Several petitions have been filed in the International Criminal Court (ICC) for proceedings against Israel. The Public Prosecutor of the ICC has visited Israel, Palestine (Gaza Strip) and even talked to families of victims. As the Israeli government has not ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC it claims to remain outside the jurisdiction of ICC. However the UK and Germany have ratified the Rome Statute. It is public knowledge that Sunak and Olaf Scholz did visit the scene of ongoing crime in Israel in October 2023 and promised to stand by Israel in this war. The UK government has sent arms and ammunition (see here).
The German government followed suit (see here).
The ICC has thus the jurisdiction to investigate the complicity of these two individuals viz. Sunak and Olaf Scholz and the governments they represent viz. UK and Germany. As suppliers of arms and ammunition to Israel in the ongoing Holocaust-II of Palestinians, they/their respective governments are indeed complicit in the crime against humanity. After satisfying that arms and ammunition were supplied to Israel through its own independent investigations, the ICC could issue warrants of arrest against the two entities.
Meanwhile the USA and Israel are smarting under the fig leaf of an excuse that they are both not signatories to the Rome Statute and are outside the purview of ICC. Even the mere issuance of warrants of arrest against Sunak and Olaf Scholz would be a moral victory for the international community. Why, even the act of pressing for legal proceedings at ICC alone would change global power equations.
France had strengthened its naval presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. This announcement was made by Macron on October 25 according to Le Monde:
“The move marks a significant reinforcement of France’s military posture in the war between Israel & Hamas.”
However the French government is at pains to explain that the naval presence is for humanitarian aid only.
There are positive signals all round. The ongoing worldwide mass protests against the Israeli government; the 153 countries opposing Israel at UNGA; the European Parliament election in 2024; and the domestic pressure in Israel, USA, UK – countries due for general elections in 2024 could eventually lead to a Nuremberg-II Trial!
[P.S. Sahni is a qualified orthopaedic surgeon. He has worked extensively with the victims of Sikh Genocide in 1984; amongst victims of 1992 anti-Muslim violence; and at the India-Bangladesh border during the Bangladesh Liberation War resulting in 1971 Bangladesh Genocide of Hindus.
