FINALLY, the much delayed good news from the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrived on Thursday: arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant.
But early reactions against the ICC move by some Western countries indicate that the good news might just remain on paper. Never mind if the court also issued an arrest warrant against Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.
Humanity may have won on Thursday, but the days that followed showed that it might remain on life support for the longest time. The reaction of the United States — which never ceases to claim that it is a rule-of-law nation — was the most mind boggling of all. Calling the ICC move as "outrageous", U
nited States President Joe Biden said: "We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security." Who is a threat to whom? Caged Palestinians a threat to nuclear-powered occupier Israel? Worse still, the US Congress is hard at work on sanctioning the ICC and its officials.
If this comes to pass, it would be the second time The Hague court and its officials are being sanctioned, despite such sanctions being against international law.
The European Union's response is more supportive, given that all 27 nations are among the 124 countries that are parties to the Rome Statute that created the ICC. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said it is not a political decision, but one from an international court of justice, which must be respected and implemented.
This suggests that if it were a political decision, the EU would choose not to surrender the war criminals if they were to travel to Europe. It is politics like this in this in the EU, along with the US military and diplomatic support, that fuel Israel's impunity. Netanyahu and Gallant are wanted men and they must be treated as such.
To do otherwise is to tell the world that international law doesn't apply to powerful nations and their allies.
The US and the West must face the reality of the alleged war crimes that Israel is committing in Palestine. Though the ICC has not charged Netanyahu and Gallant with genocide — which it says is under investigation — the pair face charges of serious war crimes. Netanyahu and his cabinet have blatantly made public their intent to commit genocide and other war crimes since Oct 7. Start with Netanyahu.
On Dec 24, Al Jazeera quoted him describing Israel's fight against the Palestinians thus: "This is a battle, not only against these barbarians, it is a battle of civilisation against barbarism." It is little wonder he described all Palestininas — infants, children, women and the elderly — as Amalek, the biblical enemy of Israel who must be destroyed. Gallant was no different, calling for the "total siege" of the "human animals", just two days after Hamas' attack.
On Oct 10, Gallant went further by telling Israeli soldiers that they were "free of any restraints", effectively permitting them to shoot and kill any and all Palestinians. This genocidal intent and its execution by Israeli leaders and soldiers explain the slaughter of 45,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and the total destruction of Gaza.
The US and similarly minded nations have a choice: to stand on the side of global justice or a rogue regime bent on genocide.