The International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant marks a significant turning point in global politics. While the charges pertain to war crimes and crimes against humanity, not genocide, the development signals a challenge to Israel’s longstanding impunity, maintained by the unwavering support of Western powers. These arrest warrants, though symbolic in enforcement capacity, are seismic in their political implications, unmasking the intricate web of complicity between Israel and its allies in the Global North.
The term “rogue regime” has long been a fixture of Western propaganda, selectively applied to delegitimize states that resist Western hegemony. Coined by figures like Anthony Lake, the term paints a simplistic dichotomy: the “good states” of the Global North, obedient to an ambiguous “rules-based international order,” versus the “bad actors” who reject Western dominance. This dichotomy, however, is not only intellectually dishonest but also strategically deployed to justify invasive policies-economic sanctions, coups, and even military interventions-against nations like Iraq, Cuba, and Libya.
What happens, then, when the self-styled custodians of international law and morality are themselves exposed as enablers of crimes against humanity? The ICC warrants bring this question to the forefront, placing Israel and its Western patrons under unprecedented scrutiny.
Unlike most states, Israel’s very existence is uniquely dependent on systemic crimes against Palestinians and its neighbors. From apartheid policies and ethnic cleansing to relentless military aggression, Israel’s actions are not merely violations of international norms-they are existential strategies. This foundational criminality makes impunity essential for Israel’s survival. The West, particularly the United States, the........