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As of Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is officially wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity \u2014 a stunning position for the leader of one of the nations closest to the U.S., which positions itself as a\u00a0champion\u00a0of international humanitarian law to protect against such crimes.<\/p>\n
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has\u00a0unveiled\u00a0arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes during Israel\u2019s ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip, charging the two men with enforcing starvation and killing innocent people during \u201ca widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the court also issued a warrant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes for Mohammed Deif, a commander of Hamas, the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group. (Israel claims to have killed Deif, but Hamas has not confirmed his death as it has for its other leaders.)<\/p>\n
A White House spokesperson condemned the ICC for targeting the Israelis \u2014 without commenting on the court\u2019s decision regarding Deif, whom the Biden administration\u00a0placed\u00a0under sanctions in September. Accusing the court of \u201ctroubling process errors\u201d and overstepping its jurisdiction, the spokesperson said the administration is preparing \u201cnext steps.\u201d Israel also rejected the charges and blasted the ICC.<\/p>\n
But Thursday\u2019s move made clear that regardless of Washington\u2019s actions, the global conversation around the Gaza war is headed in a direction that will increase pressure on the U.S. and Israel, which heavily relies on American diplomatic and military support.<\/p>\n
President Joe Biden has so far declined to reduce U.S. backing for Israel even as international observers, U.S. lawmakers and watchdog groups have said its conduct violates American and international law. Neither has President-elect Donald Trump\u00a0suggested\u00a0he would withhold assistance to Israel once he takes office in January.<\/p>\n
Legal experts told HuffPost the warrants will boost international scrutiny of Israeli actions enabled by the U.S. and whether the two countries have fulfilled their promises to respect global standards for shielding civilians during wartime.<\/p>\n
While Israel is extremely unlikely to surrender Netanyahu and Gallant, meaning there\u2019s a slim chance they\u2019ll face trials, \u201cthe arrest warrants will not go away,\u201d said Adil Haque, a Rutgers University professor.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery ICC member has to arrest [the Israelis] if they visit, and at a political level this will compromise their ability to have public contacts with them,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
The U.S. and Israel are not members of the ICC, but 124 of the world\u2019s countries \u2014 the majority \u2014\u00a0are. After the warrants were issued, officials in\u00a0several\u00a0European\u00a0countries and Canada said they would respect the ICC order, suggesting they would arrest Netanyahu and Gallant (though some ICC member countries have previously\u00a0failed\u00a0to execute ICC warrants). The deputy prime minister of Belgium, Petra de Sutter,\u00a0argued\u00a0the continent\u2019s reaction could extend to challenging the European Union\u2019s association agreement with Israel, which involves a lucrative free trade deal.<\/p>\n
The warrants could \u201cstiffen the spine of national authorities in other countries to pursue their own prosecutions related to Gaza,\u201d said Brian Finucane, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group think tank.<\/p>\n
Citing the principle of \u201cuniversal jurisdiction,\u201d under\u00a0which\u00a0governments can pursue suspects for major international crimes regardless of their nationality or where the incidents occurred, Finucane said: \u201cIsraeli officials will face possible criminal exposure in third states for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such prosecutions could include legal action against \u201cthose aiding and abetting actions in Gaza,\u201d he continued \u2014 a circle that could include American officials who have overseen weapons transfers to Israel while knowing about its pattern of alleged war crimes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWarrants are one more reminder to U.S. officials that they have been aiding and abetting men credibly accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.\u201d<\/cite><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWarrants are one more reminder to U.S. officials that they have been aiding and abetting men credibly accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity,\u201d said Finucane, who previously worked as a lawyer at the State Department.<\/p>\n The ICC\u2019s Thursday statement highlighted ties between American leverage and Israeli policy choices, implicitly suggesting the U.S. could have done more to prevent civilian harm.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s decisions on humanitarian aid for Gaza \u201cwere often conditional,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cThey were not made to [fulfill] Israel\u2019s obligations under international humanitarian law\u2026 In fact, they were a response to the pressure of the international community or requests by the United States of America. In any event, the increases in humanitarian assistance were not sufficient to improve the population\u2019s access to essential goods.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the ICC development shows the weakness of the argument that Israel\u2019s domestic legal system can handle claims of atrocities or violations of international law.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s government has previously\u00a0told\u00a0the ICC its \u201crobust\u201d judiciary can \u201crigorously\u201d probe misconduct.<\/p>\n That assertion evidently \u201cdid not really convince\u201d the court\u2019s judges as they weighed the ICC prosecutor\u2019s request for warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, Suzie Navot, an Israeli constitutional law professor, wrote on\u00a0X. She noted that the Israeli government has not set up a state commission of inquiry into the Gaza war \u2014 which would have far-reaching investigative powers \u2014 despite the Israeli attorney general\u2019s\u00a0advice\u00a0to do so.<\/p>\n Whether Israel pursues internal accountability for possible war crimes is a major factor in the question of whether it can legally receive support from countries like the U.S., which\u00a0prohibits\u00a0aid to nations engaging in major human rights abuses, and whether Israel should face consequences like international sanctions for its conduct.<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s announcement that ICC judges\u00a0see\u00a0\u201creasonable grounds\u201d to believe Netanyahu and Gallant \u201cbear criminal responsibility\u201d for \u201congoing\u201d crimes, including enforcing mass starvation among Palestinians and intentionally killing civilians, comes amid other international evaluations of Israeli conduct.<\/p>\n The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is still considering South Africa\u2019s case accusing Israel of perpetrating a genocide in Gaza. Its proceedings are expected to continue for years to come, ensuring continued high-profile discussions of Israeli decisions blessed by the U.S.<\/p>\n Officials and experts working on distinct global legal proceedings often lean on each other\u2019s conclusions and analyses as they reach their own judgments.<\/p>\n Haque noted that the ICC judges suggested Israeli leaders had \u201ccreated conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population in Gaza,\u201d which is in line with the definition of genocide \u2014 \u201cthough genocide requires a different mental state of specific intent.\u201d<\/p>\n And the parties to the Geneva Conventions \u2014 which govern much of international law \u2014 plan to hold a conference on the Middle East in March. The confab could weigh in on whether Israel is occupying Gaza under international law, which would mean the Israeli government bears special responsibility in caring for its population. The ICJ said in July that Israel is occupying the Palestinian region.<\/p>\n \u201cI assume the vast majority of the Conference will agree,\u201d Haque told HuffPost, saying \u201ca strong conference statement would still be useful.\u201d<\/p>\n For the U.S., mounting and ongoing inquiries into the Gaza war will likely fuel strategic complexities for years. Those could include charges that America is selective in its commitment to international law \u2014 given its ardent opposition to the ICC\u2019s first-ever warrants for figures allied with the West \u2014 as well as tensions in important foreign relationships and embarrassing findings about U.S. culpability in horrifying aspects of the Gaza war.<\/p>\n Condemnations or revelations from abroad could strengthen domestic frustrations against overwhelming U.S. support for Israel, which has become a major issue in national politics.<\/p>\n Developments in the ICJ case, further warrants over the U.S.-backed Israeli offensive in Gaza or other events could inspire new public anger and fresh battles in Congress that build on already\u00a0unprecedented\u00a0votes challenging the U.S.-Israeli relationship.<\/p>\n In 2023, Biden\u00a0cheered\u00a0the court\u2019s issuance of a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over war crimes during his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Biden administration then decided to support the ICC in its investigation of Russian activity.<\/p>\n Now, Haque said, \u201cthe U.S. is in an untenable position, supporting the warrant for Putin but opposing the warrant for Netanyahu.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut perhaps Trump will oppose both,\u201d he added. The incoming president has expressed admiration for Putin and accused Biden\u2019s team of unwisely provoking him.<\/p>\n Differing approaches to the court could drive a split between the U.S. and Europe \u2014 traditional friends already likely to be at odds under a second Trump presidency over matters like trade, Ukraine and climate policy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EU should prepare for a U.S. attack on the ICC,\u201d Anthony Dworkin, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, argued in a Thursday\u00a0post. Europe must \u201cresist any US pressure to cut its own ties and support for the court.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n (Source: Huffington Post)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n