That is the title on an article published by award-winning British journalist Jonathan Cook in Middle East Eye. Cook argues that it is not only Netanyahu’s Israel that faces charges at the ICJ: the U.S. and the U.K. in particular, along with the entire West, are also exposed before the world for support of genocide.
“Israel’s allies aren’t just turning a blind eye to Gaza’s killing fields. They have cheered on the bloodshed, provided diplomatic cover and supplied the arms,” Cook wrote. “Israel expects support from western capitals because they have nearly as much to fear from a verdict against Israel as Israel itself. They have staunchly backed the killing spree, with the U.S. and U.K., in particular, sending weapons that are being used against the people of Gaza, making both potentially complicit.”
Cook explained that the determination of the court may take a long time, “but more pressing is Israel’s need to prevent the Hague court from ordering an interim halt to the attack.… Israel will try to convince the judges that it has been seeking to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza and minimize the toll on civilians.…
“A genocide ruling from the court will impose obligations on other states: both to refuse to assist in Israel’s genocide, such as by providing arms and diplomatic cover, and to sanction Israel should it fail to comply.… States would be expected to deny Israel weapons and impose economic sanctions on Israel—as well as on any states that collude in the genocide. Israeli officials would risk arrest for travelling to Western countries.”
Cook, who is the author of three books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and a winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism, concluded: “The truth is that a genocide ruling by the court will open up a can of worms for the West, and its readiness to accept that the provisions of international law apply to it too.”
