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The ICC’s Revolting Hatred of Israel Cannot Go Unchallenged
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, following a request last May by ICC Prosecutor Karim Kahn.
Kahn has accused Netanyahu and Gallant of “war crimes,” specifically, “deliberately depriving Gaza’s civilian population of essential goods, including food, water, electricity and medical supplies” as part of a “widespread and systematic attack against civilians.”
In reality, the claims are preposterous.
Israel delivers an average of 3,729 food trucks to Gaza per month, representing an average of 3,374 kcal per person per day, almost double the needs of an average adult human.
This data is from a detailed study by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (whose figures have been independently verified by RealityCheck). Similar data is available regarding fuel, water, medical supplies, and all other forms of humanitarian aid.
It is well known, including by UN sources, that Hamas (the internationally designated terror organization that rules Gaza) and other crime affiliates habitually steal much of the humanitarian aid that enters Gaza, as well as torture and kill civilians who attempt to take aid for themselves.
The heartbreaking images that flood out of Gaza are a result of Hamas and other terror organizations abusing their civilian populations (such as by using them as human shields), all while stealing international aid resources to bolster their fighting forces in attacks against Israeli civilians.
Meanwhile, 101 Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity, being starved, tortured, and possibly raped on an ongoing basis, and they have not even received visits from the International Red Cross.
However, in this case the truth is legally irrelevant — because ICC arrest warrants do not actually require proof.
Instead, the prosecutor, Karim Kahn, needs to provide only minimal evidence that his claims are reasonably possible, and furthermore, he gets to do so “ex parte” — which means alone and without giving Israel the opportunity to respond.
Much like the International Court of Justice (where South Africa is suing Israel for an equally absurd claim of “genocide”), the ICC is primarily a political body in the guise of a “court,” and therefore, reality tends to be less persuasive than political interests.
For this very reason, neither the United States nor Israel are members of the ICC, having never signed its founding charter, the Rome Statute.
Nonetheless, the Court “gave itself” jurisdiction over Israel under the following rationale: the Rome Statute gives the ICC jurisdiction over matters that occur within any ICC member state. The ICC recognizes a “State of Palestine,” and in 2015, the Court accepted “Palestine” as an ICC member, in violation of the Oslo Accords. Even though the “State of Palestine” does not have recognized borders, the ICC decided to unilaterally recognize Gaza and the West Bank as being “Palestinian territory,” and therefore subject to the ICC’s jurisdiction.
As of today, if Prime Minister Netanyahu or former Defense Minister Gallant enter any of the 124 ICC member nations, they will be subject to arrest and deportation to The Hague to face trial and possible imprisonment for war crimes. In addition, any country that has a mutual extradition agreement with an ICC member (such as all 196 Interpol member states) may also potentially cooperate in making an arrest.
The ICC’s logic in issuing these arrest warrants could easily be applied to any IDF soldier, former soldier, or reservist, which includes a vast majority of the citizens of Israel.
While the ICC has not yet extended this precedent to other Israelis, the Court has now created the legal basis to do so, thus placing the entire State of Israel, and all its citizens, in existential danger.
Even more disturbing is that these arrest warrants became possible because US President Joe Biden violated American law in support of the ICC.
Understanding that the ICC is not a true “court” but actually a political body that could be used as a weapon against the United States and its allies, Congress passed a bipartisan law in 2002 called the American Service-Members’ Protection Act. The Act not only prohibits the United States from cooperating with the ICC, but also obligates Washington to defend US service members and also US allies against the ICC. In this spirit, the US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill in June to levy sanctions on the ICC, its prosecutor, its judges, and their families — however the White House publicly opposed the bill, causing it to die before even getting to the president’s desk.
Incoming Senate majority leader John Thune (R-SC) has already threatened the ICC with sanctions, and it is likely we will see more reactions from the US leadership in the coming days. The Biden administration has said it opposes the arrest warrants.
Daniel Pomerantz is the CEO of RealityCheck, an organization dedicated to deepening public conversation through robust research studies and public speaking.
The post The ICC’s Revolting Hatred of Israel Cannot Go Unchallenged first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.