(From the Work That Must Be Done)
It is not enough to cry “Free Palestine” in a march or a protest. Your job isn’t done now that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu. Yes, it’s meaningful that the ICC issued criminal charges against Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. We are witnessing a seismic shift in European and Amerikan opinion of so-called “israel.” But never forget that the Hague is a useless child of liberalism. Remember that genocide and land theft of the Palestinian people has been on-going for 75 years, and in all that time not a single warrant was issued for any of the numberless zionist war criminals who have murdered, raped, and burned their way across Palestine.
By way of background, the ICC was established in 2002 with the purpose of investigating and prosecuting war criminals. In the 21 years since its inception the court has heard 31 cases, issued 46 arrest warrants, detained 21 people, 17 people remain at large, issued 9 summonses to appear, issued 10 convictions and 4 acquittals and charges have been dropped against 7 people due to their deaths.
The Court’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, grants the ICC jurisdiction over four main crimes.
- First, Genocide, “characterised by the specific intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing its members or by other means: causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
- Second, Crimes Against Humanity, “serious violations committed as part of a large-scale attack against any civilian population. The 15 forms of crimes against humanity listed in the Rome Statute include offences such as murder, rape, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, enslavement – particularly of women and children, sexual slavery, torture, apartheid and deportation.”
- Third, War Crimes, “grave breaches of the Geneva conventions in the context of armed conflict and include, for instance, the use of child soldiers; the killing or torture of persons such as civilians or prisoners of war; intentionally directing attacks against hospitals, historic monuments, or buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes.
- Fourth, “the Crime of Aggression, “the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, integrity or independence of another State.”
On May 21, 2024 the ICC issued two warrants for the zionist leadership: one for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of israel, and one for Yoav Gallant, the Minister of “Defence” of israel. The warrants alledge that “from at least” October 8 2023, Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for: the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health or cruel treatment, wilful killing/murdering, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, extermination and/or murder, persecution as a crime against humanity and other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity. The ICC Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan, states that there has been “widespread and systematic attack[s] against the Palestinian civilian population pursuant to State policy. These crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day.”
You can almost hear the collective sigh of relief from liberals and “leftists” who think that these warrants mean that the “adults” have taken charge and now all will be fixed. While there are many things wrong with our society, chief among them is the idea that we as individuals cannot do anything and we must hope and pray that the powers that be will finally take up the mantle of justice. History and current events continue to show us otherwise.
International law is predominantly used as a tool of imperialism and capitalism. Look no further than the austerity campaigns that the Inernational Monitary Fund has forced on Jordan and Pakiastan (just to list a few) or the current genocide in Congo where corporations are allowed to hire private militias to displace, starve and murder millions of people with impunity. Notably, since its inception in 2002 the court has failed to bring to justice any figures from major capitalist powers. This is not meant to downplay the importance of those war criminals that have been brought to justice, but it is clear that the ICC typically only issues warrants for individuals who are not part of the capitalist elite. George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Barack Obama immediately come to mind as perfect candidates to be tried for their roles in Iraq, Afghanistan, and drone strikes on civilians.
What is the basis of international law? Force. Ask any international lawyer what governing power can control the behavior of a “sovereign” state, and they will tell you: force. The fear of being invaded, of economic sanctions, of force is the only thing that backs international law. The NATO alliance, the progenitors of this regime, are not afraid of the ICC because no other country will ever force them to abide by its rulings.
Leaders from Africa have astutely pointed to the fact that until January 2016, the nine situations which the ICC had investigated were all exclusively in African countries. The ICC largely ignores war crimes when they are perpetuated by white and rich countries. Another glaring issue with the ICC is that it is “financed by contributions from its states’ parties” as well as “international corporations, individuals, and other entities”.
House Speaker Mike Johnson stated on May 22, 2024, that “if the ICC is allowed to threaten Israel’s leaders, we know that America will be next.” Anthony “Butcher” Blinken, the Secretary of State, told the melting dough-boy Lindsey Graham that he would support a bipartisan effort to sanction the ICC, not only for “israel,” but to protect future Amerikan interests.
On June 4th, 2024, the United State House passed a bill for sanctions against the ICC. It passed by a vote of 247-155. The “yea” vote included 42 Democrats. While it seems unlikely this bill will pass in the House, were the sanctions to be imposed they would “revoke any U.S. visas held by ICC officials and restrict them from making property transactions in the U.S.”
Of course war criminals like our leaders don’t want to see other war criminals face judgment. What would our Amerikan war criminals do if they actually had to face the consequences of their policy decisions? As Amerikans, it’s their god- and country-given right to commit war crimes with impunity.
The very year the ICC was established, George Bush and his administration announced it was “renouncing” U.S. signature on the treaty” and “vetoed continuation of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Bosnia in an effort to obtain permanent immunity for U.N. peacekeepers” from the ICC. Additionally, “U.S. officials launched a campaign around the world to obtain bilateral agreements that would grant immunity for Americans from the court’s authority.” In a transparent act of Amerika’s violent imperialist interests Bush signed into law the “American Servicemembers Protection Act of 2002.” This 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.” Additionally, the law provided “for the withdrawal of U.S. military assistance from countries ratifying the ICC treaty, and restricts U.S. participation in United Nations peacekeeping unless the United States obtains immunity from prosecution.”
In order for there to be any true justice for Palestinians a much broader net of accountability must be cast. Netanyahu and Gallant are not the only people leading the slaughter in occupied Palestine. There are many “israeli” officials who are just as complicit. Law for Palestine has a database which is continuously updates its lists of “500+ Instances of Israeli Incitement to Genocide.” This list includes the following categories: army personnel and officers, decision makers, and former government officials. This list would be a good start in terms of making a docket of who else should be airlifted and dropped in the center of a court that is actually meant to deal with war criminals. Those who are active participants in the genocide of Palestine are not limited to “israelis,” Biden is among many world leaders who continually provide aid and resources to the war criminals of “israel.”
Finally, as if any other proof was needed that international law is a smoke and mirrors show, a mere 48 hours after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) made a ruling requiring “israel” to halt its assault on Rafah and reopen the Rafah border crossings, “israel” launched over 60 additional air strikes on Rafah. (It should also not inspire confidence in international law that the ICJ chose not to rule for an immediate and/or permanent ceasefire.)
It is only through collective action that these many monsters will finally get a sliver of what they are due for the death and destruction that they have caused. If we want to look for a court system that is equipped to handle the zionist war criminal case list that should exist we will have to make it. The format of the Nuremberg trials would certainly be a good jumping off point. There, after the atrocities of WWII “199 defendants were tried, 161 were convicted, and 37 were sentenced to death.”
Do not think that the battle is over simply because warrants for two people, in a “country” of 9.5 million, have been issued. As Robespierre said: “Peoples do not judge in the same way as courts of law; they do not hand down sentences, they throw thunderbolts; they do not condemn kings, they drop them back into the void; and this justice is worth just as much as that of the courts.”
