War Crimes Have Never Stopped the U.S. Before

In 2002, President George W. Bush signed a invoice into legislation that gave the U.S. president the facility to invade the Netherlands — or wherever else on earth — in an effort to liberate an American citizen or citizen of a U.S. ally being detained for warfare crimes on the Worldwide Prison Courtroom, primarily based within the Dutch metropolis of The Hague. Among the many lawmakers who voted in favor of the invoice: then-Delaware Sen. Joe Biden. 

Whereas the president has but to make good on this army menace, the legislation, which continues to be on the books, serves nearly as good shorthand for the U.S. relationship to the worldwide establishment of justice. The invoice was meant to fend off the specter of American troops standing trial for atrocities dedicated throughout the fledgling “warfare on terror,” however the U.S. horror of The Hague has its roots within the longstanding coverage of unconditional help for Israel. 

That very same yr Bush and his Israeli counterpart, Ariel Sharon, withdrew the U.S. and Israeli signatures from the Rome Statute, the treaty that shaped the ICC. U.S.-Israel opposition to any try by the courtroom to carry Israel accountable for doable worldwide legislation violations has been ironclad ever since.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Protection Yoav Gallant on Thursday, alleging that the leaders deliberately blocked humanitarian assist from coming into Gaza in an effort to goal Palestinian civilians and focused civilians with army strikes on Gaza. In addition they issued a warrant for Hamas chief Muhammad Deif, whereas additionally rescinding warrants for Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, two Hamas leaders killed by Israel. Israel has additionally claimed to have killed Deif.  

The warrants, issued by a panel of three judges, require the 124 member nations of the Rome Statute to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant and switch them over to Hague officers for trial the second that both wished man steps onto their soil. The ranks of member nations contains many U.S. allies, similar to Germany, France, the UK, and Canada, together with a lot of the remainder of the world. 

Though the Biden administration has but to touch upon the arrest warrants, when ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan first utilized for warrants in Might, the president referred to as the concept “outrageous.”

“No matter this prosecutor may indicate, there isn’t any equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas,” Biden continued throughout a White Home occasion to have fun Jewish Heritage Month. “We are going to all the time stand with Israel in opposition to threats to its safety.” 

Biden has stored his phrase within the months since, persevering with to ship arms to Israel and vote down all worldwide measures that criticize Israeli conduct — and even name for a ceasefire — within the United Nations. In September, the US voted in opposition to a U.N. decision that referred to as for the top of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories within the West Financial institution, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, with 124 of the 181 U.N. Normal Meeting nations voting in favor of the measure.

On Wednesday, the Biden administration vetoed one more ceasefire decision within the U.N. Safety Council — the fourth such decision it has voted down. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Woods claimed that the decision didn’t embody requires a right away launch of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, even though the doc referred to as for an unconditional launch of the hostages. Among the many 15 nations on the council, the U.S. was the lone dissenting vote. 

“I feel we’re heading for a major showdown on worldwide legislation between the US and the remainder of the world,” mentioned Michael Lynk, a global legislation skilled who served because the U.N.’s particular rapporteur on the state of affairs of human rights within the occupied Palestinian territories. “I feel that is going to open up a fair wider breach between the U.S. on the one hand, in worldwide legislation, and a lot of the remainder of the world on the opposite.”

“I feel we’re heading for a major showdown on worldwide legislation between the US and the remainder of the world.”

The ICC arrest warrants place U.S. and Israel allies in a clumsy place: keep U.S. partnership or respect its obligations to The Hague and worldwide legislation. To this point, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned his authorities would “arise for worldwide legislation” and “abide by all of the laws and rulings of the worldwide courts.” France and the U.Okay. have expressed comparable help, however Germany, which additionally offers army assist to Israel, has but to concern any official assertion on the way it plans to reply.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who additionally faces an ICC arrest warrant, has needed to alter his journey plans to keep away from arrest. In September, nevertheless, he was in a position to journey to and from Mongolia, a Rome Statute signatory, with out incident. 

Along with the ICC warrants, subsequent September is the expiration of the U.N. deadline for Israel to stop its occupation of West Financial institution and East Jerusalem. Additionally, the U.N.’s high courtroom, the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice, is continuous to supervise the genocide trial South Africa has introduced in opposition to Israel, however that course of will seemingly take a number of extra years. 

“This alliance the US has with Israel has actually stained the picture of the US to the remainder of the world,” mentioned Lynk. He celebrated the ICC’s warrant announcement and mentioned the measure is a uncommon type of accountability lacking from the worldwide neighborhood amid Israel’s warfare on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967. 

“There was just about no crimson line drawn for Israel that it hasn’t crossed and that it understands in crossing all these traces, the worldwide neighborhood doesn’t have the political will to demand accountability and the top of impunity,” he mentioned. 

However Lynk famous that such lack of accountability to Israel is longstanding. He mentioned that among the many causes the U.S. opposed the Rome Statute and formation of The Hague’s legal courtroom had been involved that the courtroom’s statutes criminalize Israel’s settlements on Palestinian land within the West Financial institution. Israel additionally cited the statute, which outlaws the forcible motion of civilian populations by an occupying army energy, as amongst its causes for opposing the treaty.   

Since then, the U.S. has opposed different investigations into alleged Israeli atrocities, in addition to the courtroom’s makes an attempt to carry American army members accountable for alleged warfare crimes in Afghanistan. The Trump administration additionally sanctioned the ICC officers concerned in previous investigations into Israeli conduct, freezing their property and banning their journey to the U.S. Biden overturned the measure however has continued to voice his help of Israel within the face of additional ICC stress. In June, a Republican-led Home invoice, supported by 42 Democrats, referred to as for a brand new spherical of sanctions on the ICC. 

Whereas condemning the courtroom’s due course of when utilized to Israel, the U.S. has cheered on a number of the courtroom’s different actions, together with the ICC’s issuing of arrest warrants for Russian officers, together with Russian President Vladimir Putin, over atrocities dedicated in its warfare in Ukraine. 

“We both hate this establishment, or we’ll cooperate on circumstances we like,” mentioned Jennifer Trahan, a global legislation and human rights professor at New York College. “Initially Biden referred to as these warrants ‘outrageous’ — nevertheless it’s the identical establishment that has issued warrants in opposition to Russian nationals and acquired reward for doing so. In the end you don’t need to have politics concerned in a judicial establishment — it ought to be allowed to do its work.”

She additionally referenced the U.S. help for different ICC investigations, such because the 2012 case in opposition to Ugandan insurgent chief Joseph Kony, founding father of the Lord’s Resistance Military. Biden’s State Division in 2021 put out a $5 million reward for data that results in discovering Kony, who stays a fugitive. The Obama administration additionally threw its help behind the ICC case in opposition to al-Bashir, the primary sitting head of state to be indicted by the courtroom.

“Remember, that is the primary time that arrest warrants from the Worldwide Prison Courtroom have been issued in opposition to any ally of the West — they’ve nearly solely been in Africa,” Lynk mentioned. 

Whereas human rights teams additionally praised the ICC warrants, some puzzled whether or not Biden himself could be held accountable for complicity in Israel’s genocidal warfare in Gaza. The Biden administration has given greater than $20 billion in army assist to Israel, fueling its army aggression in Gaza, the place greater than 44,000 Palestinians have been killed, greater than half of that are ladies and kids, and greater than 3,500 in Lebanon. And final week, the State Division mentioned it could proceed to arm Israel, even after the nation failed to fulfill a lot of the administration’s calls for to enhance the circulation of humanitarian assist into Gaza. 

There’s authorized precedent for comparable circumstances in opposition to arms suppliers, such because the case of Frans van Anraat, a Dutch businessman who was convicted by The Hague in 2005 for complicity in warfare crimes as a result of his position in promoting supplies to Saddam Hussein’s authorities, which have been used to create chemical weapons. 

Lynk mentioned that each the ICJ and ICC have authorized standing to pursue a case in opposition to U.S. officers for aiding Israel’s atrocities, however as a result of restricted judicial assets, such prices could be unlikely.