News Alert: ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu

 

ICC Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, and Hamas Leader November 21, 2024 After months of deliberation, the International Criminal Court on Thursday formally issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri. The ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I, a panel of judges, said in a statement that it unanimously rejected Israel's challenges to arrest warrant applications submitted in May by Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor at the ICC. "The Chamber issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest," the panel said, specifically alleging "the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare" and "the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts." READ THE FULL STORY

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The UK Labour Party drops opposition to Int’l Criminal Court Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over Gaza War Crimes

JUAN COLE07/27/2024

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Labour Party in Britain announced that it would not submit a brief to the International Criminal Court arguing that the court has no jurisdiction over Israeli actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The previous Conservative government of Rishi Sunak had pledged to make such a submission, but the new prime minister Keir Starmer has, after some waffling, decided against it.

Starmer is a strong supporter of Israel and, in alliance with a secretive British Israel lobby, has purged severe critics of Tel Aviv from Labour Party ranks, so in some ways the decision is surprising. Further, Starmer appears to have gotten heavy pressure from the Biden administration to challenge prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for the commission of war crimes in Gaza.

Starmer, however, also faced pressure from British Muslim constituents of the Labour Party, a significant bloc. In the July 4 election that Labour won so handily, it nevertheless did lose some seats it was expected to win, apparently over Gaza policy. Five independents ran and won, campaigning for an immediate ceasefire. Some 3,801,186 Muslims live in the UK, or 6.7% of the population of 67 million. They therefore have even more clout than Asian Americans in the US, who form about 5.6% of the American population.

The British youths, the left, and British Muslims as well as other minorities, e.g. left-liberal Hindus and activists from the Caribbean, have staged large and frequent demonstrations against Israel’s total war on Gaza. Further, trade unionists, another key Labour constituency, have urged an arms boycott on Israel over its atrocities against Palestinians.

Given Starmer’s stalwart support of Israel, he would not have backed down on the ICC submission unless the pressure from within his party was overwhelming.

The episode demonstrates the limits of Israel’s policy of ignoring Western public opinion in general and concentrating on influence-peddling in governmental decision-making bodies. Those bodies, as with Labour parliamentarians, are also susceptible to shifts in public opinion, as with the vehement denunciation of Israel for what many Britons see as a genocide in Gaza. Europeans also pay more attention to bodies such as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court than do Americans

The Labour Party said that it was leaving the decision up to the ICC, and the BBC concludes that if Netanyahu and Gallant are indicted, the United Kingdom would feel itself obliged to arrest them if they stepped foot on British soil. The same would also hold true for Spain, Ireland and Norway, all of which recognized the State of Palestine in late May as a way of protesting the Israeli destruction of Gaza and the brutalization of the Palestinians living there.

It should be understood that this move by Labour is a major symbolic loss for Israel and for the Biden administration, which has sought to ensure impunity for Netanyahu and his cronies and has even refused to allow the State Department to certify that Israel is using US weaponry in Gaza in a manner contrary to International Humanitarian Law, as required by the Leahy laws.

It is highly unlikely, however, that Starmer will take any practical action, such as an arms boycott or even a limitation on arms sales to Israel, as demanded by many trade unionists and other activists.

Palestine was recognized by the UN General Assembly as a non-member observer state of the UN in 2012. That status permitted Palestine to sign the Rome Statute and accede to the International Criminal Court as a member in early 2015. In 2018, the Palestine Authority brought a case against Israel at the court for its illegal settlements on Palestinian land. Although Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and would ordinarily not be under its jurisdiction, the argument the court accepted in 2021 is that Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza are within the court’s purview. Sunak had intended to challenge that argument. Note, however, that the US and most European countries welcomed the 2023 ICC finding that Russian President Vladimir Putin is guilty of war crimes in Ukraine. Russia is also not a signatory to the Rome Statute, nor is Ukraine. But Ukraine granted the court jurisdiction over Russian war crimes in the Donbass. The case for the ICC’s jurisdiction over Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza is tremendously stronger than that for its jurisdiction over Russian actions in Ukraine.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page

INFORMED COMMENT

INVITING AN INDCTED FELON TO SPEAK TO CONGRESS DEFINES MORAL DECAY OF THE US!

Displaying Photos of Kids Starved by Israel, Sanders Explains Boycott of Netanyahu Speech

Children are dying of malnutrition in Gaza as a "direct result of Netanyahu's policies," the Vermont senator said in a speech on the Senate floor.

Sen. Bernie Sanders displayed photos of starving Palestinian children on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Monday to explain his decision to boycott an upcoming speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Democratic and Republican leaders formally invited to address a joint meeting of Congress amid Israel's catastrophic assault on Gaza.

The monthslong military campaign has had appalling impacts on Palestinian children, Sanders (I-Vt.) emphasized in his floor remarks Monday, blasting U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for eating "fine steaks" at fundraising dinners with his "billionaire friends" while Israel's army blocks critical food aid from entering Gaza, causing kids to starve to death.

"This is a photograph of a child in Gaza taken by Getty," said the Vermont senator as an aide displayed a picture of an emaciated Palestinian child.

The photo was one of several that Sanders showed during his speech, stressing that there are thousands of children in Gaza suffering acute malnutrition as a "direct result of Netanyahu's policies—Netanyahu, the man Speaker Johnson has invited to address Congress."

"No," Sanders said, "I will not be in attendance for that speech."

Watch Sanders' remarks in full:

Sanders is one of many progressive U.S. lawmakers expected to boycott Netanyahu's speech to Congress, the timing of which remains unclear after the Israeli prime minister's office denied reporting by Punchbowl and other outlets that the date was set for June 13—a day U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to be out of the country.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the roughly 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, toldAxios on Monday that she expects the boycott of Netanyahu's speech to be "large," noting there are "a lot of people who are extremely upset he is coming here."

According to Axios, "Jayapal said she has spoken to several lawmakers who went to Netanyahu's 2015 speech [to Congress] but said they will not attend this time."

Speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) signaled that she would join the congressional boycott, saying the Israeli prime minister "shouldn't be here."

"I don't think that it is productive for a Republican or a Democrat to invite him," she added.

Netanyahu stands accused by the International Criminal Court of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, including the "starvation of civilians as a method of warfare" and "willfully causing great suffering." Last month, the ICC's prosecutor formally applied for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as several Hamas leaders.

Whatever the date of his speech to the U.S. Congress, protests are expected to greet the prime minister upon his arrival in Washington, D.C.

Recent survey data has shown that a majority of Americans oppose Israel's war on Gaza and want the Biden administration to cut off U.S. arms sales to the country.

"He's an indicted felon in Israel with an indictment as a war criminal at the ICC and they've invited him to speak here! Shame," James Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute, said of Netanyahu late Monday.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) delivers a speech on June 3, 2024 explaining why he will boycott Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's expected speech before Congress.

 (Photo: C-SPAN/Screengrab)

COMMON DREAMS

POLITICO Nightly: How Trump forced Biden’s hand

 

BY CALDER MCHUGH Presented by Citi President Joe Biden delivers remarks on an executive order limiting asylum in the East Room of the White House. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images RESHAPING THE POLICY DEBATES — The Biden era began amid talk of a more humane border policy and a rollback of Trump policies, not just on immigration but on trade and a range of other policy areas. But that was a different time, and Joe Biden was a different president. Never was it clearer than today, when Biden signed the most restrictive immigration order of any modern Democrat, setting the stage for much of the southern border to close at midnight. After taking a pounding from Trump over immigration and flailing on the issue in the polls, the Biden administration will seal the U.S.’s southern border entirely once illegal crossings reach 2,500 people per day. And with daily totals already exceeding that number within the past week, it will go into effect right away. The border will only re-open to asylum seekers after the number of illegal crossings dips under 1,500 per day for a sustained period of time. The severe regulations are similar in scope to former President Donald Trump’s November 2018 decision to suspend asylum rights on the southern border, an initiative that was ultimately blocked in court . It’s the latest reminder of former President Donald Trump’s success in reframing the political debate around hot-button issues — and Biden’s need to reshape administration policy in response. Even at a time when Trump should be at his weakest, on the heels of his hush money conviction on 34 counts, Biden’s diminished position in the polls has forced a more reactive approach. Despite years of debate within the Biden administration, they’ve largely kept the massive Trump tariffs on China in place out of fear of providing Trump with an opening to attack. The political imperatives are not just Biden’s own: A group of Midwestern Senate Democrats, joined by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, sent a letter to Biden in early May asking him to raise tariffs even further on China. In response, Biden announced targeted increases of some of the China tariffs, including on electric vehicles, semiconductors and some steel and aluminum products. It might be a more targeted approach than his predecessor, but it still underscores that the trade war with China has only escalated since Biden came into office. The need to placate the industrial Midwest — and maintain the integrity of the Blue Wall that is Biden’s best shot at reelection — colors other Trump-adjacent Biden policies. When Japan-based Nippon Steel announced the purchase of U.S. Steel in December for over $14 billion, it could have been a chance for Biden to take a victory lap . His infrastructure package and Inflation Reduction Act turned U.S. Steel from a husk of what it once was back into an asset worth billions. Instead, though, fears of a Japanese company buying an American institution — and Trump’s promise to block the deal — led Biden to announce his opposition to the deal months after Trump did. At the heart of these policies is a political vulnerability on the issues polls suggest are of greatest concern to voters — such as border security and the economy. According to Gallup, a plurality of Americans believe immigration is the most important facing the country today. A new Marquette Law School poll shows voters trust Trump more on immigration and border security by a whopping 27 points. Voters trust Trump more on the economy by 21 points. It’s a far cry from 2021, when Biden took office fresh off a thorough popular-vote whipping of Trump and the flipping of five key swing states across the Midwest and the Sun Belt. Today, Biden trails Trump in most national polls and all across the swing state landscape. That political reality has led to the implementation of policies — from imposing further tariffs on Chinese goods to protecting U.S. manufacturing from foreign competition to border security — that wouldn’t have been out of place in Trump’s first term. Biden, of course, has plenty of areas of vast disagreement with Republicans. His administration insists that their immigration regulations are different from Trump’s ; a senior administration official said about Biden’s immigration order, “There are several differences between the actions that we are taking today and Trump-era policies. The Trump administration attacked almost every facet of the immigration system and did so in a shameful and inhumane way.” Even some Democrats, though, are conflating the two. “We should be distinguishing ourselves from Donald Trump on immigration,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said. “We should be offering the contrast.” The contrast is likely to become clearer now that Trump is no longer confined to a Manhattan courtroom and can spend more time on the campaign trail. He’s already promising even more radical policy departures on trade and immigration. And if that’s the case, and Biden’s pivot toward Trumpism helps lock down Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — or perhaps insulates him in Arizona, where a possible ballot measure on immigration could put the issue front and center — many of his critics inside the party will likely forgive him. Even if one plank of his immigration platform looks a lot like part of Trump’s first go at the issue. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at cmchugh@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @calder_mchugh . A message from Citi: The world of cross-border payments is at an inflection point. Amid shifting client demands and an unprecedented rates environment, the global payments ecosystem is rapidly transforming. As payments move away from traditional methods toward application programming interface (API) connectivity, new technologies have the power to transform cross-border payments for the benefit of all. Access in-depth analysis from Citi on what the future landscape might entail in the Citi GPS Report, Future of Cross-Border Payments.   WHAT'D I MISS? — GOP senators urge RNC to back off Hogan: Republicans are moving to head off a long-term war between Larry Hogan and former President Donald Trump’s allies , including the RNC, as Hogan faces one of the toughest ticket-splitting efforts in modern politics. Hogan’s request for Americans to respect the verdict of Trump’s criminal trial — before the conviction was even announced — elicited harsh criticism from RNC co-chair Lara Trump, raising the specter of a long-term rift between top rungs of the party and the GOP’s star recruit in Maryland, a state where Republicans haven’t won a Senate race since 1980. “It’s a horrible mistake. I think they should back off,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), no stranger to rifts in her own party after surviving a Trump-backed challenge two years ago. — Prosecutors open their case against Hunter Biden by playing his own voice for the jury: Prosecutors at Hunter Biden’s trial on gun-related charges urged jurors today not to show sympathy or favoritism for him because he happens to be the son of President Joe Biden , while the defense suggested the case was belatedly charged and overblown. “No one is above the law,” prosecutor Derek Hines declared at the outset of his opening statement. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what your name is, because in this country the law applies to everyone equally. … That law makes no distinction between Hunter Biden and anybody else.” — House approves bill hitting International Criminal Court for Israel warrants: The House has passed legislation aimed at sanctioning the International Criminal Court for pursuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials in his government. The vote was 247-155, with 42 Democrats supporting the bill and 2 Republicans voting present. The Biden administration said in a statement it “strongly opposes” the bill and believes “there are more effective ways to defend Israel” during its ongoing war in Gaza but did not expressly threaten a veto.   THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists. Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY .     NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 CHARGED UP — Kenneth Chesebro, an architect of Donald Trump’s scheme to subvert the 2020 election, has been charged with felony forgery in Wisconsin , court records show. Chesebro, who developed a strategy to send false slates of presidential electors — and to use them to stoke a conflict on Jan. 6, 2021 aimed at blocking Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory — was charged alongside Jim Troupis, a 2020 Trump campaign lawyer, and Mike Roman, a former Trump campaign operative. The 26-page complaint dated June 3 relies primarily on text messages and documents obtained from Chesebro, who interviewed with investigators in December. It accuses the three men of conspiring to send “unappointed” electors to Washington.   A message from Citi:     AROUND THE WORLD An onlooker throws a drink in the face of Nigel Farage during his general election campaign launch in Clacton-on-Sea. | Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images MILKSHAKE DUCK — Leading Brexiteer Nigel Farage drew big crowds as he launched his latest bid to become a British Member of Parliament — but not everyone was impressed. Police arrested a woman on suspicion of assault after Farage was pelted with a milkshake today as he spoke with voters in the seaside town of Clacton. He’s hoping to become a member of parliament there on July 4. Farage — who rocked England Monday by u-turning and announcing he will stand in Britain’s election as leader of the right-wing Reform Party — was hit with the drink as he exited a Wetherspoons pub. ESCALATION THREATS — Russia responded with a new threat of escalation today to reports that France could soon send trainers to help the Ukrainian military. “No instructor involved in training the Ukrainian military has immunity,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the press according to a report from French newswire AFP. “It doesn’t matter whether they’re French or not,” Peskov added. Last week, Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said French trainers would come to Ukraine “soon,” a statement which was downplayed at the time both in Paris and Kyiv.   JOIN US ON 6/12 FOR A TALK ON THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY : As air travel soars again, policymakers and airlines are grappling with a series of contemporary challenges to the industry's future. Join POLITICO on June 12 for a topical and timely conversation with government leaders and aviation stakeholders about the state of the airline industry. From what passengers want to what airlines need amid the high demand for air traffic, workers and technology solutions. What can Washington do to ensure passengers and providers are equipped to fly right? REGISTER HERE .     NIGHTLY NUMBER 285 The number of seats that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s National Democratic Alliance coalition has won in parliament , more than the 272 needed for a majority but fewer than expected, according to official results from India’s Election Commission. The party is leading in one race yet to be called. RADAR SWEEP GUTTER BALL — If you’ve been to a bowling alley lately, there’s a decent chance it’s operated by Bowlero, a conglomerate of private equity-backed entertainment centers that has been snapping up bowling alleys around the country. They offer a cleaner, better version of the classic local, run down alley. But underneath some new amenities, it’s become clear the company is rife with problems — a self-interested CEO, debt piling up, some toxic workplace allegations and more. For The Lever, Amos Barshad explores how this organization has made a beloved national pastime worse. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1995: Radio talk show host G. Gordon Liddy, who organized the burglary of the DNC at the Watergate hotel, addresses a pro-gun 2nd Amendment rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial. | Joe Marquette/AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here . A message from Citi: The world of cross-border payments is at an inflection point. Amid technological advancements, shifting client demands, and an unprecedented rates environment, the global payments ecosystem is rapidly transforming. Payments are moving away from traditional instruction methods, which are tied to batch and files, and moving toward application programming interface (API) connectivity. The evolving landscape is also driven by changing behaviors and heightened expectations, with consumers seeking a streamlined, transparent, 24x7 real-time experience, both domestically and across borders. Best-in-class client experiences leveraging new technologies can address key pain points and have the potential to transform cross-border payments for the benefit of all. Access in-depth analysis from Citi on what the future landscape might look like in the Citi GPS Report, Future of Cross-Border Payments.     Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

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