The International Criminal Court Orders the Arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity / The European Commitment to Respect the Decision Sparks American-Israeli Hysteria … Questions for the Arab World

 November 22, 2024

The political editor wrote

After six months of deliberations following a request from the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor and nearly fifty appeals, including thirty from the occupying entity, aimed at nullifying the prosecutor Karim Khan’s demand, the ICC judges made their decision. They issued arrest warrants for the occupying entity’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and its dismissed Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. In addition, a warrant was issued for Commander Mohammed Deif, as charges against the martyred leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar were dropped posthumously.

This historic ruling immediately became global headline news. The ICC, established by the West ostensibly to prosecute leaders from the Global South and East, traces its origins to the post-World War II efforts to hold Nazi Germany accountable for the Holocaust against European Jews. Ironically, the same court now pursues leaders of the occupying entity – a state long shielded by the West and its narrative of victimhood. Neither the threat of sanctions nor accusations of anti-Semitism deterred the judges from their course, signalling the collapse of the cultural and material tools Western governments have wielded to suppress popular movements and stifle dissent since World War II. The ICC’s decision reflects the growing alignment of Western public opinion with the Palestinian cause and serves as a moral indictment of U.S. vetoes in the Security Council that have repeatedly obstructed justice.

Western public sentiment not only emboldened the ICC but also pressured European governments – traditionally aligned with the occupying entity – to accept the ruling. France, Britain, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy announced their readiness to execute the court’s decision should the accused set foot on their soil. Meanwhile, hysteria swept through both the U.S. and the occupying entity, with threats, warnings, and accusations of anti-Semitism filling the airwaves.

In the region, the fate of negotiations between the U.S. envoy and Netanyahu remains uncertain, overshadowed by escalating battlefield developments. On the ground, resistance forces delivered decisive blows, destroying three tanks in Sham3 and Khiam and preventing further advances. Resistance rockets and drones continued to target frontline settlements where occupying forces are stationed, with strikes recorded in Nahariya and at the Hatzor airbase near Ashdod – over 150 kilometres from Gaza’s borders.

This shift underscores that the true arena for negotiation lies not in diplomatic corridors but on the battlefield, where resistance shapes the terms of engagement through fire.