The war-crimes case against the leaders of Israel and Hamas is flawed
Politics and diplomacy, not courts, are the key to ending violence and starting two-state talks
The GAZA war is a diplomatic disaster for Israel, a military quagmire and a human tragedy. In has stepped Karim Khan, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (icc), who has accused Israeli and Hamas leaders of war crimes. He believes he is creating moral clarity, asserting the primacy of international law and thereby delivering justice. On all three counts he is likely to be disappointed.
On May 20th Mr Khan asked icc judges to issue five arrest warrants. Two target the brains behind Hamas’s atrocities: Muhammad Deif and Yahya Sinwar, holed up in Gaza; a third is for Ismail Haniyeh, its political chief, who is in Qatar. Mr Khan also asked for warrants for Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and the defence minister, Yoav Gallant, whom he accuses of inflicting starvation, murder and extermination.
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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Lawfare v warfare”
Leaders May 25th 2024
- Why paying women to have more babies won’t work
- Rishi Sunak’s election call makes no sense, but is good news
- The war-crimes case against the leaders of Israel and Hamas is flawed
- Hacking phones is too easy. Time to make it harder
- How to save South Africa
- What India’s clout in white-collar work means for the world
From the May 25th 2024 edition
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