Stand firm in support of all quests for justice
War today seems to be the only agenda for some major powers, including a war against justice itself. U.S. sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) continue. On June 5, four ICC judges were sanctioned: two for issuing arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and two others for having authorized, back in 2000, an investigation into crimes committed by American forces in Afghanistan. Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for these sanctions “against the politicized judges of the ICC.”
A trial of Israeli officials before the ICC for acts committed in Gaza is unlikely to take place any time soon, as it is unlikely that any government will arrest Benjamin Netanyahu or Yoav Gallant and hand them over to The Hague. However, trials at the national level remain possible in the long term.
Rising antisemitism around the world
In the UK, lawyers submitted a report to the police in April accusing ten British nationals who fought for Israel in Gaza of committing international crimes. In Belgium, criminal complaints were filed against a 21-year-old dual Belgian-Israeli sniper suspected of killing civilians in Gaza. Similar complaints are being considered in Italy, Germanyet South Africa. In France, the grandmother of two French children killed in October 2023 in Gaza by a missile launched from an Israeli helicopter filed a complaint in June for international crimes. Similar cases have also been filed in several other countries—Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Romaniaet Cyprus. Canada has even opened a general investigation into crimes committed in the region.
These efforts to pursue justice against Israelis are unfolding—and will continue to unfold—in an extremely volatile political context. As historians recently pointed out in a column on memory politics, there is often a conflation between the Israeli government, “caught in its criminal spiral,” and simply being Jewish anywhere in the world. Antisemitic incidents are rising globally.
Moreover, in contexts where large-scale crimes have been committed by governments against their populations—in Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, China, Myanmar, DRC, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere—there has never been significant international mobilization, even though such action would be necessary to initiate proceedings against those responsible.
A persistent suspicion of political bias
As a result, any ruling delivered by a foreign court on Gaza will always be viewed by some as illegitimate—perceived as politically motivated against Israel.
Nevertheless, any legal developments concerning crimes committed in Gaza must be supported, including trials against Hamas members for the October 7 attacks, the taking of hostages, and/or the use of schools and hospitals for military purposes. The same applies to indiscriminate attacks on civilians during the ongoing escalation between Israel and Iran. Every victim of international crimes, without discrimination, deserves justice. A trial anywhere in the world, conducted within a legal system that respects the right to a fair trial, will always strengthen the cause of all victims of international crimes globally.
A ruling against Israel is no longer unthinkable
Eventually, a judicial body whose legitimacy is recognized by Israel will render a decision on the situation in Gaza. In fact, Israel appointed a prominent judge to sit on the case. In late 2023, South Africa petitioned the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to investigate Israel for violating the Genocide Convention. The ICJ does not rule on individual responsibility but on the responsibility of states, and it will decide whether the crime of genocide has been committed.
Yet, at the beginning of 2024, most legal experts believed that Israel, after a substantive review of the case, would not be found guilty by the ICJ of violating the Genocide Convention, given the Court’s historically strict interpretation of the intent a state must have to commit such a crime. However, eighteen months later, such a conviction no longer seems unlikely.
On three occasions—Janvier, Marset May 2024—the ICJ ordered Israel to take measures not to stop the fighting, but to prevent further crimes against the civilian population and to ensure the population receives necessary humanitarian aid. Israel has largely ignored these orders. According to all humanitarian agencies, the situation in Gaza is now catastrophic and threatens the very survival of the population.
Moreover, in January 2024, the ICJ found prima facie evidence that Israel may be violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention in Gaza, partly basing this on statements made by Israeli officials. These statements—particularly those equating all Gaza civilians with Hamas members—have not ceased.
Standing with all victims, without discrimination
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has been sanctioned by five Western countries, declared in November 2024: “We will not let them rebuild […] Nothing moves, and whatever moves dies. That’s it. It is attacked and annihilated.” More recently: “ No more raids or in-and-out operations – now we conquer, cleanse, and stay. Until Hamas is destroyed. Along the way, what remains of the Strip is also being wiped out, simply because everything there has become one big terror city. ”
The Israeli government has until January 2026 to submit its written arguments, and a ruling is not expected before 2028 at the earliest. For now, all those who still uphold the values of international law must unite on the side of all victims, without discrimination, and support any genuine pursuit of justice, wherever it takes place and whoever it involves. In the face of political and military actors on all sides who fuel war, hatred, and destruction, such a civic allegiance to justice may seem insignificant. Yet, it is more vital than ever.
The article first appeared in French on Le Temps on the 22nd of June 2025
Image: application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel). ICJ
