The International Criminal Court at The Hague finally issued its long-awaited criminal indictments of Israeli Premier Benjamine Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Three Palestinians, including the head of Hamas, were also charged.
Predictably, Israeli leaders went on the offensive attacking the ICC and trying to discredit the institution. Without irony, Israel’s president accused the ICC of undermining the credibility of the international legal system.
In reality, it is Israel’s interminable violation of international law — from its ongoing genocide in Gaza to its illegal settlement project in the occupied West Bank — and the impunity that the U.S. has guaranteed the apartheid state that has done more than anything to undermine the credibility of the U.S.-backed liberal world order.
This double standard is most starkly seen in the U.S.’s differing approach to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the genocide in Myanmar, and the Israeli genocide; the former two have been met with outrage, sanctions and even arming Ukraine while the U.S. has blocked any attempt at holding Israel accountable for its war crimes in Gaza, violations of U.S. law that restrict arms transfers to nations blocking humanitarian aid, and nearly 57 years of apartheid and occupation.
Thus it was no surprise when Pres. Biden’s condemned the ICC:
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.
Biden’s statement is, of course, gaslighting. As journalist Christine Amanpour noted, “In response to criticism about seeking arrest warrants for both Hamas and Israeli leaders, the ICC tells me its mandate is solely focused on putting victims at the same level… equivalence of victim not alleged perpetrator.” Biden, judging by his emotional outpouring of support for Israeli victims and indifference to Palestinian victims, probably sees no equivalence between victims.
It is worth noting that the U.S. has a law on the books, passed in 2002, nicknamed “The Hague Invasion Act”, “which is intended to intimidate countries that ratify the treaty for the International Criminal Court (ICC). The new law authorizes the use of military force to liberate any American or citizen of a U.S.-allied country being held by the court, which is located in The Hague.”
Attempts to intimidate the ICC concerning Israel have been particularly severe. The Trump Administration even passed sanctions and barred U.S. entry for two ICC prosecutors for investigating Israeli conduct in Palestine and U.S. conduct in Afghanistan. Biden rescinded Trump’s order but the president’s statement attacking the ICC’s arrest warrants for Israeli leaders demonstrates that Biden does not have much regard for the ICC’s remit and purpose.
American politicians, of course, never waste time to demonstrate their slavish devotion to Israel and they were quick to condemn the ICC and threaten its personnel. Neo-con Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) led the charge:
Equating Israel’s democratically elected leaders with the perpetrators of the worst attack on Jews since WWII shows what a farce the International Criminal Court is. Mr. Khan’s kangaroo court has no jurisdiction in Israel to pursue these anti-Semitic and politically motivated ‘charges.’ My colleagues and I look forward to making sure neither Khan, his associates nor their families will ever set foot again in the United States.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) accused the ICC of ‘going rogue again. Years ago they tried to come after U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, and now they are coming after Israel, the most robust democracy in the Middle East with an incredibly independent judiciary.” Apparently, by daring to start investigating the leaders of Western nations, as opposed to years of almost exclusive focus on Black African leaders, the ICC is offending Graham’s perception of the natural order of things.
And, lastly, Israel lobby fanboy Rep. Ritchie Torress accused the ICC of picking on Israel simply because it’s a Jewish state. How original.
