On Monday, the International Criminal Court announced it was seeking arrest warrants for senior Israeli and Hamas leaders for “war crimes and crimes against humanity” related to the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel and the relentless Israeli bombing campaign and starvation blockade on Gaza that has followed.
Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, said his office was seeking warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. In a statement, Khan alleged the Israeli leaders were responsible for the following crimes:
- Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, as a war crime
- Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health contrary, or cruel treatment as a war crime
- Wilful killing, or Murder as a war crime
- Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime
- Extermination and/or murder, including in the context of deaths caused by starvation, as a crime against humanity
- Persecution as a crime against humanity
- Other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity
“We submit that the crimes against humanity charged were committed as 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,” Khan said.
The action by The Hague-based court came despite pressure from the US not to pursue Israeli officials, including a letter from 12 Republican senators that threatened sanctions or other action in response. The Biden administration also made its opposition known to the ICC’s plans despite supporting the court against Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a statement responding to the ICC, President Biden called its action against Israel “outrageous.”
“Let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” Biden said.
The US could take extreme action against the ICC if it successfully arrests an Israeli official, although the court does not have its own police force. In 2002, then-President George W. Bush signed a bill into law nicknamed “The Hague Invasion Act” that allows the US to use “all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any US or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the” ICC.
The ICC’s charges against Netanyahu and Gallant implicate President Biden and other US officials since they have provided so much military support and diplomatic cover for the Israeli campaign in Gaza. The US has also opposed South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and rejected the ICJ’s ruling that it’s “plausible” Israel is committing genocide in Israel.
In his response to the ICC, Netanyahu accused Khan of being antisemitic, saying the prosecutor “takes his place among the great antisemites in modern times.” Netanyahu said that he “rejected with disgust the prosecutor’s comparison between democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas. This is a complete distortion of reality. This is exactly what the new antisemitism looks like.”
According to the latest numbers from Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 35,562 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since October 7, a total that doesn’t include thousands who are missing and presumed dead under the rubble. The Palestinian Red Crescent estimates that over 15,000 children have been killed.
Khan is also seeking warrants for three Hamas leaders: Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas’s military wing, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (also known as Deif), and the leader of Hamas’s political bureau based in Doha, Ismail Haniyeh. In his statement, Khan alleged the Hamas leaders were responsible for the “killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians” and the following crimes:
- Extermination as a crime against humanity,
- Murder as a crime against humanity, and as a war crime
- Taking hostages as a war crime
- Rape and other acts of sexual violence as crimes against humanity, and also as war crimes in the context of captivity
- Torture as a crime against humanity, and also as a war crime in the context of captivity
- Other inhumane acts as a crime against humanity, in the context of captivity
- Cruel treatment as a war crime in the context of captivity
- Outrages upon personal dignity as a war crime in the context of captivity
A total of 1,139 people were killed during Hamas’s attack on southern Israel, including 695 Israeli civilians, including 36 children, as well as 373 security forces and 71 foreigners. Some of the Israeli civilians were killed by the Israeli military in its response to the Hamas attack, but it’s unclear how many.
The US will never dare arrest the named Israelis.
It would dare it, it just wouldn’t do it–it would flout international law as it always does and refuse gleefully.
Biden’s complete fanaticism about the Israeli people has always served him well in U.S. media and therefore politics.
As a junior senator he even surprised Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin with his psychopathic view of how to wage war. In a backdoor meeting between congressmen and Begin, regarding Hezbollah, Biden said Israel should bomb Lebanon with no concern for how many civilians died.
“If the U.S. was attacked from Canada we wouldn’t concern ourselves with the number of dead women and children.”
He has repeatedly said “I am a Zionist.” With the parties in Netanyahu’s coalition we have seen what that means.
He also says there is no Palestine. The “there’s no Palestine” crowd don’t want you to know that the Zionist Movement attracted immigrants with a “Come to Palestine” message. You can find their posters with that text online.
Is he really a fanatic? Not a chance. He has no capacity for genuine emotion. No, he is a defeated man. He is powerless. He has that look of a deer in a headlight, the one we saw on display after Speaker Johnson walked out of the windowless room.
They all appeat to be driven by righterous emotion, an act easiest to conjure up when on s stage and forced to look sincere,
US is defeated by its own donor class, wealthy prople who imagine they are all knowing, so sure of themselves. Musk is a perfect specimen — a neuroscientist that experimented in poor chimpanzees, an electric car genius (he bought it by tricking the owner, engineer to designed it), and then reinvented himself as a space scientist! Just like his equally delusional pal Bezos — Amazon owner and space expert, All sucking public funds, and exploring own self-imagined genius. These are the types if people who tell Buden what to passionatey believe in. We are looking ridiculous.
Western Democracies are being ruled by criminal idiots. Genocide Biden’s name should be on the list of war criminals next to Netanyahu.
“Let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.”
Correct Joe. Israel has no peers when it comes to terrorism.
Says the man whose country has killed hundreds of thousands in just the past 30 years.
Millions upon millions, actually.
Might have to go back futher than 30 years to get into the millions. Not much further though.
True, if we count only living people we directly shoot or blow up.
However, for whole populations over years of war, the usual measures include “excess deaths” (as with food insecurity and lack of medical care and disease outbreaks and more caused by war) and normal rate of birth interrupted by war (even we had a WW2 “baby boom” effect). If we measure what W did to the populations of Afghanistan and Iraq, then we see millions of lives gone.
Then we ought to consider the human potential wasted, as those who lived spend decades desperately trying to survive all encompassing war among them. I suppose Hillary would want to offset the Afghan girls who went to school (and survived the War).
These larger measures are the full meaning of “genocide” as properly defined, as in what Israel does to the Palestinian population over the last 75 years, not just in Gaza now.
If we measure what W did to the populations of Afghanistan and Iraq, then we see millions of lives gone.
And that’s just W and that’s just Iraq and Afghanistan. I stand corrected.
Yes, but the UN has neither designated Hamas nor the Israeli government a terrorist organization. Most of the world consider Hamas a liberation organization with a militant wing engaged in low intensity asymmetric warfare. Most of the world consider Israel a terrorist state. But legal status is something different than opinions.
The ICC would however have to contend with the legality and the legitimacy of violence as a means of resistance against occupation and the legality in internation law of the response against armed resistance against occupation, taking into account the nature of the occupation, by an occupier.
It would be interesting, and much of the world is watching very closely, in light of those realities how the ICC would give substance to their words reflecting the need to not apply the law selectively and that the lives of all human beings have equal value.
The ICC recognizes Palestine as a nation while the USA does not. The Palestinians accepted the court, they are one of the member nations.
The UN never designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, the US and its vassals do without any jurisdiction to do so.
Over 140 nations recognize Palestine, and about 50 do not. It is the whole world vs US influence areas.
I hope people know that Oct 7 did not have to happen, if only the Terrorist State of Israel had honored the promised Two State Solution, honored human rights for Palestinians and STOPPED their Occupation. What Hamas did was a desperate attempt at resistance, because the USA, EU, Britain, ICJ, ICC, for decades ignored the War Crimes committed by Israel. So the question is this, will Nations force Israel to stop their Occupation of Palestinians Lands and give Palestine Statehood. Every American should support Freedom for Palestine and fly the Gadsden Flag, that states “Don’t Tread On Me”, a reminder that Freedom is for all humans.
Agree 100%.
NO one lifted a finger for the Palestinian people, so they took matters in their own hands and the criminal democratic powers of US/NATO gang up committing genocide of the Palestinian people while crying for the poor Israeli-Zionist sadistic monsters. Deranged criminals are in power and proud to fund the slaughter and will do so until the last Palestinian child has been killed. Despicable people.
I am surprised that a warrent was not also requested for Genocide Joe as he is fully complicit along side Nutandyahoo for the crimes being committed in Palestine.
As to the Hamas leaders, their crimes are truly trivial when compared to the crimes being committed by Nutandyahoo, Genocide Joe, and the rest of the Zionist posse.
I think that is the crux of bidens and hos cabal’s reaction, they know they would also get served warrants, all those nations arming Israel and funding this war, will come under scrutiny for knowingly arming a genocide.
Speaking for almost all of us here, we totally agree !!!
Israel is near collapse…!
Who inherits the illegal nuclear weapons?
They’ll be dismantled like Gaddafi’s….!
No telling what the REAL DAY AFTER WOULD LOOK LIKE. Maybe there is no one left to see there is nothing but rubble left.
The USA officials support the ICC when it suits them, opposed it when it does not go their way.
United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken released a statement about the ICC’s decision to seek warrants.
“We reject the Prosecutor’s equivalence of Israel with Hamas. It is shameful,” the statement read. “Moreover, the United States has been clear since well before the current conflict that ICC has no jurisdiction over this matter.”
https://news.yahoo.com/what-is-the-international-criminal-court–and-what-authority-does-the-icc-have-to-prosecute-war-crimes-184447125.html
Palestinians are a member ICC nation and Israelis are committing the crimes in Gaza against Palestinians, the ICC HAS JURISDICTION in Gaza.
I am not a lawyer, maybe I misunderstand something.
On 1 January 2015, the Government of Palestine (“Palestine”) lodged a declaration under article 12(3) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“Rome Statute” and “Court” or “ICC”) accepting the jurisdiction of the Court over alleged crimes committed “in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, since June 13, 2014”. On 2 January 2015, Palestine acceded to the Rome Statute by depositing its instrument of accession with the UN Secretary-General. The Rome Statute entered into force for Palestine on 1 April 2015.
It seems all so called western government officials are reading from the same script written by an Israeli government officials.
Pathetic nonsense. Not least because it’s absolutely useless. No one will ever be prosecuted on either side because whichever side wins will eliminate the indicted on the other side.
It is not clear that Hamas is even a suspect in the civilian deaths due to Israeli’s invoking of the “Hannibal Doctrine” during the October 7 conflict. At the very least, this constitutes “tampering with evidence” as to who killed who.
The ICC’s citing of “rape” is even more ridiculous. ALL of the alleged Hamas rape incidents have been debunked from top to bottom as has been proven by The Grayzone, The Electronic Intifida and Mondo Weiss investigations, especially of the bogus New York Times report. Even Israeli media have mostly dismissed the allegations.
I am unaware of any evidence that Hamas has either tortured or used “cruel treatment” against any Israeli hostages. Most of the hostages who have been returned have said the exact opposite. Whereas it is well known and documented that Israeli regularly tortures hostages of all ages, including children.
The only reason the ICC did this is because it fears that if it singles out Israel for war crimes that the US will come down hard on it.
Well deserved ***** for your post.
The criminals ruling the Western powers are ganging up pulling a fast one on the Palestinian people again.
No matter what they do the CHRISTIANS find an excuse to massacre them. They don’t bother to hide the viscous and brutal genocide massacres behind the freedom and Democracy BS anymore.
Western democracies are being governed by a bunch of evil lunatics. The hegemon USA has two senile viscous old man fighting for the power of presidency, neither one is qualified for the job.
Both sides…
What a bunch of cowards. They didn’t dare upset the Israel-US axis, so they issued a meaningless directive.
Color me not at all surprised at the cowardice that runs all the way through the western elites and their lackeys.
The US and allies have destroyed all credibility of international institutions. Based on what kind of evidence did they issue an arrest warrant against Putin and the lady in charge of the Rest and Recreation program with parental consent, for stressed and traumatized children from the battle zones. So much humanity would never cross the mind of a Biden.
So if you aren’t guilty like you say, then there’s no reason to fear the court, submit yourself.
I think the Hamas leaders should agree now, to go to trail, cooperate with the court…that’d would make Netanyahu look really guilty and more like the liar that he is.
Just to clarify, it is the ICC prosecutor who announced today that he is seeking arrest warrents. The decision to actually issue the warrants, or not, is up to a three judge panel of the pre trial division of the court.
That is true. And it could potentially turn out to be a selective application of international law yet, undermining the ICC and possibly the system of international law entirely. Khan’s warnings against did not mention the US specifically: “It is critical in this moment that my Office and all parts of the Court, including its independent judges, are permitted to conduct their work with full independence and impartiality. I insist that all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence the officials of this Court must cease immediately. My Office will not hesitate to act pursuant to article 70 of the Rome Statute if such conduct continues.” But it is not much of a mystery against who this warning is directed.
Article 70 is on page 50 here:
https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/Publications/Rome-Statute.pdf
Hamas did not respond, So far have been silent.
At some point, the Likud will be declared a joint criminal enterprise by the international community.
Equivalency for warmongers is only justice.
let us break bread
As I said…
ICC has no evidence for 7 October rapes, documents indicate
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/icc-has-no-evidence-7-october-rapes-documents-indicate
The responses of Biden and Blinken, justifying and enabling Israeli behavior and threatening the Court, demonstrate that they are proper defendants under the Court’s jurisdiction over genocide in Gaza/Palestine. They too ought to be indicted.