War Crimes of Our Times: Humanity being criminally annihilated by corrupt warlords
"Never Again" on multiple fronts, from Ukraine to Palestine, Sudan, Somalia, with ICC under attack
As the ICC seeks arrests, I ask those who facilitated the Gaza slaughter: what were you thinking?
The deaths, the atrocities – all were predicted. Those who ignored all the warnings should be held responsible too
Wed 22 May 2024 09.34 EDT
As the international criminal court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, officially seeks arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, a question must be asked of the politicians and media outlets that legitimised Israel’s western-backed destruction of Gaza, which is one of the great crimes of our age: what were you thinking?
The arrest warrant requests detail, firstly, how three Hamas leaders should be held criminally responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity including extermination, murder and hostage-taking. Their guilt is incontrovertible, and no cause justifies such depraved crimes against civilians.
But there is a distinction to be made. For while Hamas’s crimes were obscene and indefensible, the prosecutor’s proposed charges against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, describe atrocities that were directly facilitated by cheerleader politicians, most notably in the US, UK and Germany, and legitimised by multiple media outlets.
Starvation, wilfully causing great suffering, murder as a war crime, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population and, crucially, “extermination” as state policy: the culpability for these horrors is not theirs alone. It was obvious – as the prosecutor details – that Israel was intentionally and systematically depriving the civilian population of the essentials of life, and that it sought to “collectively punish the civilian population of Gaza, whom they perceived as a threat to Israel”. So why did those politicians, those outriders, refuse to call out crimes of historic proportions for what they clearly were?
That the US president, Joe Biden, decries the prosecutor’s application as “outrageous” underlines why it is so momentous. In a global order weighted in favour of western states and their allies, this was not supposed to happen. “This court is built for Africa and for thugs like Putin,” as one leader told the prosecutor. Whether Netanyahu ends up in the dock or not, Israel’s once seemingly impregnable impunity is no more, and western leaders have more cause to fear consequences for their actions than ever before.
Indeed, such leaders know they are damned by association. Biden promised “ironclad” support for Israel and a limitless supply of weapons, including 2,000-pound bombs that ripped apart bodies in so-called safe zones. The UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, repeatedly refused to suspend arms sales. And what of Keir Starmer? Asked if Israel had the right to cut water and power supplies, he declared it had “that right”, after it stopped food, fuel and medicines entering Gaza in October. He later claimed to have never said what he had, claiming misinterpretation, but note how the ICC prosecutor specifically presents Israel’s decisions to cut off water pipelines and electricity supplies as key planks of his case. It is something that lawyer Starmer must have known was an intrinsically criminal act.
Ignorance is no defence. Rarely has a state been so open about its criminally murderous intentions. The statements of Israeli government ministers, politicians, generals, soldiers, journalists and other public figures in support of mass slaughter and indiscriminate destruction would fill a book. They led the Israeli-American associate professor of Holocaust and genocide studies Raz Segal to declare only nine days after 7 October: “We’re seeing the combination of genocidal acts with special intent. This is indeed a textbook cause of genocide.”
When Gallant declared “a complete siege” with “no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel” on the grounds that “we are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly” – language later flagged by the international court of justice as potentially risking the right of Palestinians to be protected from genocide – why was he not taken at his word? Did our politicians and commentators believe that Gallant telling his soldiers he had lifted all “restrictions” and “restraints” on them wasn’t to be taken literally? When the Israeli major general Ghassan Alian specifically addressed “the citizens of Gaza” as “human animals”, and lauded a “total blockade” with the words “you wanted hell, you will get hell”, what room was there for interpretation?
To the politicians and commentators who spent months repeating mantras about self-defence with occasional hand-wringing platitudes: what were you thinking? Like the rest of us, they spent seven and a half months watching a military superpower detonate explosives equivalent to several Hiroshima bombs in one of the world’s most densely populated areas, no bigger than east London. They witnessed most civilian infrastructure being severely damaged or destroyed, so that Gaza now looks a different colour and texture when viewed from space. They are aware that tens of thousands of Palestinians have been suffocated to death under rubble, many of them children; that the medical system was obliterated, so babies were having limbs amputated and women having caesareans without anaesthetics; that Israel was systematically blocking the means of survival, precipitating the fastest drop in the nutritional status of a population ever recorded.
We have had front-row seats to some of the worst crimes of the 21st century, livestreamed on a daily basis. Rarely do such horrors have so much overwhelming documented evidence. The Israeli state repeatedly promised an atrocity of biblical proportions – literally, in the case of Netanyahu, as he invoked the story of Amalek, in which God orders the Israelites to “put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys” – and they delivered to the letter.
And what of the media? There have been courageous examples of reporting, but overall, I see this as one of the biggest journalistic failures in history.
What were they all thinking? Well, it is all too obvious. Palestinian life has been treated as having no meaningful worth at all. This sordid saga is a depraved story of dehumanisation at its most flagrant. We have witnessed, too, the dire consequences of the failure to hold to account the architects of previous catastrophes – not least Iraq. And Israel’s cheerleaders clearly believed that the state’s impunity was a collective insurance policy that protected them, too.
Well, that impunity is disintegrating in real time. This is a crime scene, covered in so many fingerprints. Unless all the guilty men and women and their cheerleaders are held to account, we are doomed to a future of escalating horror and suffering.
Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist
Global Rights Groups Back ICC Arrest Warrants for Israel's Netanyahu and Gallant
"The fact that the court is not caving to Israeli or massive U.S. pressure and intends to continue its investigation cannot be praised highly enough," said one advocate.
May 21, 2024
Human rights defenders around the world on Tuesday welcomed the International Criminal Court's application for arrest warrants targeting Israeli and Hamas leaders for alleged crimes on and after October 7, with Amnesty International hailing the effort as "a crucial step toward justice."
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday formally applied to a panel of judges on the 18-member Hague-based tribunal for permission to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged "crimes of causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, [and] deliberately targeting civilians in conflict."
Khan is also seeking warrants for the arrest of Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Deif for alleged "extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape, and sexual assault in detention."
Responding to the ICC request, Amnesty International secretary general Agnès Callamard said: "No one is above international law: no leaders of armed groups, no government officials—elected or not, no military officials. Regardless of the cause they are pursuing, no one is above the law."
"This move by the ICC prosecutor sends an important message to all parties to the conflict in Gaza and beyond that they will be held accountable for the devastation they have waged on the peoples of Gaza and Israel," Callamard added.
Balkees Jarrah, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, asserted that Khan's application "reaffirms the crucial role of the International Criminal Court."
"Victims of serious abuses in Israel and Palestine have faced a wall of impunity for decades," she continued. "This principled first step by the prosecutor opens the door to those responsible for the atrocities committed in recent months to answer for their actions at a fair trial."
"ICC member countries should stand ready to resolutely protect the ICC's independence as hostile pressure is likely to increase while the ICC judges consider Khan's request," Jarrah added.
The ICC has endured pressure from the United States—which gives Israel billions of dollars in military aid and diplomatic cover on the world stage—not to pursue charges against Israeli leaders. The Biden administration reportedly worked with the Israeli government to prevent arrest warrants, while some Republican U.S. senators have threatened to retaliate against ICC jurists. Under an existing U.S. law dubbed the Hague Invasion Act, the president may order action up to military intervention to free citizens of the United States or allied nations who are arrested and in ICC custody.
"The fact that the court is not caving to Israeli or massive U.S. pressure and intends to continue its investigation cannot be praised highly enough," said Andreas Schüller, director of the international crimes and accountability program at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.
"Just roughly one year ago, the court caused an uproar with its arrest warrant against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for his responsibility for war crimes in Ukraine," Schüller noted. "By requesting arrest warrants against Israeli politicians and military officers, as well as leading representatives of Hamas, prosecutors in The Hague are making it clear that international criminal law is universal and that everyone who violates it must ultimately face accountability."
Israeli and Hamas leaders decried the ICC request, with Netanyahu calling it "absurd" and antisemitic and a Hamas spokesperson accusing the tribunal of equating "the victim with the executioner."
U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the court's "outrageous" move and reasserted that Israel's 228-day assault "is not genocide," even though it has killed, maimed, or left missing more than 126,000 Gazans, according to Palestinian and international officials.
"What is 'outrageous' is Israel's U.S.-enabled, decadeslong impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians, which has emboldened it to carry out its wholesale assault against 2.2 million people in Gaza, while increasing attacks and landgrabs in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem," the Center for Constitutional Rights said Tuesday in a statement welcoming Khan's application.
The United Nations' International Court of Justice is currently weighing a case brought by South Africa and supported by more than 30 countries accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. In March, the U.N. Human Rights Council published a draft report that found "reasonable grounds to believe" Israel is committing the crime of genocide.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/icc-arrest-warrant
Photo: The Elders / Tlhabi Monnakgotla
21 May 2024
Mary Robinson welcomes the decision by International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan to apply for arrest warrants against Hamas leaders and Israel's Prime Minister and Defence Minister.
Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders and former President of Ireland, said:
“The decision by ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan to apply for arrest warrants against the Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh, and against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, is a landmark moment in the struggle for justice and accountability in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is a case to answer on both sides, which should be heard in a court of law.
The Elders commend the ICC Prosecutor for discharging his mandate with integrity and independence. All states should respect the Court’s authority and impartiality, and ensure its decisions are implemented. Any statements or actions that seek to denigrate, de-legitimise or punish ICC officials for acting in accordance with the Court’s mandate are completely unacceptable. Impunity for atrocity crimes during conflict must end.”
May 21, 2024
Israel/OPT: ICC applications for arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Sinwar and other senior Israeli and Hamas officials crucial step towards justice
Responding to the application for arrest warrants by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Israel and in the State of Palestine, specifically in the occupied Gaza Strip, from at least 7 October 2023, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:
“No one is above international law: no leaders of armed groups, no government officials – elected or not, no military officials. Regardless of the cause they are pursuing, no one is above the law.
“This move by the ICC Prosecutor sends an important message to all parties to the conflict in Gaza and beyond that they will be held accountable for the devastation they have waged on the peoples of Gaza and Israel.
“Those who are suspected of responsibility for crimes under international law in Israel and the OPT should face trial and accountability, no matter how powerful or how high-ranking they are.
“The application for arrest warrants by the ICC’s prosecutor in the situation in the State of Palestine is also a long-awaited opportunity to end the decades-long cycle of impunity in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and to restore the credibility of the international justice system as a whole.
“All states must respect the legitimacy of the court, they must refrain from any attempts to intimidate or pressure the court to allow the judges to conduct their work with full independence and impartiality.
“It is now for the Pre-Trial Chamber, while the office of the prosecutor is continuing its investigations, to promptly review and decide these first applications for arrest warrants. All states, including third states not members of the ICC, must respect this decision. If the Court’s judges approve any arrest warrants all ICC states parties must ensure the enforcement of these warrants.”
Background
The present applications for arrest warrants of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant allege the war crimes of starvation of civilians, attacks directed at civilians, and wilful killing and causing great suffering, as well as the crimes against humanity of extermination, including through starvation, and persecution, among others, under the Rome Statute, committed in the Gaza strip from at least 8 October 2023.
Regarding the Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, the Office of the Prosecutor alleges the crimes against humanity and war crimes, starting on 7 October, of extermination, murder, rape and other sexual violence, hostage-taking, and acts of torture and other cruel treatment in the context of captivity, among others.
These applications still need to be reviewed and approved by a Pre-Trial Chamber of the Court, before arrest warrants can be issued. The Office of the Prosecutor also stated that investigations are ongoing. This means that further applications, both for other persons and alleged crimes, could still follow.
Amnesty International has long called for the ICC’s Prosecutor to take immediate concrete action to expedite the investigation opened in March 2021, with regard to potential crimes under the Rome Statute of the ICC committed since 13 June 2014 in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. On 29 October and again in November 2023, the ICC Prosecutor belatedly issued statements confirming that the ICC’s ongoing investigation into the situation in Palestine would cover acts committed by all sides in Israel and the OPT on and after 7 October.
Israeli authorities have so far failed to promptly, thoroughly and independently investigate war crimes and other violations committed by the Israeli army across the OPT. And Palestinian authorities have failed to investigate crimes and violations by Hamas and other armed groups.
Evidence gathered by Amnesty International demonstrates how Israeli forces continue to flagrantly violate international humanitarian law, including since 7 October 2023, through indiscriminate or direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects in the occupied Gaza Strip, which must be investigated as war crimes. Israeli authorities have also failed to comply with measures issued by the International Court of Justice to prevent genocide by deliberately depriving access to sufficient humanitarian aid. Indiscriminate attacks or direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects by Israeli armed forces have also been documented by Amnesty International during the 2008-9, 2014, and 2021 conflicts.
Amnesty International has also documented violations of international law by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on and since 7 October including the deliberate killings of civilians, hostage-taking and launching indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel. Amnesty International is calling on Hamas and Palestinian armed groups to unconditionally release all civilians who continue to be held hostage in Gaza. Hostage-taking is a war crime. Amnesty International has consistently documented violations of international law committed by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, including torture and ill-treatment, indiscriminate rocket attacks into Israel and those resulting in Palestinian casualties in the occupied Gaza Strip.
In response to ICJ ruling for Israel to cease criminal attacks in Gaza:
An Israeli airstrike in Rafah killed 35 people and injured dozens of others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The Israeli government had designated the area as a safe and humanitarian zone for Palestinians sheltering from war. Israel says it was targeting a Hamas installation and killed two senior Hamas officials. The strike hit tents and caused a fire in an encampment.
Jehad Alshrafi/AP
NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi tells Up First that before this month, Rafah had been a "last refuge" for Palestinians. NPR producer in Gaza, Anas Baba, describes "total destruction" on the scene. Emergency doctor James Smith tells NPR the strike was the worst he's seen in the weeks he's been working in Rafah. More than 1 million Palestinians were sheltering in Rafah. The U.N. says more than 800,000 have fled since Israel expanded its military operation there.