Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
23 October 2024 | 13:00 CAT
3-minute read

Israel’s assassination of three Hamas leaders, whom International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan sought to prosecute, leaves Netanyahu and his defence minister as the only remaining individuals who must still face global justice.

On 20 May 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan applied for arrest warrants for numerous Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (Deif) and Ismail Haniyeh. In addition, arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant were requested for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.

Subsequent to the application, Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh on 31 July 2024 and Yahya Sinwar on 16 October 2024. Additionally, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) reportedly confirmed their elimination of Mohammed Deif in August 2024.

Hassen Lorgat, a writer at the Media Review Network (MRN) and member of the South African BDS Coalition, asks whether the ICC will now act against Netanyahu in an article published on MRN.

Speaking to Radio Islam, Lorgat emphasised the fact that the assassinations do not dim resistance efforts in any way. If anything, it has served to strengthen and revitalise the will to oppose the oppressive Israeli regime and has catalysed a “spiral of renewed organisation for justice”.

“[In the wake of Sinwar’s] death, many, many new resistance fighters have emerged,” he said. “If they think that the assassination of leaders will bring about peace under their terms, it’s actually wrong,” Lorgat added.

Lorgat notes the extreme political pressure that western powers, particularly the USA, place on the ICC to remain inactive in its prosecution of Netanyahu, which brings into question the court’s role as the “global guardian of international law” and the “legal conscience of victims across the globe”, in the words of Raji Sourani, a human rights lawyer and the director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

Khan’s May application for arrest warrants is criticised for the way in which he first placed blame at the door of Palestinian resistance before getting to Netanyahu and Gallant. This symbolises divisibility in upholding human rights and the demonisation of the victims of violence.

“And now I ask, with the 42 500 dead, with close to 100 000 wounded and 10 000 missing, what will you [the ICC] do?” Lorgat asks.

South Africa, a strong advocate for justice at the ICJ, can play a role in pushing the ICC to act. Dr Naledi Pandor, who was recently appointed as the Chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation and has been a vocal critic of Israel’s policies, and some believe that her leadership could prove pivotal in reigniting efforts to hold Israeli officials accountable.

Lorgat stresses the importance of opposing Israel’s goal to colonise Palestine and commandeer its fossil fuels. “We know they want the gas, the oil, and the resistance there is necessary to make sure that people who use violence and unjust means to achieve goals that should be collective wealth, must be opposed,” he says.

Netanyahu and Gallant now remain among the key figures whom human rights groups are urging the ICC to prosecute. However, Lorgat notes that major powers are reluctant to set precedents that could implicate their own leaders in war crimes.

Listen to the full interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.