It is better that Israel, in this difficult moment, looks within itself, finally, to see its own portrait.

Finally, justice; the very first signs of the beginning of a late, partial justice, but still a little justice.

There is no joy in seeing your Prime Minister and your Minister of Defense become Wanted throughout the world, but it is impossible not to feel a certain satisfaction at the beginning of a certain justice.

by Gideon Levy

In the complacency and victimization of Israelis, in the endless self-righteous debates on television, in the cries about an anti-Semitic world and the injustice of the conflation between Israel and Hamas, a fundamental and fateful question is missing: Israel Did it commit war crimes in Gaza? No one dares to address this essential and critical question: Were there, yes or no, crimes?

If war crimes, massacres and famine were committed, as suggested by the courageous prosecutor Karim Khan (in whose appointment Israel participated behind the scenes, having found his predecessor Fatou Bensouda suspect), then there are criminals responsible. And if there are war criminals, it is the world's duty to bring them to justice. They must be declared wanted and arrested.

If Hamas committed war crimes – and there appears to be no argument about that – its criminals must be brought to justice. And if Israel committed war crimes – and there seems to be no argument about that in the world except in suicidal, self-deceiving Israel – those responsible for those crimes must also be brought to justice. justice.

Grouping them together does not imply moral symmetry or legal equivalence. Even if Israel and Hamas were charged separately, Israel would have raised an outcry against the court.

The only argument heard today in Israel is that the judge is a son of a bitch. The only suggested way to prevent his harsh sentence is to harm the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Convince friendly nations not to respect its decisions, impose sanctions (!) on its judges. This is how every criminal thinks, but a state has no right to think like this. The two international tribunals before which Israel and Israelis are judged deserve the state's respect, not contempt. Israel's contempt of court will only lengthen the list of accusations and suspicions against it.

It is better that Israel, in this difficult moment, looks within itself, finally, to see its own portrait. Better for him to blame himself for something, anything, than to blame the whole world. How we got here should be the question, rather than how they got there.

When will we finally take responsibility for anything, for anything done in our name? The 106 MPs who signed the petition against the ICC and the zero MPs who signed the non-existent petition against Israeli war crimes are a sad reflection of the country: united against justice, united in an eternal feeling of victimization, without right or left, a celestial choir. If Israel is one day found guilty of war crimes, it will be necessary to remember that 106 deputies voted to clear those of Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.

The Gaza Strip is in ruins, its inhabitants are killed, injured, orphaned, hungry, destitute, even though most of them were innocent. This is clearly a war crime. Starvation is considered by everyone in Israel to be a legitimate means, whether supported or opposed, as are intentional massacres. How can we say that there was no famine or intentional massacre?

The day after the ICC, Israel must come together to do some national soul-searching, something it has never done before. Every Israeli must ask themselves the following question: “How did we get here?” It is not enough to blame Netanyahu, the main culprit, nor to cover up the matter with evasive arguments about hasbara, flawed legal advice and extreme remarks from Israeli officials.

The problem is much deeper: for 57 years*, Israel has maintained an evil and reprehensible regime, and today, finally, the world is waking up and starting to act against it. Will this also be able to awaken at least some Israelis from their I-don't-care, scoundrel sense of justice?

NDT
*As a good Israeli, the author begins Israel's criminal journey in 1967. It is his choice.

https://en.reseauinternational.net/enfin-la-justice-mais-les-israeliens-vont-ils-commencer-a-se-reveiller/