The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for several high-profile Israeli leaders and Hamas officials.
The warrants target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as senior Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh.
CC Prosecutor Karim Khan said that arrest warrants are issued for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed since October 8, 2023, on Israeli territory and during the war on the Gaza Strip.
The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include war crimes related to the alleged starvation of civilians, wilful killing, and attacks directed against the civilian population. Khan emphasized that these actions were part of a systematic attack against Palestinians and contravened international humanitarian law.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak lambasted the ICC’s move to issue arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Minister, calling it “deeply unhelpful”.
Blatantly evading Israel’s systematic use of collective punishment, its relentless expansionist annexation of Palestinian territories, and its damning classification as an apartheid state by leading human rights bodies, Sunak unabashedly insisted that Israel is nothing more than a “democratic state asserting its supposed right to self-defence.”
He added: “The UK, as with other countries, does not yet recognise Palestine as a state and Israel itself is not a party to the Rome Statute, so we’ve previously made clear our position that the ICC does not have jurisdiction in this case.”
The UK Government stated its non-recognition of the ICC’s jurisdiction in the conflict, it declined to confirm its compliance as a signatory to a potential warrant.
Labour, however, argued that compliance is mandatory. Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy emphasised that the UK and all parties to the Rome Statute are legally obligated to adhere to ICC warrants.
Lammy told the Commons: “Arrest warrants are not a conviction or determination of guilt, but they do reflect the evidence and judgment of the prosecutor about the grounds for individual criminal responsibility.”
Across the pond, President Biden called the application for an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant “outrageous,” claiming it drew equivalence between Israel and Hamas.
As anticipated, the would-be war criminal Netanyahu brushed aside the arrest warrant against him, drawing a parallel between “democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas,” the same Hamas he encouraged members of his party to financially support in 2019 to undermine the rival Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and derail the prospect of Palestinian statehood.
Meanwhile, Nawaf Salam, Chair of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s highest court, ordered Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive and any other actions in the Rafah Governorate that could impose conditions on the Palestinian group in Gaza, potentially leading to their physical destruction in whole or in part.”
Sunak and Biden’s responses serve as the latest stark reminder of the West’s selective adherence to international law and respect for the world’s highest judicial institutions.
Their endorsement of the ICC and ICJ during the issuance of arrest warrants against President Putin amid the conflict with Ukraine underscores a pretence of commitment to justice.
However, their current reactions expose a troubling double standard, betraying a lack of genuine dedication to upholding the principles of international law.
This hypocrisy not only undermines their credibility as leaders but also reflects a broader pattern of prioritising political expediency over the pursuit of true justice and accountability on the global stage.
Moreover, the impunity enjoyed by Israel perpetuates narratives of imperialist Western superiority, blatantly devaluing Palestinian lives.
This callous disregard is evident in the fact that the loss of 36,000 Palestinian lives in under 40 weeks fails to spur meaningful justice.
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