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ICC ARREST WARRANTS FOR NETANYAHU AND GALLANT

The West’s Pandora’s box is starting to crack
After over a year of atrocities perpetrated on the people of Gaza and the West Bank, with the Israeli apartheid machine in full force, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, whom he fired a fortnight before the arrest. Netanyahu, referred to as a “serial killer of peace” by a member of his own Knesset, is now a wanted man globally for committing crimes against humanity. Symbolically, from now on, Netanyahu and Gallant cannot set foot in 124 countries.
Israel’s angry response to the arrest warrant, and its predictable gaslighting by misusing the term “anti-Semitism,” was unsurprising. Netanyahu’s office called the warrants “an anti-Semitic decision…equivalent to the modern Dreyfus trial,” referring to the 1894 political scandal where a French artillery captain of Jewish descent was wrongfully convicted of treason. Netanyahu and his office are adept at citing historical and biblical references to dismiss valid rulings, even from the ICC. There is simply no parallel between Alfred Dreyfus and Benjamin Netanyahu, who has openly pursued policies that kill Palestinians and outlined plans to annex Palestine, effectively erasing it from the map and cutting off its people from the world.
The Israeli government, with the support of the US, has distorted the term “anti-Semitism” to the point where real anti-Semitism is almost indistinguishable. There are two kinds of anti-Semitism: actual hatred toward Jews or Israelis simply because they are Jewish, and harmful rhetoric used to justify the killing of innocent Palestinians, which in turn enables more instances of actual anti-Semitism worldwide.
But it’s not just rhetoric and mind games; the Israeli government has employed every tool, from open killings to censorship, to evade accountability for mass murder. The international media reporting on the ICC arrest warrants marked a historic moment—they noted that this is the first time leaders in a “democracy” and a “Western-aligned” country have faced arrest. How long will the world continue calling Israel a democracy? What kind of democracy reacts with such fury to ICC arrest warrants? What kind of democracy mercilessly kills its neighbouring population?
Following the warrant, the Israeli government approved a resolution to ban government funding for advertisements in Haaretz, a renowned independent newspaper that has fairly criticised Netanyahu. Despite historic protests demanding his resignation, Netanyahu continues to wield his power to silence dissent. According to the government, the sanctions against Haaretz were due to “many articles that have hurt the legitimacy of the state of Israel and its right to self-defense,” particularly after Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken called for sanctioning the Israeli government in London.
It has long been evident that Israel is not a democracy. This sentiment is felt internally as Netanyahu’s power-hungry actions, from judicial overhauls to his refusal to reach a ceasefire, demonstrate his disregard for justice.
What is most shameful, however, is the unwavering support of the United States for an apartheid state led by a man who exhibits fascist tendencies daily. In March 2023, before Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the Biden administration welcomed the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for similar war crimes in Ukraine. It was the same prosecutor, Karim Khan, who issued warrants for both Putin and Netanyahu. Putin had called the ICC’s warrants outrageous, and now Biden has used the same term. President-elect Trump’s pick for National Security Adviser denounced it as an “anti-Semitic bias.” When Khan had earlier announced his intent to seek arrest warrants, US officials even threatened to sanction him and his family.
Despite this opposition, the ICC’s decision is historic. It marks the first time the US must confront its blatant double standards, as the same laws that apply to Russia do not seem to apply to Israel, simply because the latter is a US ally. This reaction erodes the US’s legitimacy to claim moral superiority over other nations.
Though hope remains slim for an immediate cessation of Israel’s violence, this decision symbolises a shift. For now, the US and Israel find themselves more isolated, even among allies. The Rome Statute, which established the ICC, obligates its 124 state parties to enforce these arrest warrants. However, enforcement depends on the cooperation of a country’s government.
Canada, France, the Netherlands, and other European nations, except Germany, have cautiously stated they will act in line with ICC statutes. Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, while critical of the decision, acknowledged that Italy would “have to arrest” Netanyahu and Gallant if required. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has emphasised that the ICC’s decision is binding for all state parties, including EU members. This puts Germany in a difficult position, as its historical guilt complicates its stance.
The US now finds itself increasingly isolated in its staunch support for Israel. More than 120 countries are obligated to act on the warrants, many of which maintain strong ties with the US. Yet, the US cannot indefinitely pressure its allies to unconditionally support Israel.
While the arrest warrants will not immediately alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, or southern Lebanon, they are a step toward accountability. As ceasefire negotiations unfold, the US continues to assure Israel of military support, showing it has yet to learn that its control over Israel is waning.
The fight for justice persists. Figures like Netanyahu eventually fall, as all oppressive regimes do. This decision is only one step toward ending this struggle of the persecuted people of Palestine and Lebanon. They will continue to fight and the fight will slowly change the world.