By William Markson, Morning Call guest columnist
Until Oct. 7, a de facto cease-fire was in place between Israel and the Hamas rulers of Gaza. On that day, Hamas declared war on Israel, destroying prospects for lasting peace.
Hamas attacked a music festival and villages near the Gaza Strip where residents had been working towards peaceful co-existence. The kidnapped and murdered Israeli citizens living in these villages were among the most ardent advocates for the poor people of Gaza.
This violence and declaration of war by Hamas against Israel was a full breach of the rules of engagement between peoples. I do not know of any country that, having been invaded and massacred by a neighbor, would not fight back to its fullest capability in order to rescue its kidnapped citizens and enable its citizens to have a future without fear of rockets and future invasions.
Hamas, the controlling entity of Gaza, has continued to state that its goal is the elimination of the people and the state of Israel. In its twisted logic, it considers the death of its soldiers and innocent civilian bystanders to be useful in furthering that goal.
Despite an unjustifiable decision by the International Criminal Court, Hamas is the guilty party here, not the leadership of Israel.
The mission of the ICC is to end impunity for individual perpetrators of the most serious crimes of international concern, including genocide and war crimes when national courts are unwilling to prosecute offenders, thereby complementing national judicial systems.
Israel has repeatedly demonstrated in its history that its judiciary is willing to make decisions independent of the ruling party’s wishes. In Gaza, there is no similar judicial system. In fact, those who oppose Hamas face execution.
No moral equivalency can be made between Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization, and Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East.
War has always been and always will be a violent and sad state of affairs for human beings on both sides of such a conflict. We all pray that war will never be needed again. But a country that has been brutally attacked has no choice but to fight back until it doesn’t fear further attacks. Fighting back until security is achieved is not a war crime — it is justifiable self-defense.
Rather than advancing justice for the victims of Oct. 7th, the actions of the chief prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, has resulted in increased antisemitic attacks worldwide by encouraging a false and negative narrative of Israel and of the Jewish people. For good reason, neither the United States nor Israel are signatories of the ICC.
The ICC should not be confused with the International Court of Justice, which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, established in 1946 by the U.N. Charter. Its role is to help in peacefully resolving international disputes and contributing to the development of international law.
Robert Nicholson, an adviser to The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation, noted in a July 21 Wall Street Journal opinion piece, “After rejecting seven peace offers and mismanaging the West Bank and Gaza, the Palestine Liberation Organization is waging a multi-front legal intifada designed to sway public opinion and prompt the U.N. Security Council to act.”
He goes on to say that the ICC opinion is little more than a warmed-over presentation of the Palestinian narrative. He continues, “The Israel-Palestinian conflict will be solved by a political process based on negotiations between the parties, not a judicial settlement in The Hague.”
Legally speaking, the ICC has no jurisdiction to prosecute Israeli or Palestinian officials. Countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom and many other Western nations have condemned the ICC’s decision to issue simultaneous arrest warrants for leaders of democratic nations with active judicial systems, while also targeting leaders of terrorist organizations. Again, there is no moral equivalence here. To pretend otherwise is foolish.
William Markson is a resident of South Whitehall Township and a board member of Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.
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