Saturday, November 23

On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, which could have serious effects on Israel's relations with the rest of the world.

The International Criminal Court, or ICC, its a global organization crated in 2002 with its headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICC takes on major issues or crimes against humanity, such as wars, genocides, and aggression towards other countries. The Rome Statute, the document that serves as the basis for the ICC, also establishes that the organization's 124 member countries are obligated to capture any criminal that has been discovered on their soil.

However, there are some major issues in this design. The court has no actual power to enforce the rulings they make, as they are simply an organization-- it is up to member nations to make the decisions. In addition, some of the most populous countries in the world, like the United States, Russia, and China, are not member nations. This is due to the fact that they would not approve of sending their country's citizens to the ICC for a case-- the mindset for the aforementioned countries is that their citizens need to be tried and sentenced in the US itself, not in another country. This prevents the court from taking action in many of the world's biggest countries, limiting their impact.

The ICC announced on Thursday that they were officially releasing arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as a man known as Muhammad Deif. Deif was one of the biggest parts of Hamas' October 7 invasion, and he has also been found to be roped up in other harmful activities like murder, torture, and hostage taking. Nevertheless, it is still unknown whether he is even alive, as Israel claims to have killed Deif in an airstrike. The court has also struck down Israel's idea to appeal the decision, leaving the ruling as it stands.

This isn't the first time something like this happened, though. Back in 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Russia is not a member state. This prevents them from being forced to send Putin to the ICC for a trial. Similarly, Israel is not a member state, but neither Netanyahu nor Gallant can visit a member country of the ICC without being arrested on the spot. Still, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has stated that he will ignore the ICC ruling and allow Netanyahu into his country for a visit, which is technically not permitted-- Hungary is a signatory of the Rome Statute, obliging them to arrest Netanyahu when he arrives.

Unfortunately, this new ruling does not seem to be helping Gazans who have been suffering through war for months. Gaza is in desperate need of food, water, and other supplies, and much of that is not getting to the places that need it. Peace talks are currently stalled, with neither side making any progress, and the tension only seems to be escalating further and further. Due to the ICC's lack of power to enforce their rulings, this latest statement will most likely have very minimal effect on the actual situation in Gaza.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Horses can make 17 different facial expressions, while human faces contain 43 facial muscles and can create upwards of 10,000 unique expressions.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. (Henry Ford)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Paroxysm (noun)- Paroxysm is a formal word that refers to a sudden strong feeling or uncontrollable expression of emotion. In medical use, paroxysm refers to a sudden attack or increase of symptoms of a disease that often occurs repeatedly.

In a Sentence: The comedy special sent us into paroxysms of laughter.