HOW is it that from having the sympathy of almost everyone for being the victim of Hamas's dastardly terror on October 7, Israel has gone to the brink of being accused of genocide and its leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity in just eight months? This descent from being a country with which Gulf nations were seeking to 'normalise' relations, to one with which its own allies are wary of engag ing has been swift and unexpected.
In an unprecedented move, International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip-a stunning step against a nation that prides in calling itself the only democracy in West Asia. More specifically, the charges include causing "extermination", starvation as a method of warfare, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting attacks on civilians in conflict and other inhuman acts. Three Hamas members were also charged for other crimes.
The notion that the ICC may actually hold leaders of Western democracies accountable has come as a bolt from the blue. Africa had been a target of the ICC earlier. The only instance of sitting political leaders being tried by the ICC was the then Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto.
In an interview with Christiane Amanpour, Khan revealed that a senior elected US official threatened him that the ICC "was built for Africa and for thugs like [President Vladimir] Putin", but not for the West or its allies. The US realises that if this happens to Israel now, next in line will be the US itself for possible abetment to war crimes due to its unconditional supply of arms to Israel to conduct this war.
This story is from the May 31, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
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This story is from the May 31, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
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