Clarifying the US (yours and mine) offal position on the jurisdiction in Gaza.

[the watcher]

Apparently the US isn't keen on being associated with any nasty war crimes. They will however support the ICC if they want to talk about Russian shenanigans. You knew that though, right? US: ICC doesn’t have jurisdiction in Gaza, we do

 

[Ringo]

U.S. authorities have threatened to impose sanctions against the International Criminal Court if it issues an arrest warrant for Netanyahu;
against the Nobel Committee if it does not give Netanyahu a peace prize;
and against the Vatican if it does not consecrate Netanyahu.

 

[DGS49]

International tribunals such as the ICC only have jurisdiction over countries that voluntarily consented to the jurisdiction. Neither Israel nor the U.S. have consented to the jurisdiction of the ICC, hence they cannot indict officials of either country. Further, "Palestine" is not a country, not recognized by any civilized nation, and even if it were, it has no officials who could represent it in any international forum.

Both Israel and the U.S. have "independent" judicial systems, that is judicial systems where the chief Executive CANNOT overrule the findings of the judicial system, and in fact judicial systems which have a record of going against the Executive from time to time. Both the U.S. and Israel have laws that govern the prosecution of wars and other military actions, and the Executives in both cases are subject to prosecution for breaking those laws.

There is really no question about what is happening in Gaza. Israel is fighting Hamas, which attacked Israel in an act of aggression very seldom seen in modern times. As long as Hamas remains in power in Gaza and continues fighting Israel (rather than surrendering and releasing its hostages, living and dead), Israel will continue to fight Hamas. In fact, Hamas is the only party that has the power to stop the hostilities instantly, yet they refuse to do so.

It is also universally known that Hamas intentionally maximizes "civilian" casualties with the way it mounts its defenses and prosecutes the war. While the deaths of "innocents" is regrettable, each and every such death must be placed at the feet of Hamas. Prosecuting the Prime Minister of Israel for war crimes tells you everything you need to know about the ICC. We were right not to sign on.

 

[cnm]

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Laura Kuenssberg beyond parody​

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In a bold move, the United States of Israel has sent a robustly-worded letter to the International Criminal Court, following prosecutors’ decision to seek arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant - a move the USI has described as “outrageous”. ​

[...]​

Meanwhile, Israel has announced a full blockade of the Hague and cut off water and electricity to the Dutch city. No aid trucks will be allowed in and the local population will be deprived of food, water and medicine while being bombed until they hand over the judges of the ICC. ​