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‘Watershed event in the history of international justice, ICC has never indicted a western official’

  • May 21, 2024



‘Watershed event in the history of international justice, ICC has never indicted a western official’

the prosecutor of the international criminal court has today applied for arrest warrants against Israel’s prime minister beniman Netanyahu his defense minister yoav Galant and three top Hamas leaders all on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity amid more than seven months of war in Gaza the prosecutor said the warrants for Netanyahu and Galant follow alleged crimes of starvation and willful killing the charges against Mass leaders include he said extermination and hostage taking well let’s start by listening to a little from the prosecutor himself Karim Khan on the basis of evidence collected and examined and analyzed by my office I have reasonable grounds to believe that three senior leaders of Hamas Yahya Sina Muhammad daif and Ishmael Hanah be Criminal responsibility for the following International crimes committed on the territory of Israel and the state of Palestine from at least the 7th of October 2023 I can also confirm today that I have reasonable grounds to believe on the basis of evidence collected and examined by my office that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and minister of defense yuav galand bear criminal responsibility for the following International crimes committed on the territory of the State of Palestine from at least the 8th of October 2023 well let’s get some analysis then I’m very pleased to Welcome to the program Reed Brody he’s a veteran war crimes prosecutor himself he joins us live on the program from New York quite a moment this isn’t it just give us your initial reaction well this is really a watershed event not just in the Middle East but for the history of international Justice uh the international criminal court in over 20 years of existence has never indicted a western official in fact no International tribunal since norenberg uh has done so um up until now uh the instruments of international Justice have been almost exclusively used to address Crimes by defeated adversaries as in norenberg powerless outcasts and African Rebels or opponents of the West uh like Vladimir Putin uh and Slobodan mosovich so for the prosecutor of the IC to request um a uh indictments of top of the top Israeli officials this is this is an Earth Earth Earth shattering really I mean many people thought this would never happen uh the the ICC prosecutor’s office has been o has had an examination into the situation in in Palestine for for even well before the the current conflicts um uh regarding illegal settlements uh regarding other uh Crimes of the or alleged Crimes of the past and and there was it was always thought that this was a red line this was a political Red Line for Israel for the United States um that that that no prosecutor would have the courage um to do this um and uh now we see after really escalating rhetoric by the prosecutor over the last many months who said you bet you guys better watch out this is going to happen you keep doing this don’t complain and now we finally see uh that Israeli leaders as well as Hamas leaders um are facing a a legal Reckoning for their actions right and you say it took Courage by the prosecutor to get this far I just want to bring you a little reaction we’re getting today from Israel’s president Isaac Herzog he says the announcements by the prosecutor are Beyond outrageous he then goes on to say it shows the extent to which the international judicial system is he says in danger of collapsing what do you make of that well I I think it’s I think it’s the opposite actually I think the International System has been in danger of collapsing be precisely because of double standards um where you have um you know everyone cheered when uh the ICC uh arrest or or issued warrants against Vladimir Putin um uh and I you know we have been watching all of us the onslaught uh in Gaza uh for the last you know for the last 6 months um and it it people have been saying where is the law where where is the law in all of this I we have another Court in the ha the international court of justice uh which is considering and has said that basically Israel even has a case to answer for genocide um so this is is not even um you know PE one one looking on their TVs people around the world watching what is going on would expect that the international Judicial System would respond with this kind of action against Hamas for the cruel taking of hostages for the attacks on of October 7th against Israeli civilians but also for Israel for the collective punishment of the of of the people of Gaza I think it’s quite the opposite this shows for the first time really for many of us Skeptics who have always complained about the double standards of the uh International justice system um that it can actually uh work uh or we’ll see what now it’s of course it’s up to the three judges to decide whether or not in both cases in the case of Hamas and the case of Israeli leaders whether the evidence leads uh the evidence presented by the prosecutor supports these warrants uh but I think this is Justice working um and if the IC approves these warrants it makes Netanyahu a wanted man in in the same category as Vladimir Putin or Omar Al Basher of Sudan this is the law as it should be working and just sped it out for us then as you say we need to wait for the judges here who haven’t yet granted these arrest warrants but if they do for Galan for Netanyahu and indeed for figures like is Han the Hamas leader who’s in DOA it means what effectively they can’t travel very far at all well that’s right I mean it makes their world all of a sudden much smaller uh you know in the case of Vladimir Putin you know we understand he’s not going to be leaving Russia or or go to friendly countries like he just is in China um and for for Hamas leaders they will of course Hamas leaders some Hamas leaders can be Will May in fact be captured by Israel and and then of course Israel will have to worry if they determine whether they actually want to cooperate with the court uh but for people like Benjamin Netanyahu and and yav Galant um remember that also that these crimes I mean I don’t expect that we will see them in the handcuffs anytime soon but these crimes are have no statute of limitations as long as these cases are pending uh they will not be able to travel to any of the 124 countries which includes the entire European continent um uh without uh worrying about an arrest warrant I mean their world has gotten much much smaller or it will get if if if these warrants are approved Reed Brody so many more questions I’d like to ask you unfortunately we’re out of time though thank you very much indeed for your analysis here on France 24 quite welcome

Israel and Hamas, engaged in heavy fighting in the Gaza Strip, both angrily rejected moves to arrest their leaders for war crimes made before an international court. The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor Karim Khan said he had applied for arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders over the conflict. Israel slammed as a “historical disgrace” the demand targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, while the Palestinian militant group Hamas said it “strongly condemns” the move. As the ICC’s war crimes prosecutor pursues justice on an unprecedented level, FRANCE 24’s Nadia Massih is joined by former New York Assistant Attorney General Reed Brody. He is currently an ICJ Commissioner, Human Rights Lawyer, War Crimes Prosecutor, and Author of ‘To Catch a Dictator’.

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26 comments

  4. In a fair world, not run by mafioso type western governments under the control of a psychopathic regime, every western country would have put a stop to Isrli Jen O'cide.

  10. Seeking an arrest warrant.
    Seeking.
    Putin has one that has been issued, and Xi did not arrest him.
    So, Xi and Biden are on side, in regards to the ICC.
    That's terrifying.

  11. Wars are fought between declared enemies where populations too are declared enemies. Remember when Israelis were taken hostages, Gazans were celebrating too. Hence in the ongoing war how much can you hold one side responsible for the well-being of the citizens of the opposite side. Has it ever happened before. Who is to judge whether the army of one side be held responsible for the well being of the other side. In the heat and fog of war can a group which has never seen an active war zone decide whether fighters of one side taking good care of their opponents. Whether lawyers wanting to indict the combatants have any idea what they are talking about unless they have spent a fair amount of time under live fire. What about the judges as to whether they have spent time under live fire where there is a more than a reasonable chance of being a casualty.
    Mr Prosecutor is looking deadly serious in his speech delivery but is giving rise to more questions than will get answered. Judges will be more circumspect. The residents of gaza were celebrating death and mutilation of Israelis, it will take a super human to love such neighbors, gentlemen.

  13. The world must be ruled by law.
    These international laws have been put in place over 75 years or more by scolars and representatives of the worlds nations. To ensure smooth cooperatio, for security and prosperity of all peoples. All activity must be in line with these laws. US, UK and others, israel inclusive must be held to these laws. It is an excellent situation for all humans on this planet. A good start.

  22. The fact the ICC never arrested a Western official just shows who really owns the ICC. And how egregious the atrocities are.

  23. Free Free Women's Minds and Bodies Must be Free From SLAVERY Butchery by Islamic Muslim Arab Palestinian RELIGIOUS Persecutors persecution. Thirty-seven percent of Arab women are reported to have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, though sources indicate that the true percentage is actually higher. Two practices that fall under the broad and ugly umbrella of gender-based violence and control are female genital mutilation (FGM) and child and forced marriage (CFM), which together affect tens of millions of Women 0:46

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