Who's guilty: leaders of Israel or Hamas? Take your pick
“Moral equivalents” or not – they should all be on trial says ICC prosecutor
Both sides of the Gaza war objected strongly when the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) accused their leaders of war crimes this week.
Hamas and the Israeli government said their respective leaders are not “moral equivalents,” and that only the other side is guilty of such heinous crimes.
To recap quickly: on Monday, news broke that the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking arrest warrants from the court over alleged war crimes committed since the war in Gaza began on October 7.
The warrants would be for five people: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, and Ismael Haniyeh. The court’s judge has not decided whether to issue warrants.
ICC validates accusations made by both sides
Despite objections to “moral equivalency,” the charges against Israeli and Hamas leaders are quite different.
In his statement, Khan said the Hamas leaders were responsible for the following crimes on October 7 and afterward: extermination and murder, taking hostages, rape and other acts of sexual violence, torture and other inhumane acts, cruel treatment in captivity; and outrages upon personal dignity.
Khan’s charges support claims by Israel’s supporters that the international community has been overlooking, and outright denying in some cases, that Hamas committed rape and sexual violence on October 7.
He also contradicts Palestinian supporters who argue that past Israeli aggression justified the attacks by Hamas against Israeli soldiers and civilians on October 7.
ICC warrant for a Western ally would be a historic first
Khan listed the following crimes for the Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Israel since October 8: Starvation of civilians, wilfully causing great suffering, serious injury to body or health, killing and murder, attacks against a civilian population, deaths caused by starvation, persecution and other inhumane acts.
The prosecutor’s charges deny Prime Minister Netanyahu’s claims that his widespread starvation of civilians is an act of self-defence since the attacks by Hamas on October 7. The ICC’s charges largely focus on the denial of food and aid, because the illegal bombing of civilians is harder to prove.
Even more, if the warrants are approved, a leader of a major Western ally would be in the ICC’s legal crosshairs for the very first time.
(BTW, Khan also issued an ICC arrest warrant last year for Russian President Vladimir Putin for his crimes in Ukraine, a move widely celebrated in the West).
International support for the ICC
European countries including France and Germany issued statements affirming their support for the legitimacy of the International Criminal Court.
If the ICC judge approves the prosecutor's request for arrest warrants, Netanyahu and the others might be unable to visit dozens of ICC member counties, curtailing their international travel just like Russian President Vladimir Putin has done since his arrest warrant was issued by the ICC.
Canada’s reaction
Ironically, Canada, the United States, Israel and Hamas all found something they could agree upon - they object to the ICC’s charges.
Prime Minister Trudeau said, “What I will say is troubling though is the sense of an equivalency between the democratically elected leaders of Israel and the bloodthirsty terrorists that lead up Hamas. I don't think that's helpful.”
To learn more about the impact of this unfolding story, I recommend listening to these podcasts from the CBC and the New York Times:
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Steve
Scott Ritter is nobody's fool, and what he saw was a careful hostage raid, and a concurrent false-flag atrocity. The best reason to arrest Hamas is to prove them not guilty of excess force in court, after exhausting all other options.
These mirror images belong as one on trial.