Stalin
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2008
- Messages
- 2,352
"..Thanks to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, which once dreamed of being a light unto the nations, has taken a step closer to becoming a leper among the nations. The Israeli prime minister and the defence minister he sacked a fortnight ago, Yoav Gallant, are now wanted men, the subject of arrest warrants issued on Thursday by the international criminal court (ICC), accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. From now on, some 124 countries are effectively closed to them: if Netanyahu or Gallant set foot in any member state of the ICC – which includes Britain and most of Europe – they face the risk of arrest. The UK government has already said it will follow the law, which sounds like a commitment to detain the two men if they come here. They are to be shunned, as a matter of international law.
Israeli ministers and their allies are raging against the ICC, accusing it of bias and double standards in levelling against Israel charges that it has never made against the leaders of any other western democracy. But the blame lies squarely with Netanyahu himself. Because this move, which signals a new isolation of Israel, was entirely avoidable.
Start with the law. Ask why the ICC didn’t go after, say, Britain for suspected war crimes in Iraq or the US on similar charges in Afghanistan, and you’ll be told that the ICC stays out of countries that have their own, reliable systems of justice. The legal principle is called “complementarity”, by which the ICC defers to the courts of the country accused, so long as it’s satisfied that any crimes will be properly investigated and pursued.
For Israel, the simplest solution would have been the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and all that has followed. As it happens, that’s been a loud demand within Israel ever since that murderous day 13 months ago. But Netanyahu has refused to give way. He fears an investigation will point the finger at him for leaving Israel exposed to the deadliest attack in its history. An inquiry would blow apart his pretence that, though he has been in the prime minister’s seat for most of the past 15 years, he was blameless for that horrific failure – though simultaneously responsible for all of Israel’s military successes. So, in a break with all Israeli precedent, there is still no inquiry into 7 October or the conduct of the war in Gaza. And that, under the principle of complementarity, opened the door to the ICC.
...
But make no mistake, this will have a major impact. It will strengthen calls for arms embargos of Israel and for criminal investigations into lower-level Israeli political and military figures. It will accelerate Israel’s path to international pariahdom. And remember, this is exactly what Hamas hoped for on 7 October: to drive Israel so mad with grief and rage that it would lash out in ways that would destroy its international legitimacy. Netanyahu gave them exactly what they wanted.
Hamas set the trap – and he walked right into it.
www.theguardian.com
comrade stalin
gaza famine is still the issue
Israeli ministers and their allies are raging against the ICC, accusing it of bias and double standards in levelling against Israel charges that it has never made against the leaders of any other western democracy. But the blame lies squarely with Netanyahu himself. Because this move, which signals a new isolation of Israel, was entirely avoidable.
Start with the law. Ask why the ICC didn’t go after, say, Britain for suspected war crimes in Iraq or the US on similar charges in Afghanistan, and you’ll be told that the ICC stays out of countries that have their own, reliable systems of justice. The legal principle is called “complementarity”, by which the ICC defers to the courts of the country accused, so long as it’s satisfied that any crimes will be properly investigated and pursued.
For Israel, the simplest solution would have been the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and all that has followed. As it happens, that’s been a loud demand within Israel ever since that murderous day 13 months ago. But Netanyahu has refused to give way. He fears an investigation will point the finger at him for leaving Israel exposed to the deadliest attack in its history. An inquiry would blow apart his pretence that, though he has been in the prime minister’s seat for most of the past 15 years, he was blameless for that horrific failure – though simultaneously responsible for all of Israel’s military successes. So, in a break with all Israeli precedent, there is still no inquiry into 7 October or the conduct of the war in Gaza. And that, under the principle of complementarity, opened the door to the ICC.
...
But make no mistake, this will have a major impact. It will strengthen calls for arms embargos of Israel and for criminal investigations into lower-level Israeli political and military figures. It will accelerate Israel’s path to international pariahdom. And remember, this is exactly what Hamas hoped for on 7 October: to drive Israel so mad with grief and rage that it would lash out in ways that would destroy its international legitimacy. Netanyahu gave them exactly what they wanted.
Hamas set the trap – and he walked right into it.
Benjamin Netanyahu is a wanted man – and he has only himself to blame | Jonathan Freedland
A strategy of starvation would always be indefensible. After this week’s ICC decision, he risks turning Israel into a pariah state, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
comrade stalin
gaza famine is still the issue
