What does a gangster do when a prosecutor files charges against him? He threatens the prosecutor. What does a gangster do when the court finds him guilty? He calls upon his friends to blow up the court.
More than one Hollywood movie has brought such gangsters to life. But a movie about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to be made, even though his career provides the perfect script.
The world has had enough of Israel's rampage in Gaza. Israel recently suffered three major setbacks. First, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan submitted an application for the court to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his defence minister and for three Hamas leaders for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. As soon as the news broke, Netanyahu rejected the charges, saying that Israel's leaders can never be equated with those of Hamas, and that charging him is akin to charging George W Bush for the attacks of 9/11.
Several US legislators jumped into the fray to defend Israel, accusing the prosecutor of antisemitism, glossing over the fact that he had also charged Hamas. The most strident voice was that of Senator Tom Cotton, rumoured to be a potential vice-presidential nominee of Donald Trump's. Cotton called the ICC an "International Kangaroo Court" and threatened to charge the prosecutor with criminal charges when Trump becomes the president.
Mike Johnson, the House Speaker, reiterated his interest in inviting Netanyahu to address Congress, saying this is Israel's moment of trial, a moment that calls for all the support that America can muster.
US legislators are brushing aside the fact that Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor, is not pursuing these charges from an emotional vendetta. Khan, who is of Pakistani parentage, invited a panel of eminent judicial experts to review his filing. In an article in the Financial Times, they wrote: "The Panel unanimously agrees with the prosecutor's conclusion that there are reasonable grounds to believe that three of Hamas's most senior leaders … have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity … [and] … that Netanyahu and Israel's minister of defence Yoav Gallant have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. This includes the war crime of intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the murder and persecution of Palestinians as crimes against humanity."
Much to everyone's surprise, Germany's Chancellor said that if the ICC issues a warrant for the arrest of Netanyahu, Germany would arrest him. Netanyahu was stunned since Germany is a strong supporter of Israel. He reprimanded the Chancellor for being on the wrong side of history, fully aware of the fact that virtually the whole world now regards Netanyahu for being on the wrong side of history.
In the second setback, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel not to attack Rafah. That, too, drew an immediate rebuke from Netanyahu, who asserted that Israel knew what it was doing, that it had the most moral army in the world, and that it would never attack civilians in Rafah or anywhere else. Once again, he glossed over the fact that Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians and injured another 75,000, mostly women and children.
US Senator Lindsay Graham said, "The ICJ can go to hell," and that the ICJ's ruling that Israel should stop operations in Rafah was "ridiculous" and "will and should be ignored by Israel."
The State of Palestine is now recognised as a sovereign state by 143 of the 193 member states of the United Nations, quite close to Israel's 165
President Biden, who has long cautioned Israel not to attack Rafah, changed his tune and said that the US would veto any UNSC Resolution that censures Israel. Biden also dismissed the ICC prosecutor's charges and said that Israel was not committing genocide.
In the third setback, the governments of Ireland, Norway and Spain announced that they would recognise the state of Palestine on May 28. The prime minister of Ireland, Simon Harris, said that recognition of Palestine carried "powerful political and symbolic value." He cited Ireland's quest for self-rule when it called upon the world's nations a century ago to recognise its right to independence from Great Britain.
Norway's decision is significant because the 1993 Accords that called for a two-state solution were signed in Oslo. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said, "There cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition."
Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, went a step further: "We know that this initiative won't bring back the past and the lives lost in Palestine, but we believe that it will give the Palestinians two things that are very important for their present and their future: dignity and hope."
Israel's global standing has hit a new low. The State of Palestine is now recognised as a sovereign state by 143 of the 193 member states of the United Nations, quite close to Israel's 165.
Countering the American voices that are clamouring for silencing the prosecutor and for sanctioning the ICC if it issues an arrest warrant for Netanyahu is the calm and composed voice of US Senator Bernie Sanders. In his address to the Senate, he said that the US was applying a double-standard when it came to the actions of the ICC and the ICJ. It supported their actions when they were carried out relative to Vladimir Putin of Russia but opposes any actions that are directed against Israel because it is a democracy. He said that was not a valid argument since "democratically elected officials can commit war crimes."
The US cannot look the other way and "ignore the crimes against humanity that are being committed in Gaza right now." If it does, then it will lose its credibility on the global stage. "I want to see this country respected all over the world as a country that does believe in human rights, that does believe in international law."
Israel's troubles are far from over. South Africa's two earlier cases are still pending with the ICJ, one charging Israel with genocide and the other charging Israel with breaking international law by occupying Palestine.