The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is reportedly considering arrest warrants against Israeli leaders for alleged war crimes. This would be the first time the ICC has taken this step against a liberal Western democracy. Such charges would allow unaccountable bureaucrats in The Hague to put Israel’s elected officials on trial for decisions they made to defend the Jewish state against Hamas.
Like many other international organizations, the ICC was created with high ideals. Its officials, however, have since discovered that going after Israel is easier than making a difference for global justice.
The ICC is reportedly preparing a case based on specious allegations from anti-Israel nongovernmental organizations, United Nations agencies, and the testimony of employees at Hamas’s Al-Shifa terror hub. Israel, which like the U.S. has chosen not to join the ICC, can’t mount a legal defense without conceding the court’s authority to micromanage its security choices.
While the ICC might also indict Hamas officials, its doing so should give no illusion of balance. Hamas has accepted ICC jurisdiction, but no one believes its leaders will turn themselves over to the court. Their rule of terror in Gaza means that barring total Israeli victory, they can dispose of inconvenient evidence or witnesses. Hamas’s atrocities are a source of pride for the terrorist group.
The charges alone would harm Israel by serving as a diplomatic catalyst for sanctions and boycotts of the Jewish state. But the diplomatic damage depends on a mistaken view of the ICC’s legitimacy. It isn’t some grand “world court.” The countries most likely to use military force have chosen not to join. Most of the world’s population lives outside the ICC’s jurisdiction.
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Author: Ruth King
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