The U.S.’s threat of a weapons embargo against Israel conditioned in the supply of humanitarian aid into Gaza could spell trouble for the country at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague after ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan applied for arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The letter, issued by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanded that Israel take concrete steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza within 30 days. In addition to ensuring regular aid transfers, the U.S. also calls on Israel to allow Red Cross visits to Palestinian detainees and to halt Knesset legislation that would prevent the Palestinian aid agency UNRWA from operating in Israel.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan's statement regarding arrest warrants against Israeli officials
(Video: ICC )
Since Israel’s assurances in March and a subsequent letter in April, which had led to improvements in aid delivery, the amount of assistance entering Gaza has dropped by over 50%, according to the letter. Aid deliveries in September were reportedly the lowest in a year.
The letter could serve as strong circumstantial evidence for Khan’s claim that Israel did arbitrarily block the delivery of humanitarian aid — at least until March 2024. Otherwise, there would have been no need for the assurance letters issued in March and April, as revealed in the letter.
The Americans aren’t disconnected from what’s happening at The Hague and the letter’s leak might alter the opinions of the judges who are set to decide on the prosecutor's request to issue urgent arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant due to allegations of prolonged starvation offenses.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that Israel’s operations in the Gaza Strip proved it doesn’t have a “policy of starvation,” across the enclave and specifically in its northern sector.
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Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ,ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Dana Kopel, AFP, Shahar Yorman)
“The Government of Israel has said that this is not their policy, that food and other essential supplies will not be cut off, and we will be watching to see that Israel’s actions on the ground match this statement,” she stressed.
French President Emmanuel Macron's words against Israel also bolster the ICC’s French judge — one of the three judges on the pre-trial panel.
Blinken and Austin effectively accuse Israel of allegedly blocking the entry of aid trucks to northern Gaza. Khan is required to prove that this constitutes an "organized policy," and that those against whom warrants are sought acted in line with this policy — to establish a crime against humanity. The leaked letter aids in substantiating this claim, which is often hard to prove as it’s rare to find documents that indicate a criminal plan.
The letter, coupled with the growing international sentiment against Israel, especially amid the war in Lebanon and reports of the blockade on northern Gaza, could expedite the court's decision to issue the warrants.
There has been no substantial change in Israel's policy regarding humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to Israeli officials. They attribute the harsh letter to the U.S. administration's lack of confidence in Israel's intentions. U.S. officials reportedly feared that Israel was planning to starve Gaza, in line with the so-called "General's Plan" proposed by retired IDF Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland, which involves isolating northern Gaza.
Israel has repeatedly announced in recent days it was allowing aid into northern Gaza. According to Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), responsible for facilitating aid into Gaza, 50 aid trucks entered the Strip on Wednesday, 12 on Tuesday and 30 on Sunday.
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