The International Community Can and Should Charge Israel With War Crimes
New international campaign gives people the power to hold Israeli leaders accountable for genocide.
Elie Wiesel once said, “Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant.”
The world is watching a genocide happen in plain sight. We are witnessing war crimes happen at rate too rapid for the human mind to comprehend that it paralyzes us. How do we wrap our minds around this brutality? How go about our daily lives knowing that hundreds of innocent people are being slaughtered simply for existing? The only reasonable answer - we don’t remain silent! We must rally, protest, petition our government. We must have difficult conversations with people who are being mislead by outrageous lies and propaganda. And most importantly, we must hold those responsible for the over 100,000 human beings killed by the Israeli government.
Since the commencement of Israel's military offensive after October 7, 2023, Gaza has been subjected to a series of war crimes and crimes against humanity. According to Article 5 of the Rome Statute, the ICC holds jurisdiction in cases where states are "unable" or "unwilling" to prosecute these offenses themselves.
Palestinians need our help holding those responsible. In the wake of alarming statements by Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which have been perceived as incitement to genocide in Palestine, CODEPINK and its international partners have spearheaded a global letter-writing initiative calling for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into Israel's actions in Gaza.
The campaign cites a myriad of offenses, including continuous Israeli airstrikes on densely populated civilian areas, the bombing of hospitals, schools, and United Nations buildings, the imposition of a suffocating siege, forced displacement of the population, use of toxic gas, and the denial of basic necessities like food, water, fuel, and electricity.
These actions, as outlined in the letter to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, are asserted to amount to genocide, incitement to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, in violation of Articles 6, 7, and 8 of the Rome Statute.
The letter campaign also highlights explicit statements made by Israeli officials, reinforcing their alleged intent to commit genocide.
Isaac Herzog, Israeli President, on October 13, 2023, suggesting civilians in Gaza as legitimate targets.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, on October 27, 2023, citing a biblical reference to justify the slaughter of all women and children in Gaza.
Yoav Gallant, Israeli Defense Minister, on October 9, 2023, characterizing the situation in Gaza as a fight against "human animals."
We urge concerned individuals and organizations to join this international effort to hold Israel accountable for their war crimes. It only takes a few short minutes to submit a letter ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan. Submit one now!
The time to interfere is now - without justice there can never be peace.