Netanyahu dreams of a greater Israel, but his own world has just shrunk

On November 21, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it had issued warrants for the apprehension of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his erstwhile Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas subject helping commandant Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, aka Deif, who Israel says was killed successful action.

It took six months for the Pre-Trial Chamber to marque a determination connected Prosecutor Karim Khan’s exertion for apprehension warrants, and it took him nary little than 8 months aft October 7, 2023, to record the petitions for these warrants. Before that, it took Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, astir 7 years to initiate an probe into alleged Israeli warfare crimes successful Palestine since 2014. Given the grade and standard of warfare crimes successful Gaza earlier and aft October 7, 2023, the sluggishness of the ICC is hard to recognize oregon accept.

The Pre-Trial Chamber has indicated that it had “reasonable grounds to judge that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant carnivore transgression work for the warfare transgression of starvation arsenic a method of warfare”.

Judging by the abstraction afforded to this complaint successful the ICC’s property release, humanitarian assistance issues look to beryllium the main charges against Netanyahu and Gallant. But considering the decease toll – which whitethorn beryllium arsenic precocious arsenic 186,000 – and the sheer devastation of Gaza’s wide infrastructure and specifically aesculapian facilities and schools, it is troubling that “the Chamber recovered that the worldly provided by the Prosecution lone allowed it to marque findings connected 2 incidents that qualified arsenic attacks that were intentionally directed against civilians”. Just 2 incidents?

By contrast, the Pre-Trial Chamber was besides capable to reason that Deif, the elusive Hamas commander, was “responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and different signifier of intersexual violence; arsenic good arsenic the warfare crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture; taking hostages; outrages upon idiosyncratic dignity; and rape and different signifier of intersexual violence”.

It is worthy noting that the grounds provided by the prosecution allowed for specified a database of crimes to beryllium identified, and 1 successful particular, “extermination” defined nether Article 7.2.b. of the Rome Statute arsenic “includ[ing] the intentional infliction of conditions of life, inter alia the deprivation of entree to nutrient and medicine, calculated to bring astir the demolition of portion of a population”.

It is striking that “extermination” is not mentioned successful respect of the charges against Netanyahu and Gallant, contempt the information that connected January 26, the International Court of Justice concluded it was plausible that Israel’s acts could magnitude to genocide.

Is this different lawsuit of treble modular oregon bash antithetic load of impervious standards apply?  We bash not cognize due to the fact that the warrants are “secret”, but this question inactive needs to beryllium posed nonetheless.

On the affirmative side, successful and of itself, the ICC determination is historic, arsenic for the precise archetypal time, it issued warrants for nationals of – politically speaking – a Western country. Intense pressures and threats from Israel, its friends and its protector-in-chief, the United States, did not shield the 2 main members of Israel’s warfare furniture from becoming fugitives.

Of course, the imaginable of seeing Netanyahu and Gallant successful the dock is quasi nil. For now, those seeking a modicum of justness would find solace successful the symbolism the planetary warrants for the 2 Israeli leaders carry.

However, portion justness volition not beryllium served soon capable to halt Israel’s genocidal aggression, a large threshold has been crossed: a almighty awesome has been sent to each past and aboriginal perpetrators of crimes against Palestinians nether occupation: from the Israeli president who declared that determination were nary guiltless Palestinians successful Gaza, to reckless furniture ministers cheerleading a genocide; to generals ordering the bombing of women, infants, hospitals and schools, to TikTok-savvy privates gleefully executing warfare crimes.

The connection is that the warrants are a harbinger of the extremity of impunity for Israel’s planetary crimes. Not due to the fact that the ICC volition prosecute specified crimes, which are simply excessively galore for an under-resourced court. But alternatively due to the fact that the ICC’s historical determination volition supply a caller impetus for the prosecutions of warfare crimes nether cosmopolitan jurisdiction and obligations erga omnes.

These are obligations owed to the planetary assemblage to prosecute individuals suspected of warfare crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and torture adjacent if the prosecuting jurisdiction has nary nonstop nexus with the imputed crimes.

In this regard, it is worthy recalling a landmark lawsuit successful which cosmopolitan jurisdiction was invoked. A 4th period aft committing horrific crimes successful the aftermath of the 1973 CIA-backed coup d’etat successful Chile, General Augusto Pinochet was arrested astatine a London infirmary by Scotland Yard aft Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon had issued an planetary warrant for his arrest.

Following a 503-day-long ineligible battle, which ended with Home Secretary Jack Straw overruling connected “humanitarian grounds” a British court’s determination to assistance Spain’s extradition request, Pinochet, 83, was released from detention and flown backmost to Chile. Garzon’s trailblazing determination was nevertheless a milestone successful planetary transgression instrumentality arsenic it successfully tested the applicability of the rule of cosmopolitan jurisdiction with respect to gross violations of quality rights.

Similarly, erstwhile US President George W Bush called disconnected a sojourn to Switzerland successful 2011. Officially it was due to the fact that of planned protests further to his admittance that helium had authorised the usage of waterboarding against overseas detainees. But a “Pinochet moment” loomed ample successful the travel cancellation. Amnesty International warned Swiss authorities that “an probe [into Bush’s alleged crimes] would beryllium mandatory nether Switzerland’s planetary obligations if President Bush entered the country”.

Senior Israeli officials, specified arsenic erstwhile Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and of Justice Tzipi Livni, and erstwhile Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon cancelled trips to the UK, Switzerland oregon Belgium for fearfulness of apprehension successful transportation with alleged warfare crimes.

These examples, arsenic good arsenic past and progressive cases prosecuted successful assorted courts nether the rule of cosmopolitan jurisdiction, suggest that this comparatively caller conception successful planetary transgression instrumentality is making headway.

Ironically, though the roots of “universal jurisdiction” are to beryllium recovered successful transportation with piracy connected the precocious seas, it is Israel which archetypal invoked that rule successful the modern epoch for its kidnapping from Argentina and consequent proceedings successful 1961 of the infamous elder Nazi serviceman Adolf Eichmann.

Now that a warrant of apprehension for their longest-serving premier curate has been issued, boarding a level from Tel Aviv volition go a hazardous proposition for Israelis suspected of warfare crimes, if they realise that they mightiness beryllium arrested upon arrival.

As acold arsenic Netanyahu himself is concerned, his level tin inactive instrumentality disconnected but it remains to beryllium seen wherever it tin land, and the airspace of which countries it tin use. He whitethorn daydream of a “Greater Israel” and a formation location connected the Gaza shore, but his ain satellite has shrunk significantly, present that helium is simply a fugitive.

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.