, including bombing, invasion, and kidnapping of the ICC officials to abstain them from prosecuting its soldiers accused of committing war crimes under the controversial “The Hague Invasion Act,” passed in 2002. Although the US officials are threatening the ICC, any US action against the ICC members will only hasten the decline of the US as a global hegemon, by adding to its decreased acceptability among third-world countries. Constitutionally speaking, the chances are meagre that the ICC panel will reject Khan’s request. Moreover, the inclusion of the names of Hamas leaders in the request for arrest warrants demonstrates that the ICC is already under Western pressure and seeks to please the US through this controversial application.
Taut Bataut – is a researcher and writer that publishes on South Asian geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.