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When the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan announced in May that he was submitting an application for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on multiple charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, the Palestinian death toll stood at about a staggering 35,000, including 14,000 children. Back then, Khan’s move was received with both commendation and revulsion.
The Palestinian leadership and most Arab and Muslim countries welcomed the declaration. European governments were divided. The US condemned Khan and the court and Republican lawmakers issued a stark warning against the prosecutor, the panel of judges and their families. Netanyahu brushed the move aside, declaring that Israel does not recognize the court, nor does it care about the arrest warrants that were yet to be issued.
Today, the death toll in Gaza stands at more than 38,000. And since May, Israel has intensified its indiscriminate bombing of houses, schools, mosques, hospitals, UN buildings and even “safe areas” that were designated as such by the Israeli army.
On Saturday, Israel fired heavy missiles into a makeshift tent town near Khan Younis, killing more than 90, mostly women and children. It claimed that the intended target was a senior Hamas deputy commander, Mohammed Deif. And a day later, its fighter jets struck a UN school housing civilians, also killing dozens of refugees.
The carnage has been ongoing round the clock since Oct. 8. Gaza’s Health Ministry admits that its figures are conservative, since it can only count those hospitals receive. But thousands more people are believed to be buried under the rubble in destroyed neighborhoods that are beyond the reach of the civil defense or, for lack of heavy equipment, cannot be recovered.
According to a study published last week by the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet, “it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable” to the Gaza war. In addition to accounting for those who perished under the rubble, the study pointed to indirect deaths due to shortages of food, water and shelter. With almost all of Gaza’s hospitals having been taken out of service due to Israeli bombings, an unknown number of people have been buried in makeshift graves all over the beleaguered enclave.
In the words of UN officials, there are no safe areas in Gaza anymore. Almost 2 million people have been displaced more than once. At least 700,000 Gazans are facing famine and acute shortages of food. There are more than 20,000 orphaned children in Gaza and every day at least 150 women are expected to give birth without access to medical facilities.
Since Israel took over the Rafah crossing point with Egypt, all aid supplies from Egypt have been halted. The US has dismantled the temporary pier that was supposed to help deliver much-needed food, water and medicine. Israel now controls all crossing points and is failing to allow fuel, food and medicine to enter the Strip.
Governments have become numb to the daily slaughter of Gazans by Israel. News of the killings has slipped from the front pages and is now barely reported by the mainstream media. The UN Security Council has not met in weeks to discuss the war and its binding resolutions on the need for unfettered delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza have been ignored by Israel.
An unknown number of people have been buried in makeshift graves all over the beleaguered enclave.
Osama Al-Sharif
Israeli officials admit Netanyahu is derailing mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire deal for personal reasons. He wants the war to go on as long as possible. He knows that the Biden administration has exhausted all means to pressure Netanyahu to stop the war. He is using the febrile election mood in the US to his benefit. Joe Biden has been weakened and is fighting for his political life as he faces critics from his own party.
Netanyahu’s plan is probably a waiting game: to extend the war until the November election in the US, hoping that former President Donald Trump will win and buy him more time.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has shamefully resumed supplying Israel with heavy bombs while it is contesting the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction over Palestinian territories. It has pressured the UK’s new Labour government not to withdraw its objection to Khan’s request for arrest warrants.
Almost two months have passed since Khan submitted his request. But there are no signs that the court will issue those warrants any time soon. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice is also silent, even as Israel is violating its orders not to impede the delivery of aid. Despite the willful daily killings — many analysts believe Israel ran out of military targets in Gaza months ago — the world court has not commented.
Still, the International Court of Justice has announced that it will make public an advisory opinion on July 19 regarding the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. The UN General Assembly issued Resolution 77/247, which requested an advisory opinion from the court on the legality of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Territories and the consequences of Israel’s conduct for other states and the UN. More than 50 countries presented arguments about the legal ramifications of Israel’s actions in the territories in February.
This advisory ruling will be rejected by Israel and questioned by the US, rendering it another symbolic victory for the Palestinians while changing little on the ground.
Since last October, Israel’s far-right government has intensified its building of illegal settlements in the West Bank and last month it approved a significant land grab in the Jordan Valley. It is now transferring the administration of the West Bank from the military to a civilian body, leading to a de facto annexation of the whole area.
Palestinians have been waiting for justice for more than seven decades. They have been waiting for the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for almost two months. They have dozens of UNSC resolutions in their favor. None have been implemented and Israel has rejected them all.
Due to blackmail, intimidation and all sorts of pressure, the International Criminal Court is hesitant to move against Israel. The International Court of Justice has yet to issue a ruling on the genocide case against Israel. The UN is paralyzed as Israel continues to target women and children and starve babies, while destroying hospitals right in front of the entire world.
Such impunity has never been witnessed anywhere before. The International Criminal Court was quick to move against Russia’s Vladimir Putin, but it stands still while the daily carnage in Gaza goes on unabated.
Palestine is not a lost cause and it is a just one indeed. But for justice to be delivered, the culprit must be held accountable. Otherwise, Israel’s exceptionalism will become the rule and international law will become a farce.
• Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman.
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