Israel has urged what it called “nations of the civilised world” to refuse to implement any international criminal court arrest warrants issued against its leaders.
. . .
What was widely interpreted in Israel as an equivalence between the named leaders of the Islamist group – Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s chief in Gaza, Mohammed Deif, the commander of its military wing, and Qatar-based Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the political bureau – and democratically elected Israeli politicians was met with outrage by Israeli officials, the public, and the country’s allies.
On Tuesday, a government spokesperson, Tal Heinrich, said: “We call on the nations of the civilised, free world – nations who despise terrorists and anyone who supports them – to stand by Israel. You should outright condemn this step.
“Make sure the ICC understands where you stand. Oppose the prosecutor’s decision and declare that, even if warrants are issued, you do not intend to enforce them. Because this is not about our leaders. It’s about our survival.”
Israel’s survival is not threatened by anything short of large-scale pre-emptive Iranian nuclear barrage, or civil war.
Claiming your actions are necessary for survival is a very old trick, commonly used by authoritarian regimes as a convenient excuse.
They need living space!
Specifically more beach front property!!
So do I, and yet I keep renting a tiny apartment for ridiculous money. Maybe I should have committed genocide instead.
And strategic depth in case of a ground invasion. You know, like Russia, because that’s clearly not enough, as anyone can plainly see.
True, like the Germans way back when.
For activities?
Curious to see what the Dutch government will do. They have been one of the most loyal lapdogs of the US and Israel, but with the ICC being in The Hague, going against it is not a pretty look either.
We also have a court that has ordered we can’t deliver F-35 parts because it’s likely they will be used to commit war crimes, and the government is fighting that order. I imagine the ICC saying the same will not help their case.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Whatever Israel’s military goals in Gaza, the prosecutor’s office believed its methods – “namely, intentionally causing death, starvation, great suffering, and serious injury to body or health of the civilian population” – were criminal, he added.
France, Belgium and Slovenia said on Monday they supported Khan’s decision, while a UK government spokesperson reiterated that London did not believe the ICC had jurisdiction in the case, and the Czech Republic called the prosecutor’s move “appalling and completely unacceptable”, a clear indication of the west’s growing divisions over approaches to Israel as death and destruction mounts in Gaza.
Israel is also worried about an immediate impact on weapons sales and the defence industry, the possibility of further sanctions if the case goes ahead, and implementing military strategy and judicial changes that may be needed in order to minimise the risk of future charges.
In recent visits to the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza, Israel and the West Bank, Khan had made clear that the scope of his office’s investigation would be expanded to include the 7 October attack and its aftermath.
A return to fruitful negotiations seems less likely than ever after earlier this month Israel launched a long-threatened offensive on Rafah, the last corner of the Gaza Strip previously spared ground fighting, where more than 85% of the Palestinian territory’s population of 2.3 million people had sought shelter.
Fierce fighting continues across the region: Israeli forces operating in Jabalia camp in northern Gaza on Tuesday laid waste to the area with tank and aerial bombardments, residents said, while airstrikes killed at least five people in Rafah.
The original article contains 986 words, the summary contains 269 words. Saved 73%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Playing the (other) devil’s advocate, wasn’t Hamas elected too?
18 years ago, and that doesn’t justify collective punishment
Yes, they were elected. Quite a long time ago.
However, Israel (arguably) through the PLO, has blocked every opportunity for new elections since then. The last most recent attempt was in 2021, where Israel directly intervened to prevent Palestinians in East Jerusalem from voting.
So like, yes its true that Hamas is an elected government. Its also true that they haven’t had elections in 2 decades. Its also true that both Hamas and Fatah in agreement have tried several times to hold elections, and have either been foibled via the PLO (which by some is considered an influence puppet of Israel), or directly prevented by Israel.
Lots of historical war criminals were elected to office, Sinwar and Netanyahu included. That’s why they were both charged.
