“Israel, like all States, has a right to take action to defend its population. That right, however, does not absolve Israel or any State of its obligation to comply with international humanitarian law.
Notwithstanding any military goals they may have, the means Israel chose to achieve them in Gaza – namely, intentionally causing death, starvation, great suffering, and serious injury to body or health of the civilian population – are criminal.” – ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan
This comes decades too late.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) didn’t feel the pressure to react to Israel’s ethnic cleansing policies, a legal system of apartheid, routine bombings of Gaza, and a brutal decades-long military occupation.
But it’s forced to pay attention now.
And THAT is historic.
On May 20, 2024, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced his team had submitted applications for arrest warrants for five individuals: three leaders of Hamas and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Yoav Gallant, its Minister of Defence.
Read their full statement here and watch the video below:
Needless to say, this announcement is of historic importance. Any attempt to break Israel’s impunity is historic. Anyone who stands against any war crimes – including those committed by Hamas – should accept this as progress, even when some major context (for example, military occupation as the context in which everything takes place) is shamefully omitted.
I will be recording a podcast episode on this announcement this week (an update: it’s here). But now, I want to leave with you a sense of hope that some sort of justice might be coming.
As always: stay strong, check on others, and keep your heart open.
❤️💔❤️
Justina
Find all my work on Palestine here.
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