Russia has said that the United States is being hypocritical by opposing the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation of Israel but supporting its arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin.
The ICC, which can charge individuals with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, is investigating Hamas’s attack and Israel’s devastating military assault on Gaza, now in its seventh month.
“Washington fully supported, if not stimulated, the issuance of ICC warrants against the Russian leadership,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova said in a post on Telegram.
However, “the American political system does not recognise the legitimacy of this structure in relation to itself and its satellites”, Zakharova said, adding such a position is intellectually “absurd.”
White House spokesperson, Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US doesn’t support the ICC’s investigation of Israel as it doesn’t have jurisdiction.
International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors have reportedly gathered testimony from staff of two major hospitals in the Gaza Strip, al-Shifa Hospital and Nasser Hospital, on the grounds of which Palestinian officials say they have discovered mass graves following the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
More than 300 bodies were uncovered from mass graves at Nasser Hospital after Israeli forces withdrew on April 7, 2024.
During the war, the two hospitals have been high-profile Israeli targets – surrounded, besieged and stormed by Israeli forces who accuse Hamas of using them for military purposes, which Hamas and medical staff deny. Israel denies carrying out war crimes, including in or around Gaza hospitals.
Israel is not a member of the ICC, while the Palestinian territories were admitted as a member state in 2015.
The ICC says this gives it jurisdiction over actions by anyone including Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian territories, and by Palestinians anywhere, including on Israeli territory.
Israel does not recognise any ICC jurisdiction over its citizens.
Meanwhile, Antony Loewenstein, an independent journalist and author, noted that reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) may soon issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials over the war on Gaza should be read with scepticism.
“We should take this ICC arrest warrant story to some extent with a grain of salt. We may get different news in the coming days or weeks, he stated.
“But it’s not really clear where this is coming from beyond Israeli sources, or possibly Israeli officials leaking to the press to try to put pressure on outside forces, namely the United States,” he added.
“The US has hated the ICC for years because they don’t want their own soldiers, or generals, or politicians to be put on trial for what happened, for example, in Iraq and Afghanistan in the last 20 years,” he noted.
International Law Violators To Be Held Accountable
Nonetheless, Salman Shaikh, a former Middle East peace envoy with the UN, said that Israel’s conduct in Gaza is increasingly under the spotlight worldwide and international courts are expected to hold Israeli officials accountable.
“The walls are closing in. International law has to be administered. Otherwise, we will see Western countries effectively cannibalising international law and the rules-based international order, which they themselves set up after the horrors of the second world war.”
Salman Shaikh
He added, “We have ample evidence and those who have committed grave violations of international humanitarian law – whether they are Hamas or other Palestinian groups but also the Israeli army. This cannot continue.”
Additionally, Shaikh stated that Western countries should be extremely concerned about their support for Israel during its war on Gaza.
“European capitals and Washington need to think really hard about their actions, including the supply of offensive weaponry to the Israeli army,” he said.
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