Sunday Times 2
Peace or no peace, Israel stands accused of genocide and war crimes in Gaza
View(s):By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IPS)—The Biden administration, which is frantically attempting to finalise a shaky peace agreement between Israel and Hamas, is being stymied by at least two far right-wing politicians in Netanyahu’s cabinet— Foreign Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir–and also by the Israeli Prime Minister himself who wants to totally eradicate Hamas before he agrees to a ceasefire.
But peace or no peace, the charges against Israel, including genocide, war crimes, starvation as a weapon of war, and the destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, universities, mosques, and churches, will continue to linger.
Last week, the United Nations clarified that the overall number of fatalities, tallied by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, is estimated at more than 35,000 Palestinians, overwhelmingly civilians, since the attack by Hamas which killed 1,200 inside Israel on October 7—reflecting the totally disproportionate killings by the Israelis.
On Friday, UN investigators visit a school run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip on June 7, 2024 after it was bombed by Israel on Thursday. killing scores of civilians . AFP
Since these killings were mostly with American weapons, the question that remains unanswered is: Is the US, the primary arms supplier to Israel, as complicit in war crimes and genocide as Israel is?
According to a May 31 CNN report, researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health have projected that if the war continues to escalate, the total number of deaths would surpass 72,000 by August. If the impact of epidemics sparked by the conflict is included, the toll could be close to 86,000 by then.
Israel’s diplomatic isolation could grow if the war drags on, CNN said. The government has become the target of increased censure on the world stage, drawing sharp criticism from some of its closest allies in Europe for its conduct.
Dr. Simon Adams, President and CEO of the Centre for Victims of Torture, the largest international organisation that treats survivors and advocates for an end to torture worldwide, told IPS that Hamas’ attacks on Israeli civilians on 7 October were truly horrific and generated global sympathy.
“But that has been squandered by this extremist Israeli government. They have pursued a policy of collective punishment against the entire Palestinian population in Gaza, and by doing so, have made themselves global pariahs. Several have also become indicted war criminals.”
“What’s happening in Gaza is an unnatural disaster. It is a result of man-made decisions by the Israeli government to systematically bomb Palestinian civilians and violate the laws of war. There is no such thing as a safe zone or a so-called precision strike if you are bombing an area where displaced children are sleeping nearby in tents,” he pointed out.
The Israeli government is outraged that it has been accused of atrocities at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and by the International Criminal Court (ICC). But the rest of the world is outraged by a culture of impunity that has led to so many civilian deaths and so much wanton destruction.
That’s why Israel has become an international pariah, Dr Adams declared.
Ramzy Baroud, a journalist and Editor of The Palestine Chronicle, told IPS Israel’s attack on Rafah continued despite the US’ ‘red line’ warnings and appeals made by all parties involved, including Israel’s Western allies.
The incursions, including the Tents Massaccre and subsequent massacres, all took place after the International Court of Justice’s decision that Israel must halt its Rafah operation immediately.
Technically, this should mean that Israel is not only a pariah within the context of international law but it ought to be a pariah from the viewpoint of its own allies, he said.
“And this is where the hypocrisy of the West becomes even more glaring as their support for Israel continued even after the escalation of the Israeli genocide, throughout the Gaza Strip but most specifically in Rafah”.
The war on Gaza has helped us understand the limits of Israeli-Western military power and intelligence, but also allowed us to see the limits of the often-touted international law, he noted.
Recent experiences have taught us that international law seems to be designed to apply against enemies of the United States, for example, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
Even though Washington is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), through its network of Western allies, pressures, threats and sanctions, it is able to wield the needed power to subvert the equal application of international law.
“The very legitimacy of international law is now at stake, due to the unrelenting Israeli genocide in Gaza and the failure of the international community to take a single step that could push back against Israel’s criminal war,” said Baroud, who is also a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA).
Meanwhile, in a statement released June 4, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk issued a renewed call for an end to the sharp rise in deadly violence in the occupied West Bank since October 7, and urged accountability for the killing of more than 500 Palestinians by Israeli Security Forces (ISF) and settlers.
“As if the tragic events in Israel and then Gaza over the past eight months were not enough, the people of the occupied West Bank are also being subjected to day after day of unprecedented bloodshed. It is unfathomable that so many lives have been taken in such a wanton fashion,” the High Commissioner said.
“The killing, destruction and widespread human rights violations are unacceptable, and must cease immediately. Israel must not only adopt but enforce rules of engagement that are fully in line with applicable human rights norms and standards. Any allegation of unlawful killings must be thoroughly and independently investigated and those responsible held to account.
“Pervasive impunity for such crimes has been commonplace for far too long in the occupied West Bank. Such impunity has created an enabling environment for more and more unlawful killings by Israeli forces. International law must be respected and enforced, and accountability must be ensured.”
The Israeli Defense Force (ISF) has often used lethal force as a first resort against Palestinian protesters throwing stones, incendiary bottles, and firecrackers at IDF armoured vehicles, in cases where those shot clearly did not represent an imminent threat to life.
The prevalence of Palestinians who died after being shot in the upper part of the body, along with a pattern of the denial of medical assistance to those injured, suggests intent to kill in violation of the right to life, rather than a graduated application of force and an attempt to de-escalate tense situations.
In a statement released May 29, a group of UN experts said Israeli air strikes on a camp sheltering displaced civilians in Tal al-Sultan in Rafah, that have reportedly claimed at least 46 lives including 23 women, children and older persons on Sunday night. “are an outrage.”
“Harrowing images of destruction, displacement and death have emerged from Rafah, including infants torn apart and people burnt alive,” the experts said.
“Reports emerging from the ground indicate that the strikes were indiscriminate and disproportionate, with people trapped inside burning plastic tents, leading to a horrific casualty toll.”
“Recklessly targeting sites known to shelter displaced Palestinians, including women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons, seeking refuge constitutes a grave breach of the laws of war and a grim reminder of the urgent need for international action and accountability,” they said.
Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives, led by former President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, voted 247 to 155 to impose sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) for pursuing war crime charges against Israel.
The far-reaching sanctions would compel US President Joe Biden to restrict entry into the US, revoke visas and impose financial and economic restrictions on anyone in the ICC, including Court staff, directly or indirectly involved in the ICC decision.
| Gaza: ICC case against EU chief raises stakes on genocide complicity By Richard Falk In the nearly 80 years that the UN has existed, never before has such a range of law-oriented approaches in international tribunals been undertaken in attempts, so far futile, to halt a genocide, which continues to ravage the lives of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza. Not only has the International Court of Justice (ICJ) since January issued three interim orders that require Israel to halt its “plausible genocide”, but the state has also been ordered to stop interfering with the delivery of emergency aid to starving Palestinians. Also during this period, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, recommended arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders.  Ursula von der Leyen This upsurge in international judicial activity comes amid frustrations at the UN over failed attempts to impose a ceasefire, as Israeli warfare leads to increasingly precarious conditions in Gaza. The US has used its veto at the UN Security Council to insulate its criminal ally from UN pressures. Israel has reacted to the latest developments with fury and defiance, enjoying US support more discreetly expressed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly contended that in light of the Holocaust, Israel can never be charged with the crime of genocide; that since 7 October, Israel has been exercising its right to self-defence against a terrorist attack by Hamas; and that the proposed ICC arrest warrants, if issued, would undermine the ability of democracies to defend themselves in the future. He has even, with some success, called upon the US government and other nations supportive of Israel to exert pressure on the ICC to reject the prosecutor’s request. Maximising pressure Amid all this legal controversy, it is becoming evident that Israel cares deeply about being criminally branded by these tribunals that it derides as having no competence to entertain complaints about its behaviour. This apparent contradiction suggests that Israel realises that its refusal to comply with the rulings of these international tribunals will not erase their influence throughout civil society, making it important to maximise pressure to discourage such ICJ/ICC assessments of Israel’s alleged criminal behaviour in Gaza, especially with regards to genocide, the crime of crimes. Against this backdrop, the Geneva International Peace Research Institute (GIPRI) has added a further dimension of legal complexity, calling on the ICC late last month to investigate the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for alleged “complicity in war crimes and genocide committed by Israel”. The Rome Statute of 2002, which sets forth the treaty framework that shapes the work of the ICC, gives NGOs and individuals a right under Article 15 to bring evidence of criminality to the attention of the prosecutor, who can determine whether the evidence offered is sufficiently compelling to warrant an investigation. Unlike the ICJ – which is concerned with resolving legal disputes between sovereign states, functioning as the judicial arm of the UN – the ICC has the authority to investigate, arrest, indict, prosecute and punish individuals found guilty by a panel of judges of an international crime. All UN members are automatically parties to the statute governing the ICJ, while states must act affirmatively to become parties to the ICC and are under no obligation to do so – although 124 states have done so, including the democracies of Western Europe and Palestine (treated as a state for this purpose). Of relevance is the fact that neither Israel nor the US have become parties to the Rome Statute, nor have Russia, China, India and a few others. The US, nevertheless, had no hesitancy about pushing the ICC to indict Russian President Vladimir Putin after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, while opposing its applicability to Israel in the Gaza situation on the grounds of its non-party status. (The Rome Statute gives the ICC authority to act against individuals who commit crimes in the territory of any party to the treaty, which in this case is Palestine.) Aiding and abetting The GIPRI initiative is intriguing because it concerns the relatively neglected question of complicity, or aiding and abetting the commission of an international crime. This issue is based on the legal duty embedded in the Genocide Convention, and on the Rome Statute, which criminalises aiding and abetting crimes in violation of international humanitarian law. Nicaragua initiated such a complaint at the ICJ against Germany, seeking an emergency order to cease activity that could plausibly be found to be genocide. The main allegation against Germany was that it provided Israel with military weaponry instrumental to Israel’s genocidal conduct. In April, the ICJ rejected Nicaragua’s request by a 15-1 vote, saying the circumstances did not justify an emergency order. But the court also rejected Germany’s effort to have Nicaragua’s complaint on complicity dismissed, which means that the ICJ will in due course hear arguments on the merits of the underlying contention from both sides, and eventually reach a substantive decision. In contrast, the GIPRI initiative came in the form of a statement delivered to the ICC prosecutor in May, endorsed by various international law experts, including myself. The GIPRI statement is also based on a theory of criminal complicity and aiding and abetting, but the target is necessarily an individual, Von der Leyen, rather than a state. GIPRI alleges that the European Commission’s support “has had a substantial effect on Israel’s commission and continuation of crimes, including genocide”. This support, GIPRI notes, has consisted of political backing, military materials, and failure to take reasonable steps to prevent genocide. Whatever becomes of the GIPRI initiative, it illustrates the breadth of the ICC’s potential, and exhibits an effort of civil society to invoke international law, given the failure of the UN or the inter-governmental system to prevent and punish such a transparent genocide. Along with such solidarity moves as the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign and university protests, especially in the US, civil society is showing itself to be a political actor that even Israel understands it cannot ignore if it has any hope of avoiding long-term pariah status. However the ICC responds to this GIPRI initiative, it is a further sign that civil society is becoming a political actor on the global stage. (Courtesy Middle East Eye) | |