Will Britain continue to grant Israeli officials impunity?

The visit of the Israeli Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi—the supreme commander of the occupation forces—to Britain last month, impels us to make a number of observations, none of which are favourable to the British Government. Halevi’s visit came mere days after the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli defence minister, who are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

We might begin by reviewing the conduct of Israel in Gaza. The Strip has been ravaged in its entirety: tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, the great majority of them civilians; over 70 per cent of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, leaving behind tens of millions of tonnes of rubble; 90 per cent of the population has been displaced; the occupation forces have prevented adequate aid from reaching Gaza, leaving the population to languish amid hunger and disease; and by now, several reports have expressed the opinion—whether produced by the team of lawyers who accused Israel before the International Court of Justice, or by Amnesty International, or by the UN special committee to investigate Israeli practices—that we are likely witnessing the crime of genocide, than which there is no greater crime. Israeli officials have scarcely attempted to conceal what they are doing: Netanyahu has invoked the example of Amalek, one of the divinely-sanctioned and indiscriminate slaughters that one can read of in the Old Testament; while Gallant told his subordinates in the occupation army that he had “released all restraints”, then declared, “We will eliminate everything.” The soldiers of the occupation duly complied with that order, and proceeded to flood social media with images of themselves delighting in the misery of Palestinians, and making their own barbaric remarks. This is but a brief recollection of what has been done to Gaza, and it is a black mark of shame that the British government should have anything to do with it.

These criminal acts—these acts of barbarism, wanton and vicious—cannot be warranted by the invocation of crimes committed on 7 October. And Herzi Halevi, as chief of the general staff of Israel, must bear responsibility for the outrages that he has overseen for the past fourteen months. He is an accomplice of Netanyahu and Gallant, the suspected and fugitive war criminals: he is about as guilty an accomplice as it is possible for a man to be; and yet, he was permitted to visit Britain. We are signatories of the Rome Statute, and we are therefore bound to comply with the arrest warrants issued by the ICC: but when one of the principal planners and perpetrators of the crimes makes his way to our shores, he is not arrested—he is not questioned—he is not put to the least trouble (after all, he has only killed Arabs, and the killing of Arabs is an old past time among the nations of the free world)—no, he is rather welcomed and given special immunity, so that he may meet with some of the highest officials of our government. Let us abandon the pretences: the law is nothing—international law is less than nothing—might governs the world, and Britain has voided its claims to righteousness yet again.

“But” (the fool says) “there was no warrant for Halevi’s arrest—we are under no obligation to apprehend him.” The fool is ignorant of British law: we must investigate, arrest, and prosecute suspected war criminals under the International Criminal Court Act 2001. He is surely ignorant, too, of the elements of morals. It requires no great intellect to perceive, that a head of state who is accused of crimes against humanity, stands in need of soldiers, as Halevi, to promote and attain his vile objects. The notion that Britain can respect its obligations, while allowing such a criminal free entry, could only be concocted by sycophants of the powerful.

Whence we may conclude, that Britain is not merely a passive spectator, but an active participant in Israel’s crimes. We have hosted one of the leading destroyers of Gaza: he had discussions with officials from the military, the Foreign Office, and even met the Attorney General, Lord Hermer.

What was the content of these discussions? The British people are not authorised to know.

What did Halevi, a soldier, have to discuss with Lord Hermer, the Government’s top legal advisor? Could their discussion have related to the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants mere days prior?

These questions have not yet been answered; but in time, I suspect all will be exposed. Our duty to the people of Gaza, is to Remember. Remember, people of Britain, the acts of your rulers; and let not their guilt fade away!