Is the International Criminal Court up to the task of prosecuting Israel/Hamas?
Karim Khan: the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor. Is he as biased and useless as he is described here?
Why do we rely on the International Criminal Court to prosecute war crimes when its prosecutor is – to all appearances – biased in favour of the interests of particular states, some of which are not even parties to it?
Here’s a thread casting doubt, not on the court’s ability to adjudicate on war crimes committed by individuals from either Israel or Palestine, but on the inclination of its prosecutor to do his job properly.
Also, it seems clear that nations that have signed up as parties to the ICC see that commitment as negotiable, depending on who is under investigation. So much for the rule of law, administered without fear or favour!
TL;DR: the ICC under Karim Khan is worse than useless when it comes to even-handedly meting out justice. The International Court of Justice, which acts to determine whether entire states are guilty of criminal acts, may be better-suited to adjudicate on possible war crimes by Israel and Hamas.
Israel has not ratified the Rome Statute, and is not a State Party (i.e. member state) of the ICC, the global tribunal established in 2002 to hold accountable perpetrators of war crimes, crimes of aggression, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the occupied territory within or outside this territory”. This closely reflects Article 49 of the IV Geneva Convention of 1949 Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War,
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
as the longstanding judgement of Palestinians on this matter was endorsed by the leading Israeli and international human rights organizations.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
The Office of the ICC Prosecutor can conduct investigations into alleged violations of the Rome Statute only if either 1) a case is referred to the ICC Prosecutor by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), 2) requested by at least one ICC member state,
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
Given that the US, which like Israel refused to join the ICC, has veto powers at the Security Council, and that Palestine was not an ICC member, Israel was not particularly concerned that the ICC Prosecutor would independently seek to initiate an investigation of its conduct.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
The Palestinian leadership had for many years stalled on this and other initiatives promoting the application of international law to the Palestinians. This was, parenthetically, not out of fear of potential ICC prosecutions of Palestinians.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
In writing, because Hamas propaganda had been denouncing Abbas for promoting Palestine’s ICC application at a snail’s pace out of fear of the Israeli and Western response.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
When the deed was done, Palestinians from across the political spectrum welcomed it, and stated they were prepared to see all alleged violations of the Rome Statute committed in Palestine investigated by the ICC.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
The Europeans, who unlike the US and Israel have joined the ICC, were in a particular pickle. As a European diplomat stated to me at the time:
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
where the rules only apply to everyone else. When they failed to prevent Palestinian accession, Israel in particular went berserk. It began withholding Palestinian taxes it was legally obliged to transfer to the Palestinian Authority,
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
Washington at one imposed sanctions on Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, normally reserved for designated criminals. It was Washington’s way of informing the ICC it had no right to investigate either Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians or US conduct in Afghanistan.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
Not clear how Nato’s collective defense provisions enshrined in Article 5 would operate under such circumstances….
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
In doing so they came within a hair of endorsing Israel’s position that the ICC is an illegitimate body. The Dutch government for its part indicated it could not take a position on the matter because as the state that hosts the ICC,
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
In the event, the Palestinians in 2015 submitted an application to the Office of the ICC Prosecutor to investigate violations of the Rome Statute in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967, beginning in 2014.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
Which brings us back to the scandal known as Karim Khan. In previous functions, for example investigating the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia and that by ISIS in Iraq, he developed a reputation as an attention whore of sorts.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
two non-member states opposed to the very existence of the Court. In 2021, Khan narrowly won election to a nine-year term. Unless he’s forced out, we’re stuck with him until 2030.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
on account of the cases it chose – and chose not to – prosecute. In protest at such biases, South Africa at one point temporarily renounced its ICC membership.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
The ICC Palestine investigation, such as it was, effectively ceased to exist.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
It took him only a week to pop up in Kiev, informing any and every journalist within a 100-mile radius that his investigation was already active. A little over a year later he indicted none other than Russian President Vladimir Putin.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
There was considerably less spring in his step as the latest crisis in the Middle East erupted on 7 October. It was only at the very end of October that he took the trouble to visit the region.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
announced his availability to work with the Israeli authorities to prosecute those responsible for violations of the Rome Statute on that day, yet pointedly refrained from any reference to Israeli war crimes,
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
Khan further, and disingenuously, claimed that in 2021 he established the “first dedicated team to investigate the Palestine situation”.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
But this was nothing compared to his next visit, undertaken in early December to Israel in coordination with the Israeli government which, it needs to be emphasized once again, has rejected the legitimacy of the ICC,
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
Initially described as an “unofficial” visit (perhaps he entered the country wearing a disguise designed for Inspector Clouseau by Auguste Balls),
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
he at the end of his visit took a short trip to Ramallah to meet with PA President Abbas. Seeing through his agenda, Palestinian human rights organizations unanimously refused to meet with him, and denounced his visit.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
that the attacks of 7 October “represent some of the most serious international crimes that shock the conscience of humanity”, for good measure denouncing Hamas as a “terror organization”.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
This is for the simple reason that the ICC investigation, if it indeed exists, is still in its initial stages, yet the prosecutor has already announced its conclusions.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
he went no further than to assert that “credible allegations of crimes” that may – or may not – have been committed, should be “the subject of timely, independent, examination and investigation”.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
and “must not be diverted or misused by Hamas.” Gleefully skipping over the patently genocidal statements of Israeli leaders that might have helped him connect the dots he, much like Western politicians, took the easy way out
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
The reason Khan tread so lightly also reflects what appears to be the most disturbing element of his agenda.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
has concluded that it is essentially a sham, and exists to provide legal justification for such violations and/or exonerate perpetrators.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
In other words, Khan will prosecute Palestinians, and Israeli violations will be adjudicated by Israel’s court system. Both with predictable results.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 4, 2023
The ICC and Karim Khan is another sellout bought and paid for by the White House and it’s Cronies. One more to add the long list of International entities that will, sadly, not to do anything helpful for the Palestinians at all (Might even be harmful to them like you said)
— Senna (@HegelianSenna) December 4, 2023
Thank you. ICJ already involved. In 2004 it issued its landmark opinion on the West Bank Wall, and is currently adjudicating the (il)legality of Israeli rule in the occupied territories.
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) December 5, 2023
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Israel in this situation considering themselves the “Master Race” in comparison to the Palestinians should logically be held to a much higher standard of conduct surely?