Icc

Monday

Stephen Daisley

Trump’s ICC sanctions will test an outdated institution

Once you get beyond trade and maritime borders, you will find that much of international law is, pace Clausewitz, the continuation of policy by other means. The International Criminal Court (ICC) was continuing policy by other means when it issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. The two stand accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes over Operation Swords of Iron, Jerusalem’s response to the Palestinian invasion of its territory and mass murder of its citizens on 7 October 2023. Israel has protested the Court’s actions, which were prompted by chief prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan, as a one-sided interference in the military actions of

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

The ICC is playing politics by targeting Israel

Sovereignty, that old-new friend, is in vogue again thanks to Brexit and the advances made by nationalists across Europe and the United States. Those of us who lament these developments should not regret the reassertion of national sovereignty, for it is intimately linked to democracy and self-determination and provides domestic legitimacy for the kind of liberal, cooperative world order we wish to see. If you want a strong international community, you need to have strong, confident nation-states in which people believes their country can be active in the world without losing its sense of self. Sovereignty is at the heart of the International Criminal Court’s ruling that it enjoys the

Friday

Oscar Edmondson

Is Keir Starmer really going to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu?

11 min listen

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant as well as – separately – for Hamas military leader, Mohammed Deif. They are all wanted for alleged war crimes, but specifically regarding Netanyahu and Gallant the ICC say that, ‘each bear criminal responsibility for … the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.’ So why have these warrants been issued now? And what are the implications for Labour’s relationship with Israel?   Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Tom Gross, commentator on the Middle East.