ICC warrants expose 'Israel' and US defenders : WashPo
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The ICC's pursuit of Vladimir Putin has received backing from the Biden administration and several Republican senators, showing the US' brazen double standard when "Israel" became involved.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on October 22, 2024. (AP)
According to Ishaan Tharoor, the US reactions to the recent ICC arrest warrants signify a humiliating moment for "Israel" as many nations like the Netherlands, France, and Canada vowed to abide by international law.
Tharoor writes in The Washington Post that Benjamin Netanyahu may have to think twice before making an emergency stop in nations that would arrest him, something Andrew Miller, a former US State Department official calls "partial reverse of normalization."
Rather than Israeli officials freely traveling to other nations, they are now unable to visit countries " that have recognized Israel for decades," Miller notes
The ICC's pursuit of Vladimir Putin has received backing from the Biden administration and several Republican senators, with Senator Lindsey Graham supporting the court's activities as a critical, evidence-based step toward international justice "that will stand the test of history."
In a brazen double standard, Graham only Yesterday described the court as "a dangerous joke," and "irresponsible" for issuing a warrant for Netanyahu, calling for the US to sanction the body, Tharoor writes.
US commitment to justice 'purely political'
Oona Hathaway, a law professor, wrote in Foreign Affairs in May that "sanctioning the court and its officials would send a clear message: the United States' commitment to international justice is not principled but purely political."
At the time, Hathaway pointed out that the Biden administration could not pretend claims involving forced starvation were unfounded.
The Biden administration has had ample evidence of the occupation not allowing enough aid into the strip, destroying Gaza beyond repair, and intentionally starving and killing Palestinian children.
Janina Dill, a professor at the University of Oxford, argues that any material or diplomatic support for Israeli actions in Gaza could be seen as endorsing war crimes and crimes against humanity arguing it is taking "a strong stance against international law."
The incoming Trump administration and its Israeli supporters may interpret the warrants as evidence of the illegitimacy of organizations like as the United Nations and its related institutions. However, some Israeli pundits are concerned that the current situation may constitute a watershed moment on the global arena.
Netanyahu may face lasting stigma of accused war criminal: Guardian
Similarly, Julian Borger wrote in The Guardian, that the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) are a seismic shift in the world's legal dynamics as they mark the first time a Western ally from a "modern democracy" has been prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global judicial body.
Borger contends that while the warrants may not have immediate consequences within "Israel", the severity of the allegations may get heavier over time, gradually limiting the occupation's global standing, as the stigma of being a war criminal is difficult to shake off.
The ICC's arrest warrants for Israeli leaders may lead to a shift in global alliances. While traditional Western allies of "Israel" like Germany and the UK might distance themselves, countries in the Global South, previously skeptical of the ICC, could now embrace it. Many view the ICC as a more effective enforcer of international law, especially given the UN Security Council's inaction on Gaza. Meanwhile, Israelis remain convinced that the international system unfairly targets them.
That means that relatively few Israelis perceive the warrants as proof that Netanyahu is undermining their occupation on a worldwide scale, pushing it closer to pariah status. If anything, Netanyahu's numerous detractors will put aside their list of complaints against him long enough to reject a foreign court's authority over domestic affairs.
ICC warrants are even further unlikely to influence the next Israeli elections in October 2026.
