I.C.C Prosecutor Karim Khan is putting the court at risk of becoming Irrelevant
Opinion on the ICC's Prosecutor stance on Israel
Author: Joseph Lacayo
On May 20th, ICC prosecutor Karim A.A Khan laid out a proposed arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that is nothing more than a personal attack against the people of Israel. If the ICC decides to move forward with this case, then they risk losing their credibility as a beacon of justice on the world stage.
As a bonus to this perverted case of justice, Yahya Sinwar the leader of Hamas and orchestrator of the October 7th attack was also added to the list of people being put forward for arrest warrants. To equivalate a terrorist leader who organized the premeditated murder, kidnapping and rape of over 1,200 civilians with the country they committed those acts against is despicable. Khan’s actions will erode the validity of the ICC and international institutions as a whole.
What is clear to see is how fast the scales of justice were able to move against Israel in contrary to the length of time it took to move against Hamas. Throwing Sinwar in on the rap sheet is just a way to justify the ICC Prosecutor Khan’s true aim; misguided activism. If they really cared about justice, then surely Sinwar would have been charged immediately after October 7th.
The evidence linking Sinwar with the October 7th attack was substantial, and the area was quickly secured for the collecting of evidence. This is not the case in Gaza, where the fog of war is still thick, the civilian death toll is contested, and Hamas is still actively launching attacks.
Hamas is a proxy of Iran which allowed them to gain the funding, arms, and training to carry out the attacks on October 7th. There is little to doubt that without that line of support from Iran, October 7th probably would have never happened. So where are the charges against Iranian officials for their part in carrying out the October 7th attack?
Sinwar and his Iranian enablers should have had arrest warrants by the ICC years ago. October 7th wasn’t a one-off attack, instead it is a part of a publicized plan by Hamas to carry out genocide against the Israeli people. They proudly announce their intent, and their actions have shown that it’s not just words. There is no such equivalence in words or actions coming from the Israeli government.
Prior to October 7th, Hamas has launched countless assaults using rockets and mortars into Israel. Just 5 months prior to the attacks on October 7th, Hamas launched over 4,360 unguided rockets and mortars over a 11-day period killing 9 Israeli civilians and injuring several hundred people.
There isn’t a concrete estimate of how many missiles and projectiles Hamas has fired into Israel, but I estimate it to be well over 40,000. The fact is, Israel is fighting a defensive war. Benjamin Netanyahu has been made out to be this despicable murderer, but the reality is he has made enormous effort to avoid this war.
The Israeli government’s efforts to appease Hamas Is another point of scrutiny and blame. It’s a perfect example of “you’re damned if you do and you’re dammed if you don’t”. The Israeli government paid millions of dollars to Hamas using Qatar as the intermediary. They paid for peace to try to avoid the very gruesome war that is happening now. However, there are no shortage of articles and political pundits admonishing Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government for it.
Israel reacted to the October 7th attack the same way any other rational state actor would. Civilian deaths are extremely sad, however making the case that Israel is targeting them on purpose is fundamentally flawed. The war they are fighting is existential. Which means Israel does not have time to waste or have very little leeway in its fight against Hamas.
Judging by the comments on Israeli military actions by the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, he seems to be holding Israel to a higher standard than any other nation involved in a similar war. Israeli defense forces have made huge strides to protect the civilian population in Gaza, going as far as making thousands of phone calls warning people to evacuate areas prior to miliary actions. To that end, hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from areas where Israel’s military would be operating in.
There is no doubt that the people in Gaza are facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. But to blame that to be result of intentional actions by Israel’s government is a privileged opinion to say the least.
I believe that ICC prosecutor Karim Khan is overlooking the lengths Hamas has gone to control the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, there use of human shields and the outright abuse of the population in Gaza.
Blaming the starvation of the people in Gaza without understanding how Hamas is actively contributing to it is by far the biggest flaw I see with Khan’s allegations. He cited having video evidence to prove his case against Israel. The same evidence is now available to everyone thanks to personal smart phone devices and social media.
It doesn't take a legal scholar to realize that Hamas is abusing the people in Gaza while simultaneously going to extreme lengths to continue their ill minded war.
It’s easy to have a privileged opinion and ridicule Israel for their response. As an American, I feel blessed to live in a country that doesn’t share a border with an enemy such as the one Israel has on their border. However, if we did, I have no doubt our country would respond the same way Israel did following October 7th.