By Iqbal Jassat

Was it a ‘sick joke’ as one commentator suggested for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue a warrant of arrest against Russian President Putin on the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq?

And what does it mean for South Africa and the BRICS formation?

It certainly raises justifiable questions about the partiality of the ICC, given that it was able to conclude and determine Putin’s culpability as a war criminal within a year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While two decades later, and despite overwhelming evidence of gross human rights violations leading to the deaths of millions in Iraq, two of the arch-villains, George W Bush and Tony Blair, remain untouched by the ICC.

The bias of this type has given rise to public perception of the ICC as a NATO-allied body that is used as a political tool to serve Western interests. Indeed, thus far not a single American or European leader has been indicted for war crimes while many African leaders have.

The same can be said of Israel. Leaders of the settler colonial entity have and continue perpetuating the most horrific war crimes against native Palestinians, yet not one has faced charges let alone arrest warrants.

ICC prosecutors can neither claim ignorance about Israel’s war on the Palestinian population nor that no one has laid complaints at their door in respect of atrocities stretching from 1948 to date.

The question that arises is what makes the ICC run with haste to indict Putin within a short space of time and at whose bidding?

If the prosecution team values a need for integrity, impartiality and commitment to justice without fear or favor, we expect an announcement that a warrant of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu has been issued.

Apart from a host of charges for war crimes against Palestinians, he is responsible for over the many periods he held sway over Israel as Prime Minister, consistency by the ICC requires he be charged for exactly the reasons Putin has been.

Experts point out that Israel should be worried given that Putin is accused of violating prohibitions set in International Laws of Occupation.

“The arrest warrant alleges the crime of deportation of a population from the occupied territory to the territory of the occupier was committed. The crime of transfer of civilians from the occupying power to the occupied territory is defined in the Rome Statute”.

In other words, America and the West who have excitedly welcomed and rallied behind the arrest warrant against Putin will find their joy shortlived if the ICC finds the courage to charge Netanyahu and his thugs for exactly the same crimes.

Violation of the laws of occupation and especially the ban on the transfer of the occupier’s population to the occupied Palestinian territories turned into Jewish enclaves known as settlements, renders Israel guilty.

And it doesn’t end there.

Forced transfers of Palestinian populations such as the Khan Al Ahmar and of communities in Masafer Yatta, if executed “will fall under the same crime that Putin is accused of – deportation of an occupied population outside the occupied territory or forced transfer inside it”, say legal experts.

Indeed to the disappointment of many lawfare campaigners who had the expectation that ICC would be keenly aware of Israel’s deliberate and defiant violations of the prohibition on population transfer, are surprised that Putin has been hastily pursued while Netanyahu and his ilk are scot-free.

Failure by the ICC to prosecute Israeli leaders is not only to the detriment of Palestinians but to universal justice.

What explains this failure of the ICC?

Could its reluctance to move against Israel be explained by threats issued by former US president Donald Trump which to date has not been repudiated by the current incumbent Joe Biden?

“We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We certainly will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own”.

Trump’s discredited National Security guru John Bolton was equally harsh and critical of the ICC. He referred to it as “outright dangerous” to the United States, Israel and other allies. He also threatened that “If the court comes after us, Israel or other US allies, we will not sit quietly”.

The official line from the White House as explained by Bolton was that the US was prepared to slap financial sanctions and criminal charges on officials of the ICC if they proceed against any American.

Though South Africa is believed to face a conundrum if and when Putin lands in Johannesburg to attend a BRICS summit, it may well argue that applying selective prosecution and the haste whereby ICC has fast-tracked the arrest warrant, leaves much to be desired.

– Iqbal Jassat is an Executive Member of the South Africa-based Media Review Network. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle. Visit: www.mediareviewnet.com