Genocide label spurring further legal action against Israel

It is incumbent on all of us to remind Netanyahu and other war criminals that no one is immune to accountability (File/AFP)

Though Netanyahu continues to act with the same arrogant attitude that insists he, his government, and his country are above the law, including international law, it is incumbent on all of us to remind him and other war criminals that no individual, no entity, and no government is immune to accountability when it comes to the blood of the innocent.

Every day brings new indictments for Israel. Within three months of the start of its war on Gaza, South Africa was accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. That term is now becoming an accepted legal position among international bodies and governments alike. The latest indictment was issued by the UN Human Rights Council last week.

“The Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have had and continue to have the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” a report by the council’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry unambiguously stated. While this may seem obvious to those watching the Israeli genocide unfold in real time, the step is nonetheless historic.

According to Triestino Mariniello, an international law expert and a member of the legal team representing Gaza victims before the International Criminal Court, the report is of “historic importance” and is “unprecedented.” Though previous UN commissions have repeatedly accused Israel of committing war crimes in Palestine, “they had never gone so far as to say that Israel is also responsible for what represents the most serious crime at the international level: the crime of genocide.”

Desperate to see enough international pressure to force Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist government to end their mass extermination of Palestinians in Gaza, many wonder if such reports are enough to hold Israel to account. Commission chair Navi Pillay, a South African judge who also headed the international tribunal for the 1994 Rwanda genocide, admits that justice “is a slow process,” but she does not consider it “impossible that there will be arrests and trials” in the future.

For those eager to see some measure of justice, specific references to arrests and trials are of some comfort

Dr. Ramzy Baroud

For those eager to see some measure of justice, specific references to arrests and trials are of some comfort. The images of thousands of innocent people, mostly women and children, being slaughtered are simply impossible to bear.

The new report is particularly important as it ties into the International Criminal Court’s ongoing actions against accused Israeli war criminals Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Though the report is not binding on either the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice, it provides a strong legal foundation for their investigations. For example, similar reports were taken into account during the International Criminal Court’s investigation into the war crimes committed in Sudan between 2003 and 2005. The credibility of the UN Human Rights Council, the commission of inquiry, and its judges are of immense value.

Equally important is that the report is not an isolated conclusion — it is the culmination of two years of extensive research. And it aligns with the findings of other well-regarded international legal and human rights bodies, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

The latest of these significant statements was the resolution passed last month by the world’s leading organization of academics on genocide, the International Association of Genocide Scholars. This reputable body concluded that Israel’s “policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition” of genocide.

Many hope that all these conclusions, reports and resolutions will ultimately push the International Court of Justice to speed up its investigation into Israel’s conduct in Gaza. But even if the world court continues to drag its feet under pressure from the US and European allies of Israel, the report is still of great value. Now, individual governments and civil society organizations can use its findings to take independent action, thus continuing to build pressure on Israel and its supporters. In fact, this process is already in motion.

The credibility of the UN Human Rights Council, the commission of inquiry and its judges are of immense value

Dr. Ramzy Baroud

A group of lawyers last week filed a criminal complaint against German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other leading officials, including arms trade executives, for “openly and repeatedly boasting about their unconditional and unlimited support” for Israel. “Given the undeniable, genocidal consequences of this support,” they argued, the leaders should be held accountable.

Similar efforts for accountability are underway in Italy. The Greens and Left Alliance has lodged a complaint against members of its government, not in an Italian court but with the International Criminal Court — an indication of the globalized nature of the legal struggle against Israel. The group asked the court to investigate possible Italian complicity in the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Spain’s attorney general last week authorized an official investigation into Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.

These are just a few examples of how UN-linked and independent organizations using the label genocide can propel direct action by legal experts, national police and attorneys general across the world.

Though Netanyahu continues to act with the same arrogant attitude that insists he, his government and his country are above the law, including international law, it is incumbent on all of us to remind him and other war criminals that no individual, no entity and no government are immune to accountability when it comes to the blood of the innocent.

This struggle is not solely for the sake of Gaza, it is for the very soul of humanity. Should Netanyahu’s actions succeed in normalizing genocide in the 21st century, this horrific crime could become a sanctioned political strategy for tyrants and regimes worldwide. The world cannot afford to let this happen. The future of global justice hangs in the balance.

Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the editor of The Palestine Chronicle. His latest book, “Before the Flood,” will be published by Seven Stories Press. His website is www.ramzybaroud.net. X: @RamzyBaroud