The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants against war criminals Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant may have been tragically overdue, but is still a welcome first step towards accountability and consistency in the application of International Law. For far too long, International Law has been viewed as not applicable to allies of the Global North. The issuance of these warrants finally sends the world a clear message that no state, no politician, regardless of flag, religion or race, is above and beyond the Law.
The Pirate Party of Greece has stood from the very beginning with the oppressed Palestinian people and with the families of the hostages that were illegally abducted by Hamas. We stand with Gaza; we stand with the Palestinians of the West Bank; we stand with the people of Lebanon and Syria; finally, we stand with the democratic Israelis and Jews suppressed and silenced by the criminal Netanyahu regime and its accomplices.
We welcome these arrest warrants, but still have to lament that they came too late. Too many civilians have been killed, maimed, displaced by the Israeli regime, as the corrupt, racist Netanyahu leveraged this campaign to stay out of jail for his corruption and his drive to erode the rule of law in Israel. Too many journalists, artists, academics have been silenced and targeted by the apparatchiks of the Israeli government. Too many aid workers and journalists have been murdered. With the blessings of the Global North.
All governments that want to be taken seriously when they claim to adhere to the principles of democracy, the rules-based order, equal treatment of everyone, regardless of nationality, race or creed, must uphold and honour these arrest warrants. Furthermore, all governments must stop enabling Israel to continue this genocide: no more exports of weapons of any kind; no more exports of dual-use items and technologies; no more funds; no more fuel; no more diplomatic or political cover.
Above all, we must denounce the outgoing government of the United States for its constant sabotaging of every attempt at a ceasefire and its enabling of this massacre. The excuses posed by its diplomats and representatives are insulting to every decent person’s intelligence. They have been gaslighting the international community for far too long. Their rejection of these arrest warrants shows clearly that they have decided to become a rogue state like Putin’s Russia in order to aid a corrupt apartheid regime. We unequivocally denounce every politician, every diplomat, every government that attempts to undermine the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
Regarding the re-elected Donald Trump and his party, we condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the threats made by his party’s politicians against ICC member states, and especially the threats of military violence against the Netherlands. We stand in solidarity with the people of the Netherlands and demand that the EU Commission and all EU member states not only condemn these threats of military violence against an EU member state, but also take active measures to prevent the United States from carrying out these threats. The EU must make it plainly clear to the USA that it shall not tolerate threats of any kind against any of its member states.
True to our Pirate Ideology, we demand the equal application of International Law. We demand justice for all. We demand full accountability for every politician, every soldier, every diplomat, every corporation, every government. We demand an end to the selective application of the laws. We demand an end to the immunity and impunity of criminals who happen to be considered “allies” by a political elite known for its contempt towards justice and people of the “wrong” colour, faith, or origin.
#Israel #InternationalCriminalCourt #ICC #Netanyahu #Gallant #NetanyahuWarCriminal #GallantWarCriminal
