FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
More than ever, Israel needs responsible and measured leadership that the current prime minister is unwilling and unable to provide.
International pressure on the Israeli government's conduct in its war in Gaza is intensifying. The International Criminal Court prosecutor last week charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, along with Hamas leaders, with war crimes, sparking outrage from Israel and its biggest ally, the US.
The International Court of Justice ordered Israel to stop its attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Ireland, Norway and Spain, meanwhile, pledged to recognize Palestinian statehood, a symbolic blow against an Israeli leader who opposes any talk of a two-state solution.
This should be a wake-up call, a moment for moderate Israelis to realize that, despite worldwide sympathy for the horrific Hamas attack on October 7, the actions of their far-right government are driving the country further into isolation. .
After Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor, sought arrest warrants for Israeli leaders as well as three Hamas leaders, Israeli and American officials accused him of equating the actions of a democratically elected government with those of a terrorist organization. . President Joe Biden angrily declared that "there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas."
Khan's claims, however, supported by a six-member expert panel, including an American-Israeli judge, did not draw comparisons or assert equivalence between the two sides. Instead, they concluded that there was evidence that Israeli and Hamas leaders were responsible, in different ways, for crimes under international humanitarian law. Applying the law to only one side would seem like selective justice. The only other option was to act against neither.
Claims that the ICC official is denying Israel's right to self-defense are similarly flawed. Khan's claim concedes this right, but says it must have been exercised in a manner consistent with the rules of war. It claims that Israel's top leaders have used starvation as a method of warfare and collective punishment of the besieged civilian population of Gaza - which they vehemently deny. ICC judges will decide if they agree that the evidence is sufficient to warrant the issuance of arrest warrants.
ICC applications aim to demonstrate that the laws of conflict apply to elected leaders and their armed forces, as well as to autocrats and non-state or terrorist actors. They could help bolster the credibility of a court whose initial focus on Africa led to accusations that it targeted only developing countries.
The actions of the courts are a blow to the Jewish state still traumatized by the atrocities of Hamas. The initial reaction of many, including the political opposition, has been to rally for Netanyahu's support. However, international pressure over the humanitarian disaster in Gaza highlights the extent to which the Israeli prime minister and the far-right extremists on whom he depends to hold his ruling coalition together are making it increasingly difficult for allies to support his.
Israel's partners are frustrated by Netanyahu's resistance to allowing more aid into devastated Gaza and determination to press ahead with the offensive in Rafah - where more than 1 million people have sought refuge. They are also angered by his refusal to produce a workable post-conflict plan for the generation; his failure to contain the rampage of Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank; and rejecting the Biden administration's plans to take steps toward a two-state solution. This is the only way to provide Israel with the long-term security it seeks.
Israel is not a signatory to the ICC, whose judges can reject Khan's request, and the ICJ has no means of enforcing its order. But the fact that Israel has found itself in this position underscores the degree to which Netanyahu has become a liability for his country. He promises total "victory" but his Gaza offensive appears stalled with key goals unfulfilled. More than ever, Israel needs responsible and prudent leadership that the current prime minister is unwilling and unable to provide./ Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Financial Times"
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