On Thursday, in a groundbreaking decision, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Gallant and Mohammed Deif on the charges of war crime and war against humanity especially in the context of their alleged role in the post 7th October 2023 events in Gaza Strip. In its ruling, ICC has asserted that Israeli PM Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Gallant were involved in heinous crimes against the civilian population of Gaza. Food, Water, Medicine and Shelter are being weaponized by top Israeli leadership as a tool for starvation for civilian people of Gaza in a very systemic and organized way which especially targets vulnerable groups, children and women, in the conflict zone. Meanwhile, charges are being made against Mohammed Deif for the 7th October attack on Israel, which resulted in the killing of 1200 Israelis and 250 captives of Israel in Hamas’s hand.
Since the 7th October 2023 attack which prompted Israel to ground invasion of the Gaza Strip for the elimination of Hamas, the civilian population remained the primary target of Israel, resulting in the massacre of roughly 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza, half of them are children and women, according to Health Ministry of Gaza. Meanwhile, a recent finding has revealed that more than 14750 children have been killed during the whole year of the military siege of Gaza by Israel Defense Forces. Additionally, 80 of the vital infrastructures of Gaza such as hospitals, schools, shelter-houses and universities are critically damaged due to intense violence and brutal tactics of the IDF.
Therefore, ICC’s ruling gives relief hope to Palestinians and their supporters across the globe who have been voicing, since the start of the Gaza war, about the criminal and genocidal intent of the state of Israel, who viewed fellow Palestinians as inhuman and subhuman, even lower than animal, such a bizarre and unjustified human objectification.
Unsurprising, Israel rejected the ruling of the court, calling it absurd misleading and even equivalent to anti-Semitic. Israel, which is not a member of the ICC, raised the question over the jurisdiction of the verdict of the ICC; however, the opposite side claimed that Palestine was added to the ICC in 2015, and now parts of occupied territories of Gaza and West Bank are in the jurisdiction of ICC. This verdict is fully applied to the Gaza War. Besides the Jurisdiction dispute, Israel has also objected that it has not been given the self-right to defend itself and prosecution and court judges seemed in a rush to issue the arrest warrant of top officials of Israel, calling them biased and unacceptable to the people of Israel.
Meanwhile, the strongest ally of Israel, the USA, has rejected the ruling of the ICC and called it fundamentally biased and wrong; the USA is not a member of the ICC. Inside reports, claimed that the USA has an irritant over the issuing of arrest warrants of top officials of Israel. One has to be reminded that the USA’s support is critical. A lifeline in the survival and existence of Israel, and since the October 2023 attacks, Israel’s reliance on the USA has doubled down as it requires more economic and military assistance for its jingoism and militancy in Gaza and beyond, especially in Lebanon and Syria. A previous day, before the ruling of ICC, the USA vetoed a resolution, calling for a comprehensive ceasefire agreement in Gaza between Hamas and Israel as it was not the first time the USA vetoed such a resolution. Additionally, the USA has pumped billions of dollars into Tel Aviv for continual war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
Distinguished Professor John Mearsheimer, in his seminal book, “The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy” documented that the Jewish lobby is one of the strongest lobbies in Washington which remained very influence and powerful over the White House, State Department, Pentagon and American media due to its strong economic and logistic base. And this Jewish lobby is key to the unfettered support of Israel from the corridor of Washington. And recent ruling is not viewed positively by this Jewish Lobby, and the lobby will assert its power and influence over the American system to dilute the effectiveness and implementation of the ruling of ICC.
It is also worth noting that the ICC is an intergovernmental organization formed in 2002 for convicting individual criminal charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which has 124 members across the globe. Although great powers like the USA, China, Russia and India do not have members of the ICC, yet significant blocs like the EU and developed countries such as Britain and Japan and other Latin, Asian and African countries are enjoying full membership of ICC; and in compliance of implementation of ICC ruling if a convicted individual would travel to these countries; therefore, risk of arrest via international travelling will be manifold for Netanyahu and Gallant. A top official of the EU has stated that the EU would enforce the ruling of the ICC if these individuals travelled to EU countries. However, legal experts opined that the ICC lacked an enforced mechanism and force to implement the arrest warrant of Netanyahu and Gallant.
Despite the real implementation of these arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, an overwhelming majority of people of Palestinians felt delighted over the ruling of the ICC, which accepted their public opinion of Palestinians that Israel is bent on killing and massacring people in Gaza in a very systemic way. One of the key Palestinian observers opined that since 1949, Palestinians have been subjected to large killing, murder, torture, displacement, and denial of any basic human right or any freedom under the UN Charter. “Genocide, occupation, and apartheid” are tools of Israel against the peaceful struggle of Palestinians for their independent homeland and their rights, he added. Karim Khan, the top persecutor for ICC, who sought an arrest warrant for Israeli top officials on 20th May, stated that the ruling of ICC is historic.
Additionally, South Africa who is framing charges of genocide in ICJ against Israel for its war crime and a crime against humanity felt that the ruling of ICC will strengthen its case in ICJ; South Africa is also seeking an arms embargo on Israel due to violation of convention on genocide in Gaza war.
In a concluding remark, it is crystal clear that Israel has been pursuing genocide, occupation and apartheid tactics against the civilian population of Palestinians for decades. And on the legal front, in each passing, Israel has been losing ground to legal jurisprudence for its military campaign and beige of the civilian population of Gaza. Like any other nation under the pretext of the UNO Charter, Palestinians have the right to self-determination and their own sovereign and independent state; however, Israeli intentions and actions seem to it torn down the two-state solution of crisis which is widely accepted by the international community, including the USA. Later or sooner, at unbreakable resistance of Palestinians for their homeland and rights will be materialized and the recent ruling of ICC is the right step in that direction.