IN THE DOCK, THERE'S NO GOING BACK FOR ISRAEL

Israel has entered a new era in its relations with its western allies, including its chief backer, the United States.

- JOHN DOBSON LONDON

There was uproar in Jerusalem last Monday after the International Criminal Court announced that it could soon issue arrest warrants for Israel and Hamas leaders. Named were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohhamed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh. Hamas is already considered an international terrorist group by the West. Both Sinwar and Deif are believed to be hiding in Gaza, while Haniyeh, the supreme leader of the Islamic militant group is based in Qatar.

Israeli officials and politicians across the board reacted with anger and outrage after the ICC’s announcement, even though it has long been speculated, not least in comments from Netanyahu himself, that ICC warrants might be imminent. Foreign Minister Israel Katz issued a statement calling the warrants an “unrestrained direct attack” on the victims on Hamas’s October 7 onslaught and the hostages still being held in Gaza. “At the same time that the murderers and rapists of Hamas are committing crimes against humanity, against our brothers and sisters, the chief prosecutor of the ICC mentions in the same breath the prime minister and defence minister of Israel alongside the abominable Nazi monsters of Hamas—a historic disgrace that will be remembered forever by history,” he claimed.