Karim Khan, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (centre) has called for the issuance of arrest warrants for 3 Hamas leaders and 2 Israeli leaders. Netanyahu is furious, but a trial of the Hamas leaders could also be very damaging to Israel. It would cause a very public re-examination of the Israeli claims of Hamas’ atrocities on October 7th. Read more.…
The chief prosecutor of the world’s top war crimes court has sought arrest warrants for leaders of Israel and Hamas, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking of the Israeli actions, Khan said “the effects of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, together with other attacks and collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible and widely known.”
Prosecutor Khan also alleged Hamas leaders “bear criminal responsibility for (…) war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 7 October 2023.
Prosecutor Khan already heard the Israeli version
In justifying his warrant against Hamas leaders, Prosecutor Khan reviewed the evidence given to him by Israeli authorities during a visit to Israel back in December 2023.
“During my own visit to Kibbutz Be’eri and Kibbutz Kfar Aza, as well as to the site of Supernova Music Festival in Re’im, I saw the devastating scenes of these attacks and the profound impact of the unconscionable crimes charged in the applications filed today. (…) These acts demand accountability,” wrote Khan.
But in a public document called “Our Narrative” Hamas called for “the ICC Prosecutor and his team to immediately and urgently come to occupied Palestine to look into the crimes and violations committed there, rather than merely observing the situation remotely or being subject to the Israeli restrictions.”
Khan did visit the Rafah Border Crossing on October 29 and issued a very strong warning to Israel regarding possible war crimes it was committing in Gaza, most particularly impeding relief supplies. But he did not meet Hamas leaders.
Other voices emerge
The Israeli narrative of unspeakable atrocities committed by Hamas against innocent Israeli men, women and children has gone unchallenged in mainstream media. At first, only a few social media outlets like the Electronic intifada, Mondoweiss and the Gray Zone dared to question Israel”s version of the events of October 7th.
All of the particularly egregious claims of beheaded babies and other atrocities were quickly debunked.
However, little by little other elements have come out including in the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, indicating that a number of Israeli civilians were actually killed by Israeli “friendly” fire. However, these have been ignored by much of the Western media.
An independent forensic investigation
More recently, Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) has carried out a forensic analysis of the events of October 7, when Hamas fighters launched an incursion into Israel that has transformed the politics of the Middle East.
Based on those findings, Aljazeera’s media unit has composed a 45 minute video documentary entitled “October 7th” which confirmed that there were human rights abuses by Hamas fighters, but that “many of the worst stories that came out in the days following the attack were false.”
If the ICC does accept Chief Prosecutor Khan’s application to issue arrest warrants against the Israeli and Hamas leaders, they would be compelled to appear before the ICC judges at the Hague. Israel (and its US allies) have already denounced the charges, and it is highly unlikely that they will submit to the Court.
But Palestine is a party to the Convention. Might Hamas leaders be happy to get their “day in court”? Perhaps they might even turn themselves in voluntarily? That very public trial would bring contradictory evidence to light which could undercut Israel’s narrative about Hamas’ alleged atrocities. If that happens, Israel’s main public justification for its brutal attack on Gaza – that Hamas and its followers are “human animals would fall by the wayside.
Canada Talks Israel Palestine (CTIP) is the weekly newsletter of Peter Larson, Chair of the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine (OFIP). It aims to promote a serious discussion in Canada about Canada’s response to the complicated and emotional Israel/Palestine issue with a focus on the truth, clear analysis and human rights for all. Readers with different points of view are invited to make comment.
Want to learn more about us? Go to Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine.ca
Canada Talks Israel/Palestine 
A good and necessary piece Peter. Well done.
Sent from my iPad
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A highly recommended podcast on international law and the current conflict on Ezra Klein show recently: https://spotify.link/fi4thALiXJb
Excellent idea, Peter. Have you seen it floated elsewhere? A public trial at which one set of defendants would have the opportunity to demonstrate not only the October 7 falsehoods but also that the occupied have the right to resist through armed struggle while the other would be transparently exposed as genocidal occupiers would further advance the Palestinian cause in world opinion.
And if he were to be convicted, and imprisoned somewhered n Europe, this would be an ongoing Mandela like flashpoint and a danger to the USA/Israel.
your antisemitism is even more outrageous Mr. Larson. Questioning the worst slaughter since the holocaust takes you to a new low asshole
Hi Shelly,
Thank you for sharing your views. I’m glad to see you are still reading my blog posts, though I’m sorry you still have such a poor impression of me. I hope that will change at some point.
I guess we will both be watching those ICC trials of the Israeli and Hamas leaders (if they happen) to see what the investigation turns up. I think Prime Minister Netanyahu must be very worried.
I have a strong dislike of Netanyahu. He is only interested in staying in power and I think his time to leave will come soon. He is contributing to the rise of the worst antisemitism I have seen in my lifetime.
Marv: you mention that “the occupied have the right to resist through armed struggle”. I thought that, too, but can’t remember exactly where or what document specifies that. Is it the Geneva Convention?
This is a reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_right_to_resist#:~:text=Legal%20basis%20for%20the%20right%20to%20resist,-Main%20article%3A%20Right&text=Palestinians%20have%20a%20recognized%20right,under%20foreign%20and%20colonial%20rule.
Thanks for this Peter. Regardless of the outcome of the potential arrest warrants by the ICC, I think Netanyahu has already been judged guilty of war crimes in the court of public opinion.
Did you read that document “our berate”?
In English they say “Zionists”.
In Arabic they say “Jews”.
In English they say “Settlers”.
In Arabic they say “Sons of Monkeys and Pigs” (Epithet for Jews).
In English they say “Decolonization”.
In Arabic they say “Jihad”.
The English version is a global sympathy plea, a victim narrative, and the classic ‘Oppressed’ vs ‘Oppressors’ image. The Arabic one is a stark reminder that this was never about Palestine.
Thank you Tamer,
I do not read Arabic. I assume what you say is true.
I don’t have any difficulty with the items you reference.
I don’t find it difficult at all that Hamas identifies Jews with Zionists. As you know, the only Jews they ever come in contact with are 100% Zionist and are trying to wipe them out. The fact that there are non Zionist jews here in Canada or the USA is a long way from their lived experience. The planes that fly over them and the bombs that land do so in the name of Zionism.
Nor do I find difficult that they use “jihad” where the english text refers to decolonisation. As you know “decolonisation” has recently entered into western usage (Colonisation was used by Zionists when they first went to Palestine, of course.) I don’t know whether “decolonisation” has entered the Arab lexicon yet. However, jihad means struggle and that is what they are faced with.
Finally, the refernce to Jewish settlers and their soldiers as “sons of monkeys and pigs” is unsettling. It reflects hurt and anger. I see it in the same category as “motherfuc*ker” etc. Definitely not nice talk.
If you speak Hebrew, perhaps you would like to share with us some of the Hebrew epithets for Palestinians.
Peter, with all respect, it is not true that “the only Jews they ever come in contact with are 100% Zionist and are trying to wipe them out.” You have hosted Israeli Jews here who are not trying to “wipe out” Palestinians. I have personally met such people in Israel. What, sadly, is true is that the majority of the Jews they meet fit your description. Those are also the people in power.
Hello Dr. Parnas,
I was thinking of Hamas leaders (who wrote the document). They will not have had the opportunity to meet those principled anti zionist Jews that you and I have met.
As you know, Israel forbids Israeli citizens to go to Gaza. So the only Israelis that the people of Gaza see/know are the soldiers at the Erez checkpoint, or those dropping bombs on them.
Hi Dr. Larson,
Thank you for clarifying your intent.
It is important not to oversimplify our view of Hamas and the people who have been imprisoned in Gaza for so many decades. Hamas is much more than the leaders who wrote the document you reference. It includes both people in Gaza and the people in the other parts of Palestine. It is much more than its military wing and includes people that would prefer a less violent approach. They are all in contact with each other and the outside world. They must be aware of the fact that that there are many Jews, who have deep doubts about what Israel and its enablers has been doing. Even among those serving in the IDF, there are people who disagree. IDF service is obligatory and refusal to serve is costly in many ways. Almost all serve in spite of any doubts they may have. Hamas must know that.
The document that you cite contains this statement, “Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion. Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine.” Throughout the document they complain about “the Zionist entity” and “the Israeli entity” rather than Jews. In fact, the word “Jew” can be found on only two pages of that 17 page document. I have no doubt that the leadership, and the authors of that document, are fully aware of the distinction and do not “identify Jews with Zionists”. I have never been to Gaza but in my 3 visits to Palestine, I did not find any Palestinian who did know the difference. (Of course, my contacts may not have been a representative sample).
It is not Hamas that tries to equate Jews with Israelis or Zionists; it is the Israeli government and its enablers that do that. Israel always pretends to represent all Jews and to describe those who disagree with them as “a fringe group”. It uses that lie to give itself a legitimacy that it does not really have. It uses that lie to brand those who oppose it as antisemites. Hamas must know that too.