Mohammed Deif It’s a ghost. A spectrum. This is considered by many in Middle East. Next to Yahya Sinwar were the architects of the deadly incursion into the south of the Israel on October 7, 2023 in which thousands of victims, most of them civilians, were tortured, raped, murdered and kidnapped. It constituted the seed of the devastating war in the region that is now 413 days old. Deif was eliminated -according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) – in a bombing in Khan Younis, Gaza, last July 13.
But the International Criminal Court (CPI) issued arrest warrants against Deafthe ghost. He is not only seen this way because of his recent death, but because throughout his life he was considered a mysterious, unattainable figure. He never appeared in public and the register of his voice was barely recognized. There is also no abundant photographic album of him, making him an elusive figure that is difficult to recognize. As one of the founders – in the 90s – of the military wing of Hamas, deaf he led the unit for decades. And under his command, dozens of suicide attacks were carried out against Israeli civilians. Tel Aviv He tried to kill him several times, without luck.
After the announcement of his death -and that of Ismail Haniyehresponsible for the political wing of Hamas-, the terrorist group named Sinwar as successor and absolute head of the organization. But the other mastermind of the jihadist attacks in Israeli territory in 2023 was also found by the FDI and killed during an unexpected exchange of fire on October 17.
The next question regarding who would command the group from then on began to arise not only in Gazabut in Israel, United States, Egypt y Qatarresidence for years of several of the priests of Hamas. It was then that it was decided that the committee that would lead the terrorist group from Doha would be composed of Khalil al-Haya (the second of Sinwar in Gaza), Zaher Jabarin, Khaled Mashaal, Mohammed Darwish and a fifth member whose identity the group does not make public for security reasons.
Just like Sinwar, Deaf y Haniyehthese five members of the “political committee” were aware of the terrorist plans that shocked the world on October 7, 2023. That is why it is striking that the CPI -at the request of his prosecutor, Kareem Khan– prefer to go against a ghost and not against five of the still alive perpetrators of the terrorist group who could be found in the Four Seasons of Doha.
To clarify: Khan called for the arrest of Deafbut according to his criteria it could also have been against the other heads of Hamas dead in recent months Gaza y Tehran. The prosecutor may argue that he has no record of the terrorist’s death. But it should have the existence of the guests of Qatarto whom he does not seek to bother.
There are other questions regarding Khan. One is that he bases his arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant -and his accusations against Israel– in reports provided by the Minister of Health of Gaza, Mufiz al-Makhallati and his spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra. They are both members of Hamas.
This agency lost absolute credibility when – on October 17 of last year – it accused Israel of having bombed the hospital Al Ahly and caused the death of 500 people. A few hours later it was found that the massacre had been caused by rockets fired by Hamas and that they fell within their territory. Several images corroborated this.
A Khan Nor did they warn him that many of the Palestinian victims are the product of the terrorist group’s strategy that uses civilians as human shields: hospitals, schools, entire buildings are used by the extremists as shelters, warehouses and operational bases. Even less does it allow the population to shelter from Israeli bombing in its tunnels – already decimated – reserved only for its militias.
Many voices were raised against the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu y Gallant. Italiain the mouth of his vice president Matteo Salvini said: “War criminals are others”. USA He also rejected the accusations and recalled that that court has no jurisdiction over the matter. “We are extremely concerned by the Prosecutor’s decision to issue arrest warrants and by the disturbing procedural errors that led to this decision“said a spokesperson for the National Security Council.
For its part, the International Association of Jewish Lawyers (IJL, for its acronym in English) published a statement in which it criticizes the actions of Khan whom he accuses of having been founded on “extremely weak legal arguments” for his war crimes indictment. “In dismissing Israel’s arguments, the Court relied on extremely weak legal grounds. For example, it dismissed basic jurisdictional challenges over Israeli nationals, basing its decision solely on the controversial issue of Palestinian statehood,” the statement states.
“Although the evidentiary basis for the orders remains secret, the Court’s press release reveals a reliance on partial, selective and biased sources. These signs point to a politically motivated anti-Israel initiative which risks undermining the credibility, role and future of the ICC. These types of actions turn the Court into a tool for those who seek to cynically use international law as a weapon,” stated the IJL in the document.
Las Israeli institutions -only democracy of Middle East– they function and enjoy high credibility among their population. Given what would seem to be a lack of solidity on the part of the CPIwill finally be in charge of resolving whether Netanyahu and his cabinet committed war crimes or excesses in their response to the terrorist attack in Hamas. It must also be defined what degree of political responsibility lies in the security failures that occurred on that unfortunate October 7 and unleashed this humanitarian tragedy.
X: @TotiPI
