Published: 28 November 2024
Last updated: 1 December 2024
The arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant mark a dramatic development at a dark time for Israel, the diaspora and the international community.
It has understandably ignited a range of intense reactions, including misplaced rage and disdain towards the legal institution that issued the warrants. They have, without sufficient justification, attempted to undermine trust in the integrity of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision.
A charge against individuals, not Israel
A charge against individuals, not Israel
On 21 November 2024, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for crimes committed from 8 October 2023, in the ongoing investigation into ‘the situation of Palestine’ by the Prosecutor, Karim Khan.
The three-judge panel found that the threshold of ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ was satisfied for the two senior Israeli government officials in bearing criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, and of directing attacks against the civilian population (without specifying which attacks); and the crime against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
Comments12
Hilary30 November at 12:56 am
I doubt Michelle Lech would be interested to read Melanie Phillips’ recent article on this very topic. However others may wish to read her analysis of the ICC’s judgements, which holds them accountable in ways this article fails to do.
Phillips also raises serious questions about the validity of the UN and includes many examples of its absence of impartiality.
David Mayes28 November at 08:17 pm
For a far more learned and lucid critique of the ICC than I could ever provide please read Henry Ergas’ article in the Oz today “Flawed ICC now master of vigilante justice”.
David Mayes28 November at 09:42 am
Michelle Lesh would like us to simply banish our doubts about the integrity of the ICC’s decision. But there is plenty of room for doubt about the integrity and motives of the ICC, and plenty to be concerned about its impact on Jews everywhere.
The authority of the ICC is not impeccable – forty-one nations have not signed or acceded to the statute and twenty- nine have not ratified. The USA, the world’s most significant democracy, has not ratified. None of the countries in Israel’s neighbourhood in the Middle East are signatories or have ratified. France has just declined to abide by the warrant.
In a democracy, the government and its senior elected officials are understood to express the will of the people. Israel is ranked equal with the US as one of the world’s most democratic societies. So, when the Jewish State’s senior elected officials are accused of war crimes, then Israel’s people, and Jews more broadly, become implicated in that accusation in the court of global public opinion.
The demonstrations against the judicial reform before the war are not evidence that Israel is a fragile democracy. On the contrary, they revealed that despite the relentless public disruption by those demonstrations by an activist minority, the civil society and democratic government continued to function. Indeed, the country united in the face of war, and its civil society has never been stronger.
In the midst of a war for its existence being waged on seven fronts, Israel is expected to conduct an inquiry into October 7 and the events that followed in Gaza. Ms Lesh thinks this is a reasonable demand. The ICC knows it is unreasonable and undoable, but it provides them with pretext for their warrant.
Most naïve of Dr. Lesh is the claim that these warrants won’t embolden Iran, its terror proxies and their allies and antisemitic fellow travellers around the world such as we have seen here on our streets. Of course, it boosts their long held murderous conviction that the Jewish state must be eliminated. It’s a propaganda coup.
David Mayes28 November at 09:35 am
Michelle Lesh would like us to simply banish our doubts about the integrity of the ICC’s decision. But there is plenty of room for doubt about the integrity and motives of the ICC, and plenty to be concerned about its impact on Jews everywhere.
The authority of the ICC is not impeccable – forty-one nations have not signed or acceded to the statute and twenty- nine have not ratified. The USA, the world’s most significant democracy, has not ratified. None of the countries in Israel’s neighbourhood in the Middle East are signatories or have ratified. France has just declined to abide by the warrant.
In a democracy, the government and its senior elected officials are understood to express the will of the people. Israel is ranked equal with the US as one of the world’s most democratic societies. So, when the Jewish State’s senior elected officials are accused of war crimes, then Israel’s people, and Jews more broadly, become implicated in that accusation in the court of global public opinion.
The demonstrations against the judicial reform before the war are not evidence that Israel is a fragile democracy. On the contrary, they revealed that despite the relentless public disruption by those demonstrations by an activist minority, the civil society and democratic government continued to function. Indeed, the country united in the face of war, and its civil society has never been stronger.
In the midst of a war for its existence being waged on seven fronts, Israel is expected to conduct an inquiry into October 7 and the events that followed in Gaza. Ms Lesh thinks this is a reasonable demand. The ICC knows it is unreasonable and undoable, but it provides them with pretext for their warrant.
Most naïve of Dr. Lesh is the claim that these warrants won’t embolden Iran, its terror proxies and their allies and antisemitic fellow travellers around the world such as we have seen here on our streets. Of course, it boosts their long held murderous conviction that the Jewish state must be eliminated. It’s a propagandas coup.
Miriam Feldheim28 November at 09:15 am
You are correct in everything you have argued Michelle. We live in an era when all leaders are expected to be held accountable.
Rachel Sussman28 November at 08:31 am
Everyone is entitled to his/ her view as is the writer of this article.
It is true that war crimes are war crimes and all are subject to human laws of behaviour.
Saying this, It seems that a few facts are forgotten.
To begin with Israel is not a signatory of ICC and therefore it has no power to issue warrants against its leaders.
Second as for the ICC credibility, it does leaves much to ponder. Is it not strange that the same country who rejected the warrant against Sudan, is the one who proposed the one against Israel ( South Africa)?
The ICC is riddled with politics!
It is true that the watrant is against individuals not Israel but make no mistake, if it was Britain or France, it would not have occurred!
I find the Court’s claims strange.
It claims there was negligence in attacks, but fails to specify any…
It also claims Israel did not do enough to protect the civillians in Gaza… excuse me, when terrorists planted themselves among civillians, all one can do is to warn and give people time to leave… a war cannot be fought with one’s hands tied…
And as for the humanitarian situation that keeps being pointed to – Israel sent more humanitarian aid to Gaza than US and its Allies send to Iraq and Afganistan… all while Hamas was not expected to send any humanitarian aid’ to Israelis, or even to the hostages it kidnapped and still to its own people with the billion of dollars it possesse… not one law for all…
It is also not entirely true that Netanyahu refused ‘investigation’ some investigation was conducted and a report was given to the Court, but yes there was not independent inquiery and with all fairness , it is hardly reasonable to have such conducted in the midst of an existential war…
As for Israel’s system, well I do not know many democracies who have carried as many investigation against their head of State, dismissed them, put them in jail, and alike conduct disciplinary actions against its soldiers whenever deemed needed. Sure, no system is perfect, but I think Israel and its People are pretty high on the scale when it comes to being critical of their own… Indeec I fear that at times they and we the Jewish People do so to our own determent as in this case…
Yafa Goldschmidt28 November at 07:40 am
You should have started your article with “ as a Jew” then I would have more clearly understood your position .
Betty Levy28 November at 07:18 am
The Wall Street Journal has published an editorial about the UN s refusal to renew the contract of Alice Wairimu Nderta as Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide The reason? She has concluded that Israel’s conduct in Gaza did not constitute Genocide.To quote the WSJ “As a legal matter, establishing a pattern of violence as a genocide requires demonstrating intent. Israel’s campaign of self defuse doesn’t qualify .”
According to Nderitu, the term “genocide” encapsulates the Holocaust, the genocide perpetrated on the Hutus by the Tutsis , the Serbian attacks on Bosnian Muslims and the killings being carried out in Sudan.
Natalie28 November at 07:08 am
Obviously this publication and the “opinion” writer have not listened to international lawyer Natasha Hausdorff tear shreds into the charges, the ICC and the prosecutor. She debunks the charges, exposes the ICC for their flouting of their own statutes and highlights that in the 22 years of its existence and more than a $1bn of funding, including our Australian tax dolllars, there has not been one successful prosecution. It seems so incredibly convenient that the leader of the world’s punching bag is their target in a perfect storm of global bias. Netanyahu has his faults as does Gallant, but the premise of the Rome Statute is to allow for democratic countries, like Israel, to deal with these charges. Michelle Lesh should know better.
George Hamor28 November at 07:07 am
A disgusting article. What on earth could have motivated the author?
Her true colours are evident when referring to Hamas and barbaric Palestinians as “fighters”.
Perhaps she could take lessons in international law from Natasha Hausdorff.
Betty Levy28 November at 07:04 am
I refer the writer to Natasha Hausdorff barrister for the UK Lawyers for Israel Charitable Trust who has been extensively interviewed on international media and who makes the case that not only does the court lack jurisdiction but that it has flagrantly violated its own rules by rushing to condemn without allowing the judicial system in Israel a democratic country to investigate the allegations but that the summary of its case is actually a statement of unsubstantiated lies. These allegations that Israel is deliberately causing famine have been disputed and disproven by many legal and military sources and experts who have actually been to Gaza. Which by the way the Judge has refused to visit.
Also an international team of legal experts headed by Allan Dershowitz and Michael Cotler have volunteered to head up Israel’s appeal.
I suggest that the author make herself familiar the statements from theses luminaries.
Ian Light28 November at 04:29 am
A War Crime is a War Crime but there are levels of evil and barbarity .
There is the Holocaust of the six million
Jewish people with mass shooting and poison gas ,starvation and heinous medical experiments .
There was the Genocide of one million five hundred thousand Armenians by Turkey , the class Genocide of the Peasants by Stalin in 1933 numbering three million and more and the Cambodian Genocide the killing fields and the massacre of eight hundred thousand in Rwanda in 1994 .
There was the ethnic cleansing and massacres of the Rohingya called in addition Genocide by the Myanmar Military in 2016 and now in Sudan the Massalit non- Arab Islamic peoples are being massacred ,displaced and starved .
What would Hamas and Fatah do to the Jewish people in Israel if they had the Power of hate and barbarism?