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!!
While some of them have expressed desire for beachfront houses in Gaza, I think the parent was referring to lebensraum. You may also consider whether there’s any similarities to a potential Final Solution to the Palestinian Question. Maybe instead of shipping the Palestinians to Madagascar they’ll ship them to Egypt or Jordan or wherever (for now they’ve concentrated them in camps around Rafah).
But remember, per the IHRA definition of antisemitism, discussing similarities between the acts of Nazis and the acts of Israel is antisemitic.
So do I, and yet I keep renting a tiny apartment for ridiculous money. Maybe I should have committed genocide instead.
trump would call that smart.
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?
If it’s not genocide, then he shouldn’t be afraid of the trial.
I believe the ICC chose not to seek charges for article 6, instead opting for article 7 and 8.
The ICC itself is not seeking to try him for genocide.
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.
How is everything these Israeli officials say just the most delusional shit ever?
Entitlement. They’ve gotten away with it for decades. They haven’t changed, the world changed around them.
Their religion has been telling them they’re the “chosen ones” for thousands of years. Entitlement and victimhood are second nature.
How about fuck you, murderer.
Please arrest them already, jeez
What about the arrest warrants for Hamas leaders? Are they saying the ICC is only half right? (both rhetorical)
What was widely interpreted in Israel as an equivalence between the named leaders of the Islamist group (…) and democratically elected Israeli politicians was met with outrage by Israeli officials(…)
Playing the (other) devil’s advocate, wasn’t Hamas elected too?
18 years ago, and that doesn’t justify collective punishment
And they were elected the same way Putin was elected. People voted with a gun pointed at the head
And the person holding the gun was propped up by Israel. Both financially via Qatari money Israel allowed in, and also politically by destroying the Palestinian Authority and their ability to govern.
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.
Exactly. When someone thinks an occupied people living under siege and military occupation can just wake up one day and decide to hold elections I can only shake my head. Israel won’t allow it, because they love Hamas being in power in Gaza, it provides a very easy excuse for their actions. Israel loves the status quo, because they can seemingly get away with anything as it is.
because they love Hamas being in power in Gaza
MMm. I disagree. I think they love Hamas being viewed as an illegitimate government, and have been consistently concerned that Hamas will legitimately win any election when called. Hence their effectively trying to block Hamas from the ballot or preventing elections from happening. They want Hamas as an ‘illegitimate partner’, but not to be recognized as a ‘legitimate partner’.
I don’t think they care whether they are legitimate or not to be completely honest. Hamas won the election in '06 fair and square, then defended against an attempted coup…whether that leaves them as a legitimate power or not is beyond my scope of understanding. One could probably also argue that they lack of elections for the last 18 years makes them illegitimate. But regardless, Hamas is an easy excuse whether they were elected fairly today or 18 years ago. I honestly don’t think Israel would treat Hamas and Palestinians any differently if they won a fair election again next week.
Lots of historical war criminals were elected to office, Sinwar and Netanyahu included. That’s why they were both charged.
Ages ago (2006?). Even then, they got something like 40% of the vote. Less than half the voting-age Gazans alive just before the oct 7 attack were even able to vote in the election. Less that a quarter of the current Gazans voted for Hamas.
This is in comparison to 2022 Israeli elections leading to the current government in Israel.
I thought that civilized nations love international law…
Yeah, being able to ignore legal proceedings is about as close to the opposite of civilisation as you can get.
calling on nations to ignore the interational criminal court will surely lead to some excellent not at all dystopean future…
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!
