“One doesn’t have to like Israeli PM Netanyahu, nor approve of every action taken by the Israeli military in the Gaza war—but the horrors unfolding there are ultimately a response to the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, in which over 1,200 people were killed, more than 300 were taken hostage, and the Jewish state and all its citizens experienced deep trauma—less than eighty years after the Holocaust” - Christian Hauenstein points out at the beginning o his op-ed in Saturday's edition of the Kronen Zeitung newspaper.
Hamas was fully aware of what its unprecedented act of terror would unleash. It knew it was putting the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians at risk. In fact, that was part of the plan. The diabolical calculation was that each child killed would generate global sympathy and discredit Israel and its government,
– he said, and then pointed out that
the calculation worked. The International Criminal Court (ICC), led by Pakistani-born chief prosecutor Karim Khan—whose advisor was the Lebanon-born attorney Amal Clooney—issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on alleged war crimes charges.
The article recalls that then–U.S. President Joe Biden reacted with outrage to this move. President Donald Trump subsequently imposed a travel ban on ICC members. The author of the opinion piece highlights:
The court has become overly political,” Prime Minister Viktor Orban By now, Hungary has withdrawn from the ICC. The court has become overly political,” Prime Minister Viktor Orban said. He is right!
Christian Hauenstein adds:
It appears that the ICC is becoming an anti-Israel institution, just like the UN Human Rights Council.
“Netanyahu Placed on the Same Level as Terrorists”
The author underscores:
The ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders (who have since been killed) does not improve the situation. Hamas is officially listed as a terrorist organization in the EU, and its leaders should have been arrested anyway. With its decision, the ICC has effectively placed the head of the attacked state on the same moral plane as Palestinian terrorists. This amounts to a unique kind of moral collapse.
The Austrian author notes:
Countries such as France, the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, and Germany have also indicated that they intend to disregard the arrest warrant. In Germany, the security of Israel is considered a matter of state doctrine. The same applies in Austria.
