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Who Should Stand Trial?

Since the ICC announced its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, I have been reflecting on the broader implications of who is being accused and why. While the ICC appears to be acting on a clear moral imperative by indicting those responsible for ongoing atrocities, it raises pressing questions about who is being accused and why.

In Sweden, an article in Expressen (link) made a provocative comparison between Netanyahu's indictment and that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, portraying Putin as the true villain while framing Israel as a self-defending nation falsely accused of wrongdoing (side note: One of the authors suggested that recognizing the state of Israel should become a prerequisite for obtaining Swedish citizenship—a proposal that has no comparable precedent in Swedish law.) Setting aside the authors’ apparent moral bankruptcy, which makes their opinions on such matters both insincere and unworthy of serious consideration, I must ask: why is the ICC stopping here? Why are the leaders of the Western empire—those who have supplied, encouraged, and enabled this genocide—not facing similar indictments?

If justice is to be consistent and impartial, then the last four to five American presidents should be accused of crimes against humanity, alongside British prime ministers dating back to Margaret Thatcher. Shouldn’t the leaders of the European Parliament, who refuse to acknowledge Israel’s crimes because of their deep commercial and political ties to both Israel and the empire, also be held accountable?

There is a destructive tendency to center the geopolitical and moral compass around the empire, weaponizing justice selectively to condemn adversaries while shielding allies, regardless of the atrocities committed. This hypocrisy is not just morally indefensible—it reflects the profound decay of the very values these empires claim to uphold. Worse still, it exposes a loss of even the pretense of integrity.

Once, imperial powers cloaked their exploitation and violence in elaborate justifications—false narratives that, at the very least, attempted to feign legitimacy. Now, they hardly bother. The pretense is gone, and with it, any remaining restraint. When empires abandon the facade of morality, they become even more dangerous and unpredictable. This marks not only their ethical decline but also their growing desperation to maintain power in a world increasingly unwilling to accept their lies.

The ICC’s actions may be a step forward, but they are far from enough. If we are to strive for a just world, accountability cannot be selective. It must reach beyond convenient targets to the systems, leaders, and structures that perpetuate cycles of violence and oppression.

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