Last week's announcement from the international criminal court's (ICC) pretrial chamber of arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, sent shock waves through the legal system. As the first time that officials from a democratic, western-allied state have been charged with war crimes, it is seen as the most significant action taken by the court.
"We had no illusions about how tough this road was going to be. Every step leading to this moment was difficult, but Palestine stayed the course," said Ammar Hijazi, who leads the Palestinian Authority's delegation to The Hague, the seat of the ICC. "We told the world justice for Palestine will be the litmus test of the international system; we were not being hyperbolic."
Diana Buttu, a human rights lawyer and former Palestinian peace negotiator, said: "The days ahead for Palestine are not good... At the same time, Israel will struggle to remove the stain of these warrants. When countries like Canada and the Netherlands say they will implement the court's decision, it calls weapons sales and the level of political support for Israel into question."
Denne historien er fra November 29, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra November 29, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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The Saudi football World Cup is an act of violence and disdain
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AI has made the move into video and it's worryingly plausible
I recently had the opportunity to see a demo of Sora, OpenAI's video generation tool, which was released in the US last Monday, and it was so impressive it made me worried for the future.
With tyrant Assad ousted, Syrians deserve support and hope
Last week, time collapsed. Bashar al-Assad's fall recalled scenes across the region from the start of the Arab spring almost 14 years ago. Suddenly history felt vivid, its memories sharpened. In fact it no longer felt like history.
TV
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Albums
Murky love stories, nostalgic pop and an in-your-face masterpiece captured our critics' ears in 2024
Film
Visual language, sound, light and rhythm are to the fore in the best movies of the year
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'It's really a disaster' The fight to save lives as gang war consumes capital
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Trailblazers The inspiring people we met around the world this year
From an exuberant mountaineer to a woman defiantly facing the guns of war, here are some of the brave individuals who gave us hope in a tumultuous 2024
Votes of confidence
From India to Venezuela and Senegal to the US, more people voted this year than ever before, with over 80 elections across the world. With rising authoritarianism and citizen-led resistance revealing its vulnerabilities and resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges, has democracy reached its breaking or turning point?
