While criticizing Putin and Hamas, the US and Britain resist efforts to hold Israel’s leaders accountable. However, nobody ought to be above the law.
The decision last week by the international criminal court’s (ICC) prosecutor to seek Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest for alleged war crimes sparked outrage among Israeli and US leaders, bringing attention to an old truth: for those in positions of authority who control significant political power, all people are equal, but some are more equal than others.
The implicit suggestion that violence against Palestinians, a dispossessed, marginalized, and primarily voiceless people, is less wrong—or even more acceptable—than violence against Israelis, the privileged, protected citizens of an established nation state, is at the core of criticisms directed towards Karim Khan’s courageous action. Being modest ultimately leads to the absurd but inevitable charge of antisemitism.
It’s shocking and illuminating to see how self-revering the rage of US and Israeli leaders is, as well as those in Europe. The murder of over 1,200 people by Hamas in October of last year was heinous, illegal, and terrible; it must and will be punished. It doesn’t excuse Israel’s excessive, unlawful, and indiscriminately deadly reaction in Gaza. But they simply fail to understand.
Everybody’s life matters, including the lives of Palestinians. How come leaders in the West can so readily accept, deny, or justify the bombing of homes and hospitals, the obstruction and seizure of relief, and the deaths of around 35,000 people—at least 12,000 of them were women and children, according to updated UN estimates—?
Both US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintain that arraigning Hamas and Israeli officials concurrently indicates “moral equivalency.” This is absurd. According to Khan and his knowledgeable advisors, there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that serious crimes have been committed by both parties. All accountable parties, regardless of identity, have an equal obligation to answer.
It is possible that Netanyahu and his co-defendant, Yoav Gallant, the minister of defense, believe they are above the law, particularly international law, which they disdainfully break. Maybe they think that Israel is as well, even as they enforce the occupation of Palestinian territory. That is undoubtedly the image created by the careless actions of their troops in Gaza.
Then they are not alone themselves. The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is charged of supervising a number of crimes in Ukraine. An arrest warrant was issued by the ICC last year. Does this imply “moral equivalency” between Netanyahu and the terrorists of Hamas? No. It basically implies that Putin has to answer for his alleged conduct just like everyone else does. Similar to them, he must demonstrate that his assumption of impunity is untrue.
It’s astonishing how challenging equality before the law is for Western politicians, who are supposed to defend the democratic, international rules-based system. Biden responded in a nonsensical and somewhat weird way. “This is not genocide,” he declared. But it’s not what the ICC is claiming. Joe, that’s a separate court.
“Outrageous” is how Biden described attempts to detain the two Israelis—but not the Hamas leaders—into custody. He has personally blasted Israel for its inability to protect people and for its starvation tactics in Gaza, which is a major accusation against it at the ICC. However, he now opposes efforts to guarantee that those guilty are held accountable, even as he supports Putin’s ICC warrant. Pick ‘n’mix justice is this.
America’s senior ambassador, Antony Blinken, is an educated lawyer and ought to know better. The majority of people acknowledge Palestinian sovereignty. Norway, Spain, and Ireland recently joined. Regardless of Blinken’s assertions, the ICC possesses jurisdictional jurisdiction over Gaza. Palestinians shouldn’t have to wait for an investigation by Israel’s tainted courts either. They would have to wait a very long period, based on historical history.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are still praised by Netanyahu and his combative spokesman as “the world’s most moral army.” They say it prevents injury to people more than any other in history, yet they don’t provide any proof. Nevertheless, in spite of Israel’s broad prohibitions on impartial research and reporting, the world is not blind.
Gaza is an unprecedented man-made disaster in the contemporary period. Direct comparisons are difficult and inaccurate. However, when it comes to casualties and displacement, Gaza seems worse than Aleppo (2016), Mosul (2017), and even Grozny (1994–955). The Occupied West Bank is witnessing an unprecedented level of Palestinian deaths.
The tolerance accorded long-standing patterns of heinous behavior can only be explained by the codependent hubris and ignorance of those governing Israel-friendly countries. Rishi Sunak deemed the ICC action “deeply unhelpful” while he was in Britain. How is he thinking? Is attempting to stop unlawful killings “unhelpful”? Does pursuing justice seem “unhelpful”? This is not analogy of morality. It’s complete moral ambiguity.
Some Israelis do understand. According to the left-leaning publication Haaretz, the ICC took action as a result of a bigger strategic failure. Israel started a legitimate war, initially backed by a large number of nations. However, this government’s callousness and avaricious incompetence, along with the mishandling of this war, have made Israel an international laughingstock.
Presumptive political intouchability is not just an Israeli issue. However, three senior figures from Bashar al-Assad’s despotic regime in Syria were put on trial for crimes against humanity last week in Paris in absentia. In addition, France has issued an arrest order for Assad under the theory of “universal jurisdiction.” It’s a morally righteous measure that comes after other European nations have taken comparable steps.
Netanyahu may choose that, like Assad, Putin, and another ICC indictee, Omar al-Bashir, the overthrown tyrant of Sudan, he will never be brought before the Hague’s dock. Can he, however, be certain? Because, all things considered, it was a good week for world justice, even in spite of the Orwellian double standards of certain westerners.
Another development was the UN International Court of Justice’s ruling to stop Israel’s attack in the southern Gazan district of Rafah. The gathering’s message is uncomplicated. One cannot tolerate impunity. It’s possible that war criminals won’t find permanent refuge. No one is above the law, no matter how strong. Everyone is entitled to safety.
