The International Criminal Court, located in the Dutch City of the Hague, was established and given the power to prosecute war criminals from all over the world. It is currently recognized by 124 countries, Israel and the United States not being part of those 124 countries. The reason this is important is because of the warrants that the ICC has issued. On Thursday, November 21, 2024 the ICC issued three arrest warrants, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallannt, and Hammas Military Chief Mohammed Deif.

Although the warrant issued against Mohammed Deif comes as no surprise because of his involvement with the October 7 attack against Israel, the other two have come with mixed responses. Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized the ICC calling the charges outrageous and an antisemitic attack against him and his all of Israel. President Biden has had the same response and does not agree with the charges. But not everyone feels the same way.

First, let’s talk about where the charges stem from and why they were brought about. The ICC has accused PM Netanyahu of committing crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people, especially those in the Gaza strip. He is being accused of purposefully withholding aid for the purpose of starvation and committing targeting attacks against civilians, accusations that Netanyahu has denied.

This is a topic that I have not discussed and even though I have been paying attention to have not said anything about it but I feel now is the time. I know Israel is our ally and what happened to their country on October 7 was outrageous and Hamas deserved consequences for their actions. After this horrific attack happened Israel had every right to defend themselves to ensure it would not happen again. As the war continued to get worse I began to ask myself if Israel was taking this war too far is their willingness to do anything to defeat everyone in Hamas. As President Biden was attempting to have a cease fire to free the hostages it started to seem like PM Netanyahu had no interest in a cease fire.

As the war got worse so did the attacks on the Gaza strip, and many Palestinian civilians were caught in the crossfire. These attacks made it almost impossible for aid to get into Gaza, with Israel even accidentally killing seven World Kitchen Workers. This led to many aid workers fearing to go into Gaza to give the much needed aid. As the attacks got worse it becomes almost impossible for the Palestinian people to flee, becoming trapped inside Gaza as Israel continued to attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had every right to after Hamas but from what I started to see it became more than just Hamas, it seemed like it was all of the Palestinian people. Many people were wanting a two state solution between Israel and Palestine, but it started to seem that PM Netanyahu had no interest in that. The attacks started to ramp up with Israel beginning to attack schools and hospitals, claiming that Hamas was hiding behind Palestinian civilians. Israel also said many of Hamas’s headquarters were located underneath these schools and hospitals.

This scenario is very possible and likely but in my opinion I still don’t think it should give Israel or any country the right to kill civilians, including women and children, to go after a few Hamas leaders. These civilians were trapped in a small area of their country with no where to go, the majority of them innocent, and couldn’t even get help because of their hospitals being destroyed. This is the point in the war where I began to wonder how far was too far. Nothing justifies the actions of what Hamas did the people of Israel but retaliating against innocent Palestinian people who were no threat is not the right response.

This doesn’t mean that Israel is not our ally or that we should turn against Israel or their people. But their comes a time when they need to be told what they are doing is wrong and need to take another direction in bringing this war to an end. Since this war has began it has only gotten worse. Israel has now even attacked other countries where Hamas leaders are believed to be hiding, angering those countries. All this has caused is those countries now wanting retribution against Israel, creating a domino effect making the war get much worse. This war could not continue the way it was going and something had to be done, and that is what the ICC has now done.

ICC doesn’t have the power to go in to Israel and arrest anyone they have issued a warrant on, but the 124 countries that are members of the ICC are supposed to arrest anyone who has a warrant and turn them over to the ICC. However, not every member agrees with the ICC decisions and some countries who are members have openly stated they will not arrest Netanyahu or Gallant if they were to come to their country. But there are many who have said they would.

I think many people and many countries feel the same way I do, that there is no excuse for what Hamas did to the people of Israel but that PM Netanyahu has taken this war too far. It seems like he is waging a war against all Palestinians and not just Hamas. This does not mean I am in favor of Hamas or any other terrorist state. Israel has been an ally of ours for a long time and should remain one of our allies. But as with any other country, when one of their leaders is not acting in favor of their country or their people then action needs to be taken. I believe we are now in one of these situations before this war gets any worse.

This is an issue that has nothing to do with being a Democrat or Republican, it just has to do with what is right or wrong. I am a Republican but I don’t agree with the course of action that has been taken and I believe PM Netanyahu has taken this war too far. The amount of Palestinian civilians, the amount of women and children has become to much, and the constant attacks on schools and hospitals should never be okay. How can you say you are allowing aid into a country that you are blowing up the hospital’s in. Where are they supposed to go the get their aid. This war has taken a turn in much the wrong way and something needs to be done. Not everyone may agree with me and if you don’t that is okay, but we should all feel like we should be able to speak how we feel, no matter what your political party is.