International Criminal Court Issues Warrants to Arrest Hamas AND Israeli Leaders

On Monday, ICC Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan filed applications for arrest warrants for five people he deemed to be exceptionally dangerous on an international level: Yahya Sinwar, Mohammaed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Yoav Gallant.

The first few names are entirely justified, but once the names become those of the Israeli Prime Minister and the Israeli Minister of Defense, the line between good and evil becomes consequently blurred. 

What are the Repercussions of This Ruling? 

This act essentially compares a democratic governing power to that of a known terrorist organization. Firstly, this not only lessens the impact of the atrocities that have been and are being committed by Hamas, but it also demerits the leaders of the only democratic country in the Middle East. This demerit also adds an additional jab of degradation to the Jewish people in the eyes of the public, thus fueling the flames of antisemitic propaganda. Beyond this, the claims have absolutely no factual backing. In fact, some of the crimes alleged to be committed by these Israeli leaders were even based on the same articles of the Rome Statute as the crimes charged against the Hamas leaders. A summary of the crimes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant have been accused of are as follows:

• Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare
• Willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health/cruel treatment
• Willful killing/ murder 
• Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population 
• Extermination and/or murder, including in the context of deaths caused by starvation
• Persecution 
• Other inhumane acts

With a little investigation, it is easy to see that these claims are completely unbelievable. These charges primarily revolve around the same two topics: murder and starvation. Such claims can be easily debunked by two very relevant facts: 1) Israel has sent an incredibly large amount of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip throughout the course of the war; 2) Israel has taken extreme measures to ensure minimal civilian casualties. No other military in the world has acted with this degree of humanity when facing a foe with this horrific of intentions. 

It is wholly sickening that Prosecutor Khan would place this accusation on Netanyahu and Gallant and would even consider, nonetheless place, this application at the same time as the application directed against the three leaders of Hamas. 

What Has the Global Response Been to This Appalling Accusation?

Shockingly, President Joe Biden has shown more support for Israel and Netanyahu than he has in months. This seemingly revived support is clearly shown in this quote:

“The ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous and let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

Additional quotes from Biden solidified that the American government, “wants Hamas to be defeated,” and recognizes that, “what’s happening is not genocide.”

Germany has taken a similar stand with the people of Israel as displayed in this statement:

“The simultaneous application for arrest warrants against the Hamas leaders on the one hand and the two Israeli officials on the other has given the false impression of equivalence.”

This stance of support, however, does not appear to be without opposition. South Africa hailed this accusation by claiming that, “the law must be applied equally to all in order to uphold the international rule of law, ensure accountability for those that commit heinous crimes and protect the rights of victims.” 

Senator Bernie Sanders appears to be more in agreement with the South African president than he is with his own. That agreement is expressed here:

“The ICC prosecutor is right to take these actions. These arrest warrants may or may not be carried out, but it is imperative that the global community uphold international law. Without these standards of decency and morality, this planet may rapidly descend into anarchy, never-ending wars, and barbarism.”

Unshockingly, Hamas and the PLO criticized this accusation, not because they felt Israel was guiltless, but because they hold the belief that the Palestinians are the victims and Israel is the “executioner”, so the Palestinians have the right to “defend” themselves. In reality, the right to defense is an entirely reasonable cause to defend, however, when “defense” translates to initiating an atrocious attack on innocent Israeli civilians then that no longer matches the definition of what “defense” means to non-terrorist entities. 

What Could These Accusations Mean for Netanyahu?

Upon review, it is unfathomable that the application for the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant could ever be approved, however, one can not totally rule out the unbelievable when antisemitism has gone to such extremes. If the three Hamas heads’ applications are approved, it is hard to think anything would change on the warfront; these heads could easily go into hiding, just as they have before, and continue their reign of terror hidden from the eyes of the world. 

The audaciousness of this warrant request highlights the degree of which Khan, and all those who align with his ideals, are morally corrupt and can no longer view reality due to the blindness caused by their disregard, and even hatred, for the Jewish people. The repercussions that could ensue if this application is approved could be disastrous for Israel in regards to the far reaching dynamics of this war. 

Thankfully, many people have made strong statements in disagreement of this new development, so we can all hope, and pray, that the ones making a decision do not cave the Jew-hatred that is so prevalent in our world today.

Did Khan Have Anything Right?

In the closing paragraphs of Khan’s statement, he said this:

“Let us today be clear on one core issue: if we do not demonstrate our willingness to apply the law equally, if it is seen as being applied selectively, we will be creating the conditions for its collapse. In doing so, we will be loosening the remaining bonds that hold us together, the stabilizing connections between all communities and individuals, the safety net to which all victims look in times of suffering. This is the true risk we face at this moment.”

This statement is something I wholeheartedly agree with. If we do not hold the Palestinian people and the Hamas terrorists to the same standard of law as the rest of the world or, similarly, if we do not grant Israel the same respect and hold them to the same law, not a higher law, than the rest of the world, then the stabilizing connection of the world will falter. We witnessed this falter first hand when we saw that the “safety net which all victims look towards in times of suffering” was instead a trap door of torment for the Jewish people following the October 7th attack and not a safety net in the slightest. The “true risk” that we are facing at this moment is a reality for the Jewish people.